WlcmBck Show

One thing I first wanted to mention was the play of words used in the title of the show. The elimination of the vowels, I thought, was very interesting because it was out of the ordinary but yet still understandable. It's interesting to see how the brain is still able to maintain continuity when understanding language even if parts of it are missing. 

When looking in the gallery, there was a room which paid homage to a Mason Gross alum named Lyda Craig. Of all the rooms this one was my favorite. The room carried a unified style. I felt like I was able to get a sense of who she was as an artist and was able to understand her. She had numerous self portraits which gives the idea that she has a strong psychological sense of self. She is very aware of her personality and who she is as an individual. They also appear to be very dream-like based on the bold colors she uses as well as the loosely painted lines. She appears as a modified version of herself and in some pieces is slightly fantastical. 

One of her many pieces is one labeled Untitled (figures in interior space), 1999, mixed media. There are a few other pieces with the same style as this that are also scattered among Criag's other pieces. This piece, like the others that are similar have a limiting color palette that is confined to neutral colors. This choice of color adds a very simplistic style to the work itself. She uses black, white and a lighter brown which are used to render figures and also create a sense of space. In the left-hand side of the piece, There are two figures that have their bodies turned and appear to be looking out into the distance towards the center of the canvas. The coloring between the two suggests that there is a great difference between the two, possibly something like the idea of "good and evil." The articulation of the white figure also suggests that the figure may be female. Although it is hard to tell, it seems as if this figure has long hair while the other appears to have a hair style that is dramatically shorter, suggestive of a male. These figures are also rendered much differently than the others. The two are given subtle shadowing to suggest that they are three dimensional forms while the others appear to be ghost-like silhouettes. There is also a shadow placed under the two that further suggests their three-dimensionality. Even though there is no horizon line, the shadow suggests that there is a solid form that the figures are standing on. Like the figures. the space that is created also offers a sense of polar opposites. The fully articulated figures are presented against a white background whereas the silhouettes are set against a black one. In the black portion of the piece, there are four figures, possibly a fifth that appear in different positions. There is one, the brown, that appears in motion. This one is particularly interesting because it is a cut out that has come from a rectangle that appears to the right. There is also another figure that is lying on the ground that may suggest agony or death. These figures do not appear to be aware of one another because there is no interaction or sense of acknowledgment. The figure on the floor is left unattended and isolated from the others. Even though there are a few figures grouped together, they create a sense of disconnect. 

The piece itself appears to have a psychological connotation. It appears that maybe the darker portion of the piece is meant to represent the inner psyche of the individual, Lyda Craig, and show the conflict between her various consciences or personalities. This series of this type of work also works with her others to convey a sense of psychological self that permeates throughout her work. I feel like this work appears more secluded from the other works because this collection has the same type of style but does not disconnect it from the rest of the show. In other locations of the gallery, it is apparent that the works were submitted by multiple artists rather than just one. I don't think there is anything wrong with the way this room was set up because it is meant to pay tribute to Lyda Craig as an artist. It is not entirely segregated from the rest of the gallery because like the others, it is multi-faceted in the sense that she employs mixed media and uses a variety of colors and mediums throughout her various works. 

In the main room of the gallery, there is a large piece that hangs on the far wall. It is a rectangular piece that is hung differently from the others. It is set higher and therefore grabs the viewer's attention. The piece is by Raphael Montanez Ortiz. It is titled The Dark Side of Liberty and is a computer generated painting. The piece depicts the Statue of Liberty as its focal point and center of attention. The Statue commands the attention of the viewer and also places emphasis on the value of liberty. The Statue is set against a dark background which is meant to give off a negative connotation. At the foot of the Statue there are protestors in possession of banners that are against immigration laws. There is also a body of water in the foreground in which there is a number of Mexican men clinging to a floating object. Here he is making a harsh gesture towards the idea of illegal immigrants coming into the country. For the most part, the message is very straight forward. Based on this message, I think that Ortiz is trying to show that in his mind, liberty was once a cherished thing that meant opportunity for people and a light of hope in life but since feels that people (immigrants) are taking advantage of that. In his opinion it is very wrong and tarnishes the image of liberty. The scene is accompanied by a reasonably sized group of text that further exclaims the damage that immigrant invasion has done to the country and especially to liberty. This idea is firmly backed up by a set of tornadoes that are placed in the background. These elude to the idea that the invasion of illegal immigrants has caused devastation and havoc to the United States just like a tornado does by nature. 

