Jets v. Sharks, Chicago art museum style.

Ok, Museum Time. We went to the Museum of Contemporary Art (just a short pleasant walk from our doorstep!) the other day. Two big things are happening there : a Koons retrospective, and a "Look at all the great stuff we have in our collection!/F-you Art Institute" show.

The Koons Show - I'd heard a lot of discussion before hand, and really who hasn't heard a lot of discussion about him, in general? Anyway, this is a big show - and featured all the greatest hits. The hanging blue heart, the porn, the Michael Jackson. This show was more about finally seeing the objects behind all the discussion, kind of like scratching an itch. However, issues of originality/"aura" abound, as one realizes that his work takes a sharp sarcastic position about the whole idea of high-art, jaw-dropping, object worship. The high level of technical virtuosity he presents just furthers that whole shiny/sexy/playful allure the objects have. Like he's mashing all "good" things together to talk about the people/cultural practices that do that for real.

However, that could mostly all be understood without seeing the show. The most visceral reaction we had looking at this work up close was just laughing. Whatever else his work does, and there's a lot, seeing giant ceramic kitschy replicas of the cultural detritus we've all come to filter out is just funny. Giant teddy bears, inflatable toys, balloons, sex, cute kids, ..you know. All funny things.

Oh, and he went to school here.

The Show-Off Show- Ok, so the Art Institute is opening a new Contemporary wing this spring, so it seems the MCA is saying "well whatev, we've been doing this way longer than you. Look at my Naumans. Oh, and did I mention Kara Walker? and the Hairy Who? Oh, and let me remind you about BRUCE NAUMAN." So of course, this was enjoyable because they were showing off some of their best stuff.

Personally, I developed a big crush on Bruce Nauman. Perhaps it's like one of those things when your friend says "hey, look at that cute boy!" and you say "oh, yeah, come to think of it, he is cute!" But really, I think this boy was always cute, no matter what the MCA says. There was a piece featuring a video projection of him beating a large sack full of something, relentlessly, brutally. In front of it was a yellow plexi-glass architectural construction, than doubles as a rat maze. Small TVs featuring the beating video a pressed up against the plexi, beaming that violence into this opressively yellow, disorienting environment. A camera up above pans the room methodically, periodically splicing shots of the viewers in to the projected video. We are all complicit. But there's nothing that can be done. And we're so busy worrying what's going on in this big fancy artificial construction.

Another Nauman piece that I was happy to see again features two televisions, side-by-side, one with a frontal shot of an older-middle-aged white woman and the other a middle-aged black man. They are each reciting a series of conjugations of states of being. "I am -------. You are -----. We are -----. This is ------." where the blanks are filled in with such things as : a good man/woman, a bad man/woman, evil man/woman, fun, boring, having sex... " etc, creating a litany of very common, yet ultimately revealing and all-encompassing statements of self-assertion. The two actors inflect the phrases differently, so "this is fun" can be joyful or sardonic. You probably are familiar with this work, so I'll stop.

Ok, I've never been a big Hairy Who fan. But I'm in Chicago now, at SAIC, and they are everywhere I look. And they seem to be a corner-stone to the Art Institute/ MCA turf war, as each is featuring them similarly at the moment. But MCA's is bigger.

I'm done now.

First Friday in Chicago's West Loop

So we couldn't see all the art to be had on First Friday, which is a great problem to have.  Except First Fridays, as everywhere, are more about being seen than seeing, so whatever.  I'll just point out the highlights.

Three Walls Gallery - "Sin Will Find You Out" -   Paintings and a video - The paintings were heavily patterned, brightly colored, large, and painted directly on canvas that was stretched to the wall with grommets (which Eric liked.  He likes metal things.)  One grouping was a series of abstracted, stylized super-hero masks, and the other was a series of similarly stylized crosses.  The treatment of each can best be described as incredibly "fancy."  Like they almost should have been made out of glowing neon lights and glitter, or something.  So yes, the impulse towards organized religion and escapist super-hero fantasy is very similar, if not the same, in governing people's ideals, behaviors, aspirations, and moral codes.  And both are very decorative and fancy.  

