Nov 26 2009
The Language of Art
Asian Society and the museum
The Asian Society and Museum has an excellent exhibit that showcases the work of contemporary Pakistani painters. Most of the paintings in the exhibit reflect the traditions and customs of the native country of these artists. In fact many paintings depict the political unrest faced by Pakistan over the years and the atrocities faced by the people because of the absence of a stable government. The painting No two burns are the same by Ali Raza is a unique depiction of the lawyer’s demonstration in Pakistan in 2007, which was disrupted by sudden bomb attacks. The violent police action as a response to this action, along with the causalities of the bomb attack itself, affected the lives of thousands of people. The menace of this unexpected violence is conveyed in this picture through the aura of dark mosaic and selected symbols. The burnt paper collage that forms the painting symbolizes the terrors faced by people that day and those events resulted in wrecking the lives of many people and families. Through the screaming face that forms the main subject of the painting the spectator can easily feel the pain, suffering and agony of the people in the massacre. One of the other art pieces that reflected a prominent social issue was Rashid Rana’s Red Craft 1. The piece represents the artist’s view of the atrocities innocent animals are subjected to in the slaughterhouses in Pakistan. Rana assembles miniature images of slaughter into an “exotic tapestry of color and pattern”. The artist juxtaposes the presentation of a weakness of the society (cruel treatment of animals) along with the portrayal of a unique and exquisite art form of Pakistan (traditional culture where women and children hand weave beautifully patterned carpets). His painting the serves the dual purpose of, exposing the condition of slaughterhouses, and showing the loss of “hand woven” carpet art in contemporary Pakistan due to western influences.
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Who would have thought that Joseph O’Connor would turn out to be such a nice guy! For a writer whose writing style is very cynical, sardonic and critical, this display of public speaking as well as the fact that he spoke very extemporaneously on his works in general brought forth a new identity to this author. Baruch has always been privileged with noteworthy figures teaching in this university through the Writers-In-Residence Program, however Joseph O’Connor brought forth a new meaning to capturing the essence of one’s own writings into real life. It was hard for me to connect the fact that this hearty writer who is not shy about cracking a joke or two could have such a different writing style in his works. I also loved how he made references that were very relevant to the audience such as his “New York Heroes”. The fact that I just visited Patti Smith’s artwork at the “Looking at Music: Side 2” at the Museum of Modern Art brought forth a fresh recollection of what he conveyed about Patti Smith’s works back in the 1970s. His reading on Patti Smith’s achievements during the 1970s and her part in the revolution of rock music and her accomplishments as a female artist reminded me of how I experienced her works first hand at the Museum of Modern Art and this created a true understanding of the essence of not only Patti Smith’s works but also, what Joseph O’Connor found to be authentic in her works.
Madeline Albright’s “jewelry” exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design is a showy way of flashing off our invaluable trinkets to the world. Her exhibit, entitled “Read My Pins”, is unique in that each of these “trinkets” (so to speak) have a story to convey to each of us. How we interpret these stories is based on our own intuition. Ms. Albright, a former Secretary of State, liked to wear jewelry during her span in office. There are more than 200 pins, many of which she wore to communicate a message or a mood during her diplomatic tenure. The exhibition examines the collection for its historic significance as well as the expressive power of jewelry and its ability to communicate through a style and language of its own. In a sense, these pieces of jewelry are also, pieces of one’s history and they’ve experienced a lot of exposure to the world just as how Ms. Albright had to travel to various nations for her position. A lot of these trinkets are crafted simply, yet they convey a powerful message. For example, the Cecile et Jeanne Peace Dove represents her diplomatic efforts to promote peace around the world. The dove, which symbolizes peace, is a perfect example for that purpose and thus, it leaves both Ms. Albright and the audience a moment to reflect on these conventions.
A journey into the American Folk Art Museum is an arduous journey. The security guards are in lock-down mode to make sure everything is in order-the only problem is, nothing is in order with this museum! The exhibit focuses on the element of the distortion and manipulation of everyday objects. Objects are not what they seem and everything is built based on abstraction to create a sense of “the unknown” to each work of art. The first striking example of this quality of work is, coincidentally, the first artwork that is visible upon entry to the floor of the exhibit. This cobra-like snake gives off the false impression that it was created more to resemble some sort of parasite. The body is coiled into multiple layers and its slim physique is hardly characteristic of the image we are accustomed to seeing when it comes to cobras. Who knows what it could be… this is what abstraction is meant to convey. Maybe the snake was on a diet? Another piece of art that featured abstraction were the pair of “self-portraits”. These portraits have been manipulated and distorted such that the faces were horribly disfigured (as if different portions of the faces were in different dimensions). By creating this effect, I was left with the impression that the artist creates a sense of humans being “imperfect” creations and that we all have our flaws in one way or another.
The new feminist videos at the Brooklyn Museum represents how much women have strived to achieve their goals. The repetitive nature of these videos shows a sense of perseverance that is a fundamental element in helping them achieve their end goals. Feminist artists used these videos as a way to explore issues related to their own gender. The simplistic method they used to capture themselves in front of a camera gives these videos a personal feel to them. The videos presented at the “Reflections on the Electric Mirror: New Feminist Video” exhibition show varied approaches to conveying their personal messages. Their huffing and puffing to put boxes onto shelves shows their desire to finish a task, the nonchalant manner in which the woman who was demolishing her bicycle shows aggression and rebellion. The ladies performing the interviews with the ridiculous looking sponge-like apparatus shows a comical side to females. These thematic elements that are inherent in each of these videos is their opportunity to embrace the media through the repetition of self-imposed tasks; and rebelliousness—by doing so, they are lashing out at society as well as discovering themselves in the process.
