Category Archives: Sights

Sights

see: simone leigh @ the kitchen

Affective installation of theatrically-lit ceramic and glass chandeliers (one, bomb-like breasts; another, womb-like cowry shells), sculptures, and two videos. One of the two figurative works is composed from vessels and suggests forced labor; the show is beautifully crafted and wholly discomfiting.

Simone Leigh. "You Don't Know Where Her Mouth Has Been," 2012. Stoneware, porcelain, and wire, dimensions variable. Courtesy the artist, Tilton Gallery, and The Kitchen. Photo: Jenny Blumenfield.

Simone Leigh. "You Don't Know Where Her Mouth Has Been," 2012. Stoneware, porcelain, and wire, dimensions variable. Courtesy the artist, Tilton Gallery, and The Kitchen. Photo: Jenny Blumenfield. Source: blog.art21.org

January 18–March 11, 2012
Simone Leigh: You Don’t Know Where Her Mouth Has Been
Curated by Rashida Bumbray
The Kitchen
512 West 19th Street, New York, NY 10011
Exhibition Hours: Tues–Fri, 12-6pm; Sat 11–6pm FREE

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Research, Sights

Feelgood art and Jeremy Deller retrospective

Wow! Isn’t this grand? Vanessa Thorpe’s article, “Feelgood art: the pick-me-up to get us through an age of anxiety,” appeared on Guardian.co.uk yesterday.

She cites artists encouraging positive emotions: Michael Landy’s kindness-on-the-Underground project, Tracey Emin’s “trust me” neon, the title of Jeremy Deller’s upcoming retrospective at the Hayward.*

But wait, I think all of these artists aren’t so one-dimensional that their work could be considered “feelgood.”

I’m thrilled to bits to hear about artists considering psychology from non-negative attitudes, as well as the influence of positive psychology expanding into the arts and humanities, but Thorpe’s article is not that. I think Thorpe set up an annoying happy face in the headline and lede only to slap it down in the article. It’s simple-minded to call artwork concerning positive affect “feelgood” and “pick-me-up.” It’s a misinterpretation of Deller, whose work has been consistently class-aware and courageous. Thorpe acknowledges as much, after rankling readers into mild outrage in their aversion to unabashed sentiment. Desparate, newsworthi-fying journalese.

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*Actually, this is grand:

February 22 – May 13, 2012
Jeremy Deller: Joy in People
Hayward Gallery, London

Deller’s a brilliant artist, I love his work and thoughtful approach to developing projects and working with people. Plus, the Hayward is an amazing space. I really wish I could pop over to the Southbank Centre this spring for this!

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Sights

see: Laura Buckley’s Fata Morgana at Cell Project Space, London.

Via Re-title

Laura Buckley, Fata Morgana, 2012, mixed media, (l.480 x h.290 x w.242 cm)

Laura Buckley, Fata Morgana, 2012, mixed media, (l.480 x h.290 x w.242 cm)

Laura Buckley
Fata Morgana
20th January – 26th February, 2012
CELL PROJECT SPACE
258 Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 9DA

For Fata Morgana, Buckley has initiated an ambitious single screen installation commissioned specifically for the CYcLORAMA series and produced with the assistance of Cell, The Arts Council and The Irish Arts Council.

The title Fata Morgana refers to a highly complex superior mirage where inverted and erect images are stacked one on top of another causing an object on the horizon to be distorted beyond recognition. The name also refers to Morgan le Fay, mythical figure from the Arthurian legends at once a villain, seductress, witch, healer or goddess, her unquestionable power is dictated by her ability to shape-shift throughout the myths and legends in which she appears.

Where previously mechanical movement of objects has made up an important part of her installations, in Fata Morgana both the film and the sculpture are static. This allows the fast paced edit of the film and surface of the sculpture to interact with the body and perception of the entering viewer, including and absorbing them into the kaleidoscopic installation.

Read more at Re-title.

Visit the outdated, but interesting, artist’s site.