The video, which seemed to be much stronger, was a series of urban scenes, shot at night, as though on a quest for something. Or perhaps to set the scene for some larger action later.  The camera does find something: a guy dressed up as Spiderman, lurking in some sort of dark basement.  Spiderman lurks and tries to hide from view, but the more this happens the more futile his hiding seems- it becomes more obvious that this is no superhero with magnificent powers, but a guy dressed up as some thing he's not, and perhaps a little sensitive about the fact that we caught him at it.  He doesn't want to be seen - he doesn't want us to examine his outfit perhaps, and see how fake it is.   ( I would have been happy with just this sequence, but I guess I like simplicity.)

Western Exhibitions - Walking Books - I like Stan Shellabarger ( and his partner Dutes, who wasn't really part of this show, although I saw him there) so I was happy to see this show so soon upon arriving in Chicago.  This work continued in the conceptual framework the two have established in their collaborative work - repetitive creative acts that build up to something larger, usually both creating something and destroying/obstructing something in the process.  Stan had a series of "walking books," in which he walked repetitively on paper in fixed paths and differing surfaces, until the texture of the surface wore through the paper or left a significant mark. This left intricate, almost lace-like holes and patterns in the papers, which was then displayed, both as an object and a record of an action. 

Kavi Gupta Gallery - NPR (Neighborhood Public Radio) -  A collaborative group that has figured out how to make radio and TV transmitters, as well as intense electronic sound machines, out of pretty much anything.  They have been around for a few years (were at the Whitney Biennial this year) and focus on creating community-based radio broadcasts, on their home-made radio transmitters.  Ok, I really don't know all that they do, or how it all works, but this show featured them in a room, making some wildly intense sound mixes using all manner of electric equipment, including electronic toys and vintage radio thingies. They were making some of the stuff right there during the performance, which was mesmerizing, for no other reason than they were quite obviously totally enjoying themselves, getting caught up in the nearly hedonistic act of making SO MUCH NOISE.  And with things they made themselves, out of junk.  They are pretty in that way - a DIY/populist approach to the commercially dictated sphere of media and sound.  And they're giving workshops over the next month so we can all learn how to take over the airwaves.   

And if you're interested in further discussion of the evening, check out PhotoAwesome, where Walker posted a video of us acting all giddy and gleeful at being in Chicago.  

First Art I've Seen Since Moving To Chicago

I went to this grad student reception thing at school (SAIC) the other night - it was in their (I mean OUR) new huge exhibition space  (where I will be having my MFA show, some day).  They opened the space with two shows - "Ahh....Decadence!" and "Department(Store)".

To be honest, I didn't get the best look at the whole Decadence show - there was free food, the place was huge, and I had to catch a commuter train.  But I'm going back later.  The show explored themes of ...decadence..in many forms, tying together the sorts of mania that comes along with doing anything over-the-top.  So there were lots of crazy colors, fast videos, sex, pink, orange, shiny things, spastic things, and pink.   It seems especially relevant, given the status of ..things..and the easy distraction of the public by shiny, fast things, what with this election and all.  Maybe that's a stretch.  But it's important to understand our relationship to the gaudy, staged, "decadent" forces in our lives.  

Ok, and now the Store. Exciting! A huge warehouse - size exhibition space filled with rows of empty display cases like the kind used in retail.  They are also shiny and attention-grabbing, but in a more apocalyptic way.  The "store" apparently refers, in part, to the building's historic use in retail.   The plan is to allow people- students, whoever - to submit proposals for displaying things in these cases.  This allows people to interpret the situation of a room full of retail cases as they wish; I'm assuming it will go along the lines of obsession, artificiality, economic issues, and exhibitionism.  

This week we had a chance to see Atlanta's "Art in Motion" exhibit at the Botanical Gardens in Piedmont Park. Much of the sculptures were metal mobiles of different sizes and shapes. Most of the work was geometric with hard lines and straight edges. Yet much of nature is soft and curvy so there was a noticeable disconnect. One artist's work was smart on how they used the idea of motion and connecting inertia with nature. The favorite works allowed audience participation. There has been a strong pull in contemporary art to acknowledge the viewer as the most effective component to complete a piece. Although many of the structures left much to be desired, we found a few that made the visit worth the price. These public pieces were at least accessible if not always warm, but the gardens themselves were inviting and peaceful. We strongly suggest a stroll through the green houses and around the grounds to all the fountains. A question that we asked each other was "Is nature drawn to symmetry?" We could site arguments for yes and no. What do you think? 

