Installation Art

the yellow string was before the re-work

Mark Bradford’s work has an organic quality from a distance.  As you are drawn closer, the piece becomes fragmented and layered.  The layers continue to unfold and seem infinite.  It appears that Mark is using a city grid as a foundation for much of his work and overlaying paint.

Jessica Braiterman:

Walked by the open door of our duPont Gallery and was immediately struck by this piece. Small objects constructed to create large scale.  Attention to detail. Suspended. Really enjoyed this. This exhibition is open until December 4 2009.  I suggest lying on the floor under this piece, the view is very nice – perhaps thats where the name comes from?

Aurora

Listening to Rain

Caryl Burtner:

I like the use of multiples, attention to details – this time in a different way: time, dates, names, places.  I would like to start using multiples and these types of details in my work.

Hair on Fire – Detail

Hair on Fire

Suh creates lare scale installations that are often made from the build up of small objects.  His tornado installation, featured in his Cause and Effect exhibition, is a floor to ceiling work that draws the viewer in through the use of small objects.  His works not only draw the viewer in but make the viewer aware of the space around the installtion.  For example, the floor of the room containting the tornado is effected by the distortion of the oerhead lights as it passes through the installation.  The scale of his pieces also demand the attention of the viewer, as most of his installations are quite large and oversized.  The content of Suh’s work encompasses many things: nature, man, power, scale, perception, direction. Suh pays a great deal of attention to detail resulting in works that a successful in engaging the viewer.

Because this excercise was not supposed to be a biography on the artist’s life and work, I decided not to even look at supplemental information. I only looked at the actual work. I think this way, my response is actually  a HONEST honest initial reaction without background and bias getting in the way. However, I couldn’t help but to see the titles and media. I’m really excited that  she uses old advertisements because that is one of my interests in business. Her use of old advertisements provides a nostalgic element and adds an element of truth, because as we all know false advertising is illegal so automatically I view her pieces as truth. Also, she uses multiples, which is a way of emphazing what the work says, and I think it is used very well. Without the multiples the works wouldn’t be as strong as in the piece Wiglett. Also, I notices she uses female  African Americans to convey her mesage like in the piece Deluxe and in her exhibit, The Pain That Runs Deep in Russelsheim, where she exhibted her work with Kara Walker.  Preserve, Feminine Hygiene,and Free Nurses are  just some of her other works that portray her message concerning feminism and society. I enjoy her work, especially the pieces that address issues such as these.

JENNY HOLZER
A beam of light starts to form letters that start to form words; this is just a simple projection of text. Jenny Holzer uses this idea of projected text and makes it her art. By projecting phrases, or different segments of words, on various buildings, people, and images we start to see her artwork unfold. Her work is very literal, and very heavily weighted on the text within the image. My initial response to the work was how did she project these phrases on all these buildings, that in itself it a feat. After looking at various pieces of her works I soon realized that she not only uses the text from the projection but she also likes to play with the light aspect of the projection. She even strays away from the projection and moves to electronic banners, were she also plays with the literal text and the light aspect more obvious in these pieces. I am surprised by what her art evokes in me and I am okay with it at the same time. I believe that from the works of hers that I have seen that she is a great artist with huge ideas and I applaud that aspect of the artist.

NAELIN

Maurizio Cattelan is an Italian artist born in Padova, Italy, in 1960. He is probably best known for his satirical and controversial sculptures, particularly La Nona Ora (The Ninth Hour), depicting the Pope John Paul II struck down by a meteorite. Cattelan did not attend art school but taught himself. He did many odd jobs, including one at a mortuary, which some credit for his macabre taste. I found this work especially ironic, which I love. Cattelan’s work is typically sarcastic as well as realistic in style.

What drew me to her work initially was the way it looked. When I pulled up the images, they looked like newspaper almost (which I’m interested in currently). The other thing that drew me in was the feminist aspect of it…which I’m also currently interested in. I also liked the fact that from far away they’re kind of minimal, but then you get up close, and they’re really intricate and intense. Her pieces are also really formal, which I love! She uses grids a lot, which I end up using, because of the materials and images I work with. She’s shown all over the place including Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Contemporary Art- North Miami, St. Louis Art Museum and Des Moines Art Center. Here’s some images.

A native to South Korea, Do Ho Suh reflects his life experiences in his work.  His work, Seoul Home/L.A. Home,  stuck with me all weekend.  He constructed a replica of his Korean home in cloth so that he could transport it anywhere he was.  “Like a snail.”   I thought his work was very honest and charming. 

He addresses a lot of Korean culture, which I can’t help but be interested in it too.  I feel like I can relate to him because of his feeling of homesickness.  His other work, like Floor, become part of the architecture and takes up personal space.  In the video we watched in class, Do Ho Suh mentions about how we have a greater sense of personal space in the states, and in Korea, it is such a crowded city, that it is normal to bump into people and not apologize for it.  I remember visiting S Korea last summer (first time in five years), and that was a culture shock I completely forgot about.  It took me a few weeks to get used to again. 

Paratrooper V, amazed me.  At first I was impressed by all the threads that were grabbed by the paratrooper from the wall.  When you look closer, the viewer is immediately surprised by the immense detail.  Each thread, when it meets to the wall, spells out different signatures.