Critique March 4, 2011

I feel as if I am coming upon the final stages of my Thesis project.

For critique I presented a preview of the book I want to have printed to go with my installation.

My critique group agreed upon how I had it set up and the general order, however it was suggested that I try a white background and that I try making the photos full bleed.

Since Friday I have changed a few things about my book. Here I have two versions...a white background and a maroon/dark reddish color. I realize that on a screen the maroon looks nice, however in book form I realize that white is the standard color and may look better. My problem is that I don't like how the warmth of the majority of my photographs (the reoccuring wood particularly) contrasts against the white. Even in first version of the book I had a warm color, which I feel enhances the warmth. Also, I don't really like how the letters that I have collected contrast with the white, but that could easily be fixed by placing a slight boarder around the notes. I wasn't a fan of the full bleed image, but I settled on making it bigger, which I really like.

Also, suggested was that I don't install it with the wood panelling, which I am agreeing with after hearing several times because it is going to get repetitive as well as be a bit too much. My idea to use the end table from my house was well received and some suggestions were to add a chair as a way of inviting people to sit down and read the book.

Another part of my installation was to have 4 photos hanging on the wall to go with the book, but after some discussion I am going to play with the idea of the book existing on its own without the photographs. However, some of the photographs that I found were very strong are not included in the book, so I was considering having those as opposed to making reproductions of images already in the book.

Critique was actually really helpful. I was beginning to stress out a lot over my project, but I feel that it has clarified where I stand with my project and it seems to just be a matter of making final decisions and tying up loose ends.

Critique Feburary 4, 2011

More or less I feel that critique was a wake up call to the fact that I should not feel so comfortable with the status of my thesis project because there is still work to be done.

For critique, I showed all the photographs that I have selected and edited for my thesis. It was the first time I had seen all of them together and in a lot of it is a matter of narrowing down what use. I presented my idea of displaying my work as an installation of 4 photographs hung on wood the same wood paneling that is familar to many of my pictures and one very good point was brought up: the idea that creating an installation would take away from the meaning, intimacy, and focus of the photographs making it more about the space as opposed to my father because the space that I am recreating already exists in the photographs, which I never really thought of before. Some considerations that were recommended were possibly printing on different objects that might be meaningful to my relationship with my dad and including old photographs of him, but generally that I need to rethink things.

With those photographs I also showed some experimenting with photographing objects that my dad owns or collects, which might be useful with text, however, I shot them on backdrops as opposed to in their actual spaces. I'm scrapping this idea more or less. I'm annoyed at myself for having wasted time setting things up, but now I am going to focus 1) On more meaningful objects and 2) on photographing objects in their own spaces. When I look at it now I don't quite understand why I did it, I suppose when considering making a book I was planning on captioning, so I was hoping I could possibly write about the meaning of this object to my father. However, I showed my dad the pictures and he couldn't really remember where he got any of these objects except the ship clocks... Another suggestion for the book portion of my project was the idea of it being hand made--when I think of it existing as a book I cannot help to refer to Phillip Toledano, who's book Days with my Father is very clean cut and "commercial." I like the idea of making it by hand as opposed to sending it away and having it printed professionally. It would contribute to its meaning, exemplify the relationship I am trying to capture more, and add to the idea of memories and remembrance.

Basically I have some organizing and deeper thinking to do.

WLCM BCK Review

In the main room of the gallery was the start of the WLCM BCK show, which consisted of artwork by 2nd year graduate students and full or part-time faculty members. It is important to note that there was no common theme for the show, so the organization of works was based on what pieces worked together, which seems extremely challenging. The only guidelines that were given were to submit a small to medium sized work, which in itself allowed for a variety of interpretations based on the scale in which each artist normally works in. A painting may seem enormous in comparison to many works, but that might be the smallest painting that the artist owns. While touring the gallery, one of the students who helped curate the show, Caetlynn Booth, mentioned how they tried to work with formal elements to help curate the show, and how accents of red seemed to be a unifying element for many

of the artworks. The hanging height for each work was 60 inches, however there is one piece in the first room that serves as quite problematic, as well as out of place in the show. THE DARK SIDE OF LIBERTY by Raphael Montanez Ortiz which is 98” x 48” does not meet the standard hanging height used in the entire show and sticks out like a sore thumb.

I feel it ruins the aesthetics of the room, as well as the cohesiveness that the curators were trying to establish despite the challenge of having no coherent theme, but also, it is difficult to read and has a glare obstructing its view from many angles. It is a bold political statement about the issue of immigration and illegal invasion, which is not only reinforced by its size, but the way that it interrupts the entire space. However, that may not necessarily be a bad thing because it makes it stand out, but then again it can also allow for its neighboring pieces to be overlooked. Perhaps this is exactly what the artist intended--to spark discussion about his piece. Otherwise, in the first room, I feel that the pieces work fairly well together as a group, but are stronger if you view them in terms of each wall. For example the first wall on the left when you enter the gallery contains 4 paintings. One that stood out was ...on the grass, by Eileen Behnke.