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Sights

see: hanna Sandin

Via Sculpture Center’s new Tumbler:

Hanna Sandin, No-good cell phone supply the coop, blocked broad well, 2010, steel, nylon coated steel cable, barrel swivels, chimney brush, squirrel barrier, birdfeeder grill, crab trap, rubber gasket, bird deterrent, steel shelving, 6’ x 12’ x 13’, installation view. Source: Sculpture Center's Tumblr.

Hanna Sandin, No-good cell phone supply the coop, blocked broad well, 2010, steel, nylon coated steel cable, barrel swivels, chimney brush, squirrel barrier, birdfeeder grill, crab trap, rubber gasket, bird deterrent, steel shelving, 6’ x 12’ x 13’, installation view. Source: Sculpture Center's Tumblr.

Hanna Sandin’s sculptures: So simple, so witty. Mobiles of mundane objects take on (typo)graphic elegance in photographed form.

More works at Sandin’s website. There’s one with a Moebius strip! And one that references plants!

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Sights

XYZ: perceptions and spaces

December 7-22, 2011
XYZ:NYC 10 Downing
Leslie Eastman and Natasha Johns-Messenger
presented by No Longer Empty
10 Downing Street, West Village, NYC

A collaborative team since 2004, their work has historically focused on exploring real and perceived space through interventions in interior architecture. For XYZ: NYC 10 Downing, the pair will seek to challenge the perception of visitors through a three-part series of optical site installations designed to force visitors to experience and interpret alternate points of view.

This is a pretty great exhibition, complete with a camera obscura, perceptual mirrors-and-lights spaces, virtual reality goggles, and a Naumann-esque hallway. I heard about the exhibition via a program, wherein an NYU psychologist, the former NY Times Ethicist Randy Cohen, and the two artists shared lots of thoughts about optical and psychological perception, the ethical responsibilities of artists, and biases. It was a great talk. Eastman, in particular, had some prime nuggets:

[The exhibition] doesn’t have footnotes, but it does have references.

and

[On expanding perception through drawing:] It’s like learning to hear the bass and not just the treble.

Looking forward to more programs from No Longer Empty.

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Sights

support artists! two coasts, two ways

Check out Christian L. Frock’s “Occupy the Holidays: Think Globally, Shop Locally and Support Artists” on KQED Arts.

And, if you’re in NYC and want to support an innovative artists’ residency program, come out to:

Flux’s Not-So-Silent Auction & Gala
Tuesday, December 20th, 7 – 10 pm
Center 548: 548 West 22nd Street, NYC

Help support Flux Factory’s work as a grassroots artist-centered organization by attending our Not-So-Silent Auction & Gala this year.

Your tax-deductible ticket purchase entitles you to entry to the event and the chance to place live bids on artworks by Lori Field, Manfred Mohr, Mark Dion, Pablo Helguera, Mary Mattingly, Holly Coulis, Marius Watz, and over 100 other artists – making for excellent holiday presents this time of year.

During the event we will present our guests of honor, Paddy Johnson and Nato Thompson, with Flux Factory’s Scrappy Awards. There will also be light fare, an open bar, music, and live customizable artworks by our “knock-off” artists, Angela Washko, Daupo, Douglas Paulson, Emily Bunker, Eric Doeringer, Jon Burgerman, and Youjung Byun.

Tickets and online bids here.

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Sights

See: James Yamada’s installation at Parasol Unit, London

James Yamada, "The summer shelter retreats darkly among the trees," 2011. Parasol unit installation view. Photo: Stephen White. Source: Parasol Unit.

James Yamada, The summer shelter retreats darkly among the trees, 2011. Parasol unit installation view. Photo: Stephen White. Source: Parasol Unit.

According to Parasol Unit’s website, this is perhaps my dream programme:

On 22 November 2011, Parasol unit will unveil the first artwork in its Parasolstice – Winter Light series of outdoor projects to be realised by various international artists, each of whom creates sculptural works that address the phenomenon of light.

This past outdoor light sculpture by Yamada floats my boat too:

James Yamada, Our Starry Night, 2008. Photo by Seong Kwon, courtesy of the Public Art Fund.

James Yamada, Our Starry Night, 2008. Photo by Seong Kwon, courtesy of the Public Art Fund.

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