Monster of a Show

The latest Monster's Ball was  a highlight event this summer. All the "Well-to-do" monsters were in attendance. The success of this event was the strong line qualities, comic timing, and the live performances. The strongest concepts dealt with the monsters from within. The work was fierce and excited. Pieces ranged form childhood traumas, cartoon imaginations, Hollywood glamor, and homemade nightmares. It was refreshing to see this much enthusiasm in art. The one objection was that the curators could have done some serious editing. The best part was the LIVE performance by the New York based band: Balthrope Alabama. This band was as odd and wonderful as the show that surrounded it. 'Balthrope' even projected LIVE illustrations (in the making) of songs the band was performing. 

Pam Rogers show

After enjoying the Stand Alone Gallery, facing the impressive an big sculptures of the artist Pam Rogers was the closing of an art night in Atlanta.

Stand Alone Gallery in Atlanta

On Friday August 22 in Castleberry on a parking spot Daniel T Quinn stand his potable gallery. An ephemeral space that make questions about art's spaces and institutions. Daniel T Quinn Owns a gallery that he can stand when need it .

http://www.standalonegallery.com/





This are the kind of projects that Atlanta needs.




This is an artwork from Vicky Kelly an sculpture student from SCAD.

Friday 22 08 Opening at Strokes!!

Group Seven. On Friday 15 - 2008

Last Friday we went to a this interesting show. Almost all pieces were made by 8 artist, each piece was rotated by all this artist hands. Group seven in national collaborative process between different artist. Each piece has different materials.

One piece of the artist Antonio Daren was an electric pink piece that trick the viewer. It makes think the viewer that is plastic but is stainless. He plays with what the viewer thinks that they are seeing. Do you believe in every thing that you see?

More on "Social Exchange"

The Social Exchange show truly did function as different shows to different people.  But it seemed to be ultimately successful in that the thrill of acquisition, of acquiring, distracted the majority of viewers from the truly more exotic activities going on behind the curtains.  The viewers were comforted by the familiarity of shopping, and downright gleeful in the socialization of getting things.  

The interesting thing was that the show expressed the hidden interconnectedness of consumerist acquisition in both positive and negative perspectives.  As each article of clothing was exchanged, its history and previous owner was visually connected to the new owner creating a web of relationships, illustrating the more human and intimate identity manipulation that occurs through acquiring, possessing, and disposing.  So while the viewers/shoppers socialized, creating truly meaningful connections with each others' lives, the "workers" behind the curtains still remained shuttered away, and largely misunderstood.  

Unfortunate, however, that some of the donations were censored - this element should have either been more openly presented and incorporated into the concept rather than hidden.

Social Exchange
A participatory installation by
Stuart Keeler

June 27, 7-10pm & June 28



The invitation encourages the viewer to bring old favorite clothes to be exchanged for other favorite clothes. The entire gallery looks like a store, but the perception changes when the viewer hears cello music performed by artist Katie Waugh who was playing behind transparent white curtains. Also, the floor had white stripes and inside there were five cubicles made by transparent and opaque white cloth.


In the first translucent cubicle was a girl ironing some cloth that people want to exchange. The second and the fourth cubicle were the changing room for woman and men.


The third cubicle has a woman counting numbers. It has different shifts: a woman counting in Chinese and English, and other foreign woman counting in Spanish and English. The last cubicle has a person who gives the Champagne for the viewers. In the middle there was a dressing rack where people can hand and choose clothe.

I think that this is the kind of work that gives a lot of connotations and freedom to the viewer to create different connections. Some of the interesting ideas that this work offers are:
1. The silence and hidden background behind all the cloth; The labor of making clothe; The scene when a thousand pieces of cloth that have to be made; We can think of sweatshops, and who are the people that really work in the process for less pay. In addition the cello sounded sad, but it gives a sophisticate sense to the environment, it could give a relation to the style that stores want to show.
2. An environment of art where people participate without worrying if they understand or not. Some people call the gallery boutique.
3. A show where experience and participation is part of the entire art piece…

Pictures by I-Nu Yeh

Roney and Al-Haddad, June 20, 2008

Here we go! I'm going to start! Ready? Ok: 

So tonight the Atlanta Delegation went to see two more installments of the (new)Genre Landscape series: one by Danielle Roney and the other by Tristan Al-Haddad.  (Tiffany has some pictures that would nicely illustrate the evening..)  