The similarity on that wall is that each painting possesses some type of abstraction of space. The two outside paintings are the most abstract because they consist of a series of lines, while the inside two are abstracting life like Behnke’s abstracted composition of people lying on grass. I love the bold colors and the bright highlights in the flesh tones, as well as the perspective, which messes with your mind slightly. It appears normal when analyzing each figure individually, but when I assess the painting as a whole I find myself somewhat confused as to where I am viewing this from. It addresses the edges extremely well, allowing your eyes to move through the painting and I am very interested by the framing.

In the first room to the right from walking into the gallery, I was very attracted to the series of 4 photographs by Tyson Washburn titled Centennial Towers, Four Floors.

The space appears abandoned and eerie, especially with the dim lighting, the dark shadows, and the nighttime, which seeps in through the ‘windows’ in the background of the very industrial looking spaces. There are remnants of people’s presence there that make you wonder where the place is and what is going on there. It is a space I would love to explore myself. The four photographs work together in their divisions of space and the edges almost line up creating a cohesive view and in each photograph the darker spaces are surrounded by a sea of brightness--the lighter portions connect floors and ceilings to the photo next to it and you get the idea that there are different floors. Adjacent to this piece is a series of 2 portraits of a painted face. They are exactly the same picture, except for the addition of a neon green accent on the woman’s face--it is essentially a cropped faced surrounded, or enveloped by darkness. The stark contrast of color and darkness in these photographs makes the two pieces work well close to each other because although different in subject, they share the formal element of darkness enveloping the scene and high contrasts.

In the adjacent room there is a delicate, dream-like quality that pervades the works. There is an illustrated book of poems by Richard Tuttle and John Yau titled The Missing Portrait.

The book seems fragile and as you turn the pages, the play between the way that the text is printed and the simple illustrations of shapes, string, and cut out paper, works extremely well together. In the picture I chose, I love way that the text fades near the end of the sentence “...between light window closed,” and I feel it is a very good use of typology in helping to convey meaning through words. Also, the illustration calls to mind the Dadaist use of chance to form collages--it seems random and abstract in its use of shapes. To add to the dream-like state, the book even rests on a pillow--it is as if the thoughts are resting upon the pedestal it is displayed on. Next to this piece is a photograph that really emphasizes a nostalgic and dream-like quality called Double Vision #2 by Annie Hogan.

It is a layered image of the empty interior of a house with beautiful light cascading through its windows in a delicate matter that adds a stillness to the room, with the image of a small house, or shed that appears to be in the woods. Despite the action of splicing two different images together, you are able to distinguish the two pictures and I find that the images do not clash, or distract each other. The house, or shed that appears off center is extremely bright and appears to almost project from the windows in the room. It calls to mind the idea of memories and the home and feels as lucid as the imagery of dreams. Putting these two very different pieces together in the gallery space works extremely well together due to their relation to the state or act of dreaming and nostalgic qualities.

Overall, the show was put together very well despite the variety of works that were submitted and the limitations of not having a common theme.

In addition to the WLCM BCK show at the Mason Gross galleries, there were two separate shows divided amongst other rooms. In one, a tribute to the Mason Gross alumnus Lyda Craig. Consisted of a series of paintings, drawings, collages, and a few figures out of clay, which all seemed to pertain to the human form whether it be through the use of self portraiture, or simply studying the human body. The pieces vary in scale from bigger paintings and drawings to small works where you must get very close to fully experience the work--it creates a very intimate setting, like in Oregon, which is mixed media on panel.

It is a great example of Craig’s use of the human figure and her depiction of it using a combination of drawing and cut outs. There is a lot going on in the piece compositionally, with the overlapping of torsos and human figures creating space with such flat figures. I also enjoyed the pairings that were made, such as The Thinker, which appeared as a painting of a nude male from side profile sitting on a chair in a pensive position. It appears again as a miniature clay model and as a small scale cut out using paper. Having such variety not only made the piece more interesting, but it allowed for emphasis on the pondering figure, as well as different ways of looking at it. The painting emphasized lighting and color, which created tensions, while the clay figure lacked a similar detail, and the cut out became merely a silhouette of the man.

In the other room there was work by Jim Toia called Dissolving Gardens, which was being shown at Mason Gross in association with the Zimmerli Museum. On two opposite walls there were projections. One consisted of a frame built into the wall that displayed two overlapping videos of waves breaking on the shoreline and a mountain. The other consisted of an array of leaves and other pieces of outdoor objects on the wall with a video of leaves falling, which you must watch for a few minutes in order to actually catch because the action isn’t very consistent--it is like actually watching leaves fall off a tree. The entire room possesses an aura of tranquility, especially due to the sound of the ocean pervading the room, as well as the meditative quality of witnessing nature. It is an attempt to recreate a wholesome and peaceful experience that we can find in nature, through the manipulation of our senses of sight and sound.

