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?
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)
