Art Curation Exhibition

My exhibit is based on the concept of the afterlife throughout human history as it's depicted with visual art. Finding relevant pictures for different human interpretations proved to be a challenge in some cases, because so much of what I could find was based on the Christian concepts of heaven and hell. I ended up with about a 50:50 split, non-Christian to Christian which was enough for me to feel pretty strongly about the exhibit. I chose a dark (but not too dark) powerpoint theme to try to help keep the mood. I was having a hard time with ArtStor, but the Encyclopedia Britannica image search turned out to be a godsend, as long as I could figure out the right search terms. I ended up using that for most of the pictures. A few of the pictures really need to be seen at a larger higher resolution to really be appreciated due to their immense size, such as Michelangelo's Last Judgment from the Sistine Chapel and Bosch's gigantic triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights. I included a couple close-ups from the latter to really show his surrealistic version of hell.

It was a really fun assignment and I really enjoyed doing it. I also learned a lot about history and art while I was doing it which is always a plus.

Art Visit 2

Step 1: The Exhibition

Questions about the exhibit:

1. What is the title of the exhibit?

Kota Ezawa: REDRAWN

2. What is the theme of the exhibition?

According to the website: “This exhibition features a selection of works from a series Ezawa created that focuses on physical space versus illusionary space, and how reality and fiction merge to form intricate relationships in films, television, and photographs,” which I think speaks to how the exhibit was setup. 

Step 2: The Gallery

Questions about the physical space:

1. What type of lighting is used?

Very minimal lighting, most of the lighting came from the light box being used to display Nan and Brian in Bed and from the two videos showing, one being projected on a large screen and one being played on a large TV.

2. What colors are used on the walls?

The walls are painted very dark, black and dark grey.

3. What materials are used in the interior artchitecture of the space?

Small room, dark carpeting, one dark bench in the back of the room, ceiling was a mess though.

4. How is the movement of the viewer through the gallery space?

It’s a very small rectangular room, I was the only one there and I went around it counter-clockwise because that’s what felt right.

 

Step 3: The Artwork

Questions about the artwork:

1. How are the artworks organized?

There were two light boxes with artwork at the front of the room, followed by a grouping of 4 smaller paper cut out pictures, followed by a projected 3-d digital animation, followed by a digital animation being played on a television.

2. How are the artworks similar?

Ezawa uses very broad outlines of shapes in his videos and in his duratrans, as well as using very easy to identify images.

3. How are the artworks different?

Some of the works were paper cutouts, 2 were digital animation (1 in 3-d), and 2 were durantrans on top of light boxes.

4. How are the artworks framed?

The paper cutouts were in simple frames, and the other pieces weren’t framed at all.

5. How are the artworks identified and labeled?

Black placards with white font.

6. What is the proximity of the artwork to each other?

 The paper cutouts were massed together in different size frames and everything else was very spread out on different walls.

4. Answer this question: What did you think of visiting the Gallery and purposefully looking at the exhibition from a different perspective - the physical space, the architecture, theme, etc.?

It was enjoyable to look at the gallery as a physical space that had its own importance aside from being a place to show the art. I went to Albright Knox right when they opened, so it was very quiet and peaceful. The exhibit itself was in a small dark room all by itself, which was nice because most of his work provided its own illumination.

Art Criticism: Describing, Analyzing, and Interpreting Artwork

Artist: Kota Ezawa

Title of work: Nan and Brian in Bed (1983)

Media: Duratrans transparency and lightbox

Date: 2013

Size: 20 x 30 inches

Source of picture (URL: http://www.hainesgallery.com/artists/Ezawa_Kota/Ezawa_01.html

1.   Be receptive - Keep an open mind.  Look for what is good.  No put-downs allowed

2.   Description – Describe what you see.  (subject matter)?

A woman lying in bed, looking at a man who is smoking while sitting on the edge of the bed and looking outside of the picture. You can’t see it in the image from the internet as well as you can in person, but the picture hanging over the bed seems to show the same man smoking. It’s an interpretation of the photo by Nan Goldin called Nan and Brian in Bed, NYC, 1983.