Water Exhibition Review

Water is a theme that can be interpreted in many ways. For centuries it has been worshiped for its life giving qualities, its beauty, and its serenity, as well as feared for its destructive qualities. From an artistic standpoint, there are many ways to approach the topic of water and at the entrance to Water, the wall text states the intention of the exhibition: “To provoke a reassessment of your relationship to water and a greater appreciation for its life giving presence on our blue planet.” There is a great display of water in many forms through an interesting combination of work that is owned by the Zimmerli along with some borrowed works. It shows art that normally would not be seen together and is a great use of such a diverse collection. The time and differences that span across the creation of each artwork emphasizes the important role that water has played throughout the ages for artists from all walks of life. Everything in the exhibition seems to ‘flow’ one into the other. Each idea spills into the next due to the positioning of the artwork at a close distance and helps the viewer to draw connections between each piece. For example in one room the basic theme was water in the landscape. Displayed between a painting by John Constable called Brighton Beach and John Jesse Barker’s View of New Brunswick Railroad Bridge was Edward Foley’s piece entitled Two Lakes (diptych). Foley’s screen print on wood challenges the classical depiction of the landscape, while Constable and Barker’s paintings fit the more traditional description of a landscape--a vast sky, wilderness, and some form of water. Through these pairings, the missing pieces in Foley’s landscape can be identified. It is interesting to consider how the meaning of each work may have changed from what the artist originally intended, but the arrangements allow for a new meaning and almost revitalization of familiar works to the museum through the simple gesture of changing the context which they are viewed in. To add to the diversity of the subject throughout the exhibition you can participate in a cell phone tour that has interviews from experts other than Art Historians, such as a geologist giving opinions and insights outside of an artistic perspective. It helps to contribute to the diversity of the exhibition and paired with the artworks ultimately allows the viewer to reassess their relationship to water.

The works I selected from Water are some of the more contemporary pieces in the show. While the entire show encompasses a variety of interpretations and inspirations by different artists, there were a few pieces that caught my attention. Water is a prominent theme throughout the history of art and has been a subject for artists and people alike to dwell upon and create from. What I wanted to focus more on the non-traditional interpretations of water. Each of these artists takes more of an indirect approach to the theme and offers a view of water in a different light.

In Hans Haacke’s Condensation Cube he brings the actual process of creating water into the gallery. It it simple, clean, and elegant and is by no means what one would think of immediately when considering the topic of water. The way the light catches the drops of water creates a beautiful prismatic affect that helps to draw your attention to it, until you realize exactly what it happening in the piece. It is a combination of science and art in a process that is taught to us in school at a young age.

In Edward Foley’s piece entitled Two Lakes (diptych), we are shown a screen print on wood that deals with the subject of water in the landscape. While he strays away from the identifying color of blue for water in his work, you are able to identify the texture of the water’s surface and the reflective quality of water in each ‘lake.’ It is in fact a landscape, but it is missing information that would make it easily identifiable to us--a horizon line, trees, people, etc.

In Maya Lin’s work entitled Pin River - Hudson, is another piece that deals with the subject of water in the landscape. It is made out of steel pins nailed into the wall in a specific way to imitate the shape of the Hudson River on a map. It is delicate and intricate unlike the actual river, but possesses a similar beauty which has served as inspiration for artists for hundreds of years. The shadows cast by the pins creates a movement through the piece that gives the sense of flowing water. Not only does this piece pay tribute the artistic qualities of water, but its importance in history in the development of this country. Also, it offers a very unique view of water in the landscape.

In George A. Tice’s Water Tower, Rahway, New Jersey, we are offered a look into history. Most water towers were built during the Industrial Revolution and many are now architectural landmarks and monuments. The photograph reminds me of the New Topographics work done by Bernd and Hilla Becher in which they documented industrial architecture. Tice adapts a similar straightforward and frontal style, allowing the tower to occupy the entire frame. Like Bernd and Hilla Becher he is documenting something from a different time. Also, he is depicting one of the many sources of water throughout history in line with systems such as aqueducts, channels, pipes, and sewers. It is a portion of a long list of advancements in water technology.

In Atul Bhalla’s series of 20 individually framed photographs called Piaus, the artist depicts different forms of receiving water in an urban environment. In the photographs we are shown rusted pipes, drinking fountains, and sinks amongst different types of graffiti and other garbage. It can serve as a reflection on the quality of water in different parts of the world and the challenges that many people endure just to have safe drinking water. The pictures are portrait-like and how they are displayed extremely close to one another is effective. It allows each photograph to play off each other by way of composition, color scheme, patterns, and lines, as well as enhances their overall meaning.

These selections offer “vivid portrayals of water interlaced with human purpose that remind us of the central role of water in human endeavor.”