It is a very alarming piece that I felt set itself apart from other pieces in the gallery. Because of its bold gestures, my focus kept being directed towards this piece. I felt it was very extreme but yet I give Ortiz credit for taking a touchy subject and offering it to viewers in a very provocative and confrontational manner. Since it is very confrontational, I feel like it segregates itself from the rest of the pieces because it makes the viewer uncomfortable. Although I feel like this may have also been one of the goals of the piece, I feel like it also imposes itself negatively upon the other pieces. I could see this gallery show without this work. Even though this show was not meant to carry a specific theme, I felt that the rest of the works were visually more light-hearted. I applaud the curators for working with the piece because I felt that they worked with it as much as they could. The other pieces that surround it in the room seem to reference other cultural issues that deal with the environment and the media as well. That being said, it introduces us to the next piece entitled Syn by Patrick Strzelec. 

Syn is made from cast aluminum, limestone and stainless steel. It is a sculpture that appears mostly abstract. It sits in the center of the main gallery room atop a cubed pedestal. The placement of the sculpture on the pedestal makes it more available to the viewer. It is not small so a viewer would not easily walk past it. This also creates more interaction between the viewer and the artwork because it is placed around midpoint level with the torso. The shapes it creates references the shape of a nail that appears to have been melting. The forms are fused to one another at many different locations to create an aerodynamic setup with the ability to stand still on a pedestal. 

The most interesting part of the piece is the color that is used. The green transforms a visually stunning piece into something that is extremely eye-catching. The green seems to me that it references the environment. The term "going green" has become a popular idea in culture today. A vibrant green, like this, is used to represent our Earth as well as deliver the idea of creating a more healthy planet. The interesting part of this color being paired with these forms is that they are two totally different things. The forms look like nails which are man-made and derived from materials that are also man-made. The green may represent the organic aspect of the world such as the foliage, plants and overall environment. The materials that are used to make the piece are also an interesting combination because it consists of stainless steel and cast aluminum which are man-made but also utilizes limestone as well, a material found in nature. These combinations of materials are interesting and appear to be planned. The overall message meant to be taken back from the piece is that nature and man coincide with one another and will continue to do so. Regardless of the many acts of "going green" in today's society, nature will always be confronted with industrial, man-made forms.  

Syn works well with the other pieces that are shown in the main room because it utilizes color like most of the other works do. That, in a sense ties them together. The message is also another factor that ties together the work. Like The Dark Side of Liberty, the piece seems to connote a sense of cultural awareness and an investment in cultural issues. The location of Syn works well with the rest of the show because it is exhibited in the center of the room and given enough space in order for the viewers to fully walk around the piece. It would not have worked well placed in another room because the rooms would have been too tightly packed and the sculpture would not have been able to be experienced to its full potential. It also works with the other pieces because it is very contemporary and also abstract. 

The final piece in the show that I will be talking about is a piece entitled Reynolds Girls by Kate Pollard. This piece is a smaller photograph that depicts an older woman who is flanked by two apparently younger women, possibly family. The two on either side appear to be comforting the older woman. Their heads are bowed with their arms around her. They appear to act as a stabilizer for the older woman. The older woman's body language suggest that she is in a fragile state. She seems to be leaning on the brunette for support. Another support of her being frail is the white band that appears on her wrist. It looks to be a hospital bracelet which notes that she is not only emotionally frail but may also be physically fragile as well. The setting appears to be mundane. It is as if the women were sitting in a kitchen but were suddenly overcome with emotion. It is possible that something dramatic has happened to the older woman or someone that she knows. The act of writing on the calendar and the cook books sitting on the right of the frame further suggest the mundane attitude of the scene.  

The piece itself is very intimate. It seems as if it is a moment that we as viewers are not allowed to see unless we were someone close to older woman. It is  different from the other pieces in the gallery because they are more abstract in form and idea. This piece on the other hand, acts as a captured moment or representation of time which makes it different and easily separate from the others. It works with the others in the sense that this is a show in which there is not a theme  and is meant to show the collaboration of different types of artists (sculptors, painters, photographers, printmakers, etc.). Generally speaking, I feel that this piece would be more fitting in a different show.