Tristan's glowing green cylinders suspended between two reflective surfaces was initially and persistently stunning.  The placement of the piece, down low in the park, set below the level of the street allows only a metaphysical glow to reach the neighborhood near the park.  The surrounding neighborhood seems to be rather family oriented, working class, which is exactly the kind of demographic used in alien movies as the site of a landing or something.  Anyway, that is not to imply that this work was only, or at all,  extra-terrestrial.  It's just that the seeming normalcy of the neighborhood contrasted and balanced nicely with the palpable presence of the light. 

Climbing in to the work, walking between the glowing green tubes, feels like swimming.  He has created a totally immersive field.  Although, as with most art that is made to be interacted with, it does not immediately indicate to the viewer that it is acceptable to participate in it.  However, the participation is nearly involuntary, I guess, as the green-ness filled our eyes completely and also changed our own coloring.  (Only Chung-Fan's neon-orange fingernails remained the same color under that green.)  There is something sublime and powerful about art that can so tangibly change everything around it, while retaining the integrity of its surroundings. The leaves and grass were coated in artificial green, looking weirdly ethereal bathed in the fake version of their natural color.  Johana's red lipstick was negated.  And when we turned around and looked at the post-sunset sky, it was vibrantly purple, the shadows in the trees were pink, and all the street lamps burned red.   But as time fades, that altered perception fades and everything becomes normal again.

Danielle's show, on the other hand, was set up on a hill and had more clearly defined boundaries.  VERY clearly defined boundaries, in some respects.  She projected a video on the side of the only building in this park, which could or could not be a choice determined by habit.  It seemed quite less than intentional, which was irksome.  There were so many other things that could have been done in a park that size, as far as presenting video.  The video itself was a montage of manipulated footage of the park and the building itself, spliced in with digitally animated sequences featuring crudely rendered avatars floating in the cosmos,  working in a DNA-shaped tower of offices, and manipulating photos of real humans.  This was followed by interviews of two men discussing all the places they'd lived and why they moved to Atlanta.  

So avatars, or our digital selves, are having spiritual/cosmic experiences, are connected to the inner machinations of the universe, while the real humans are yanked all over the map due to relatively artificial reasons? Our movements, actions, and perceptions of place are controlled by the connectivity (and resulting transcendence) of the digital experience? The connectivity is mirrored in the inclusion of all elements of the whole.  And perceptions of place and reality (both such annoying terms, my apologies) are so layered and complex anyway, that there is tension in reducing them to technological feats.  However, the hyperlink mentality of digitization parallels the ease with which many people (of a certain income bracket..) relocate and perceive place.  And incidentally, while on the topic, what's with the interviews, and interviewing only well-educated, financially secure, relatively mainstream guys? I'm pretty sure that doesn't really reflect the neighborhood and everyday park users.  Sure, these are the only guys who can afford to live like that, but what's wrong with exploring perceptions of place and the interconnectivity and universality of other styles of living?

Ok, time to go.  I'm falling asleep.

We Are Starting a Wonderful Thing!

This is the official beginning of Artistress, a  long-distance art criticism dialogue between friends in Atlanta and Chicago.  But right now it's between Atlanta and Pilchuck Glass School.

We will share with each other the art that we experience in each location, generating a network of awareness about the art happening beyond our respective areas.   (It's also a tool to maintain art friendships over long distances).  This blog will feature our own criticism, links to sites of interest, and good conversation.  

The name Artistress refers to the common suffix "ess" to indicate the female gender of one who does something.  Our group, while co-ed, has a common interest in investigating identity through gender and other social constructions.  We playfully acknowledge both the depth and restrictiveness of identity-based criticism, as well as an environment that makes it necessary to continue looking at art in that way.