3.   Formal analysis – (form)  What principles and elements were used and how are they used?

Colors – very warm colors, mostly orange, yellow and red

Lines – The lines of the headboard is the main horizontal plane, and the doorway is the main vertical

Value – The blanket wrapping the lady lying on the bed is the darkest part of piece

Movement – our eyes follow the gaze of the lady to the man smoking

4.  Bracketing - Is there anything in or about this work that reminds you of anything else? Do you see any symbols, metaphors, or allegories?  (iconography)

It seems like a common enough pop culture beat – the man coolly smoking a post-coital cigarette while his latest conquest looks on in either longing or shame. The man seems to be absorbed in his own thoughts.

5.  Interpretation - (content)  What do you think the artist was trying to say?

The man smoking and the disheveled woman on the bed watching him seem to suggest that they just finished sleeping together. She seems to be lonely and he seems to be thinking about anything else. The single ring on her finger could be a wedding ring (and the lack of his), which would change the meaning of the piece entirely – it doesn’t seem like a situation a married couple would be in.

Artist: Kota Ezawa

Title of work: UFO

Media: Paper cutout

Date: 2011

Size: 8 x 10.5 inches

Source of picture: http://www.albrightknox.org/collection/recent-acquisitions/piece:ufo/

1.   Be receptive - Keep an open mind.  Look for what is good.  No put-downs allowed

2.   Description – Describe what you see.  (subject matter)?

A basic UFO that is flying over some trees and power lines

3.   Formal analysis – (form) What principles and elements were used and how are they used?

Forms – a circular object flying in the sky

Space – The space between the object and the trees takes up most of the piece

Contrast – everything is a stark black against a grey background

Shapes – the trees are shown as their basic shapes, with all fine details left out

4.  Bracketing - Is there anything in or about this work that reminds you of anything else? Do you see any symbols, metaphors, or allegories?  (iconography)

This is a famous photograph of a pop culture interpretation of what UFOs would look like in the 1940s – 1980s, which have been replaced in most current ‘photos’ of UFOs.

5.  Interpretation - (content)  What do you think the artist was trying to say?

Ezawa likes to take things from pop culture and distill them down into basic shapes.

Artist: Kota Ezawa

Title of work: City of Nature

Media: Digital Animation

Date: 2011

Runtime: 3 minutes 54 seconds

Source of picture: http://www.albrightknox.org/collection/recent-acquisitions/piece:city-of-nature/

1. Be receptive - Keep an open mind.  Look for what is good.  No put-downs allowed

2. Description – Describe what you see.  (subject matter)?

A digital animation of clips of nature from various movies from the past 40 years, drawn in Ezawa’s distinct style.

3. Formal analysis – (form)  What principles and elements were used and how are they used?

Movement – it was a digital animation, so movement was very evident, especially in the water moving

Colors – Ezawa used a very colorful, natural palette for the piece

Pattern – patterns in nature are ever present, so there were many natural patterns in the piece, such as repeating flowers, leaves, and rocks

4.  Bracketing - Is there anything in or about this work that reminds you of anything else? Do you see any symbols, metaphors, or allegories?  (iconography)

I recognized a few scenes from his piece, most notably a shot from Jaws, and the rest were recognizable enough in their ubiquitousness in the way that films are made and framed. The music played seemed to be reminiscent of a song from the Brokeback Mountain movie.

5.  Interpretation - (content)  What do you think the artist was trying to say?

I think that he was trying to take the small clips normally used for outdoor establishing shots in films, ‘unimportant’ clips showing that the characters are now outside in nature somewhere, and making them the focal point and showing that nature is important.

Short Youtube video showing City of Nature on display outdoors in NYC (not taken by me)