Our Exhibitions

Post-war, Preservation, and Privilege

Zero was a project begun in the aftermath of World War II by artists Otto Piene and and Heinz Mack, later to be joined by several other artists who shared the same mindset and ideals. Their goals throughout this time were to reinvent art as it was at the time. Walking up the spiraling structure of the Guggenheim, each level with its own title and theme, I noticed a lot of similarities in the pieces such as minimalism, bright colors, recycled materials, and clever use of light and motors. It all conveyed the ideals of the original members of Zero which was to begin anew and start from scratch so to speak in the aftermath of WWII. Much of the exhibition paired with the ideals of the artists actually mirror the world at the time; the each country involved in the war was piecing together and rebuilding their structures and even the physical aspects of their land which was left destroyed in the wake of the all encompassing war. The simplistic or minimalistic art was a reminder of the simple beauty in the world and a refreshing break from the complexity of war. Furthermore, by using destructive methods such as burning and slashing and industrial materials which were in some ways reminiscent of war the artists show people that destruction can be transformed and beauty can be created.

Sebastiao Salgado’s exhibition Genesis was another project which had a greater purpose and strong message. Each of Salagado’s photographic endeavors for Genesis were deliberately chosen to portray the natural, pure, and untouched beauty left on Earth as well as the distant cultures which embrace these rare, raw areas of the world. Much of today’s society has become distanced from the natural world, especially living in such an industrialized and modern society such as New York one can sometimes forget about nature’s beauty and what we modern generations are doing to the planet. When looking at the heavily forested jungles and profound depths of the canyons one realizes the extensive amount of time that had to have past for these forms to have been created and it can be horrifying to believe that humans can be such a quickly destructive force to these natural phenomena. Salagado truly draws attention to the fine details in each photograph with the lack of color by allowing viewers to put all of their focus into the content of each image in addition to the lighting and point of view . The name Genesis is a very suiting name in my opinion. Genesis, meaning the beginning of something or the roots, greatly reflects on what Salgado is trying to express and accomplish with this collection. The collection is not only a reminder of the natural beauty from which the earth roots its origins, before humans transformed the planet, but it is also the possible beginning of a movement to preserve and restore the planet.

Young Jean Lee’s “Straight White Men” was a very powerful social commentary and even from the beginning vulgar music which served as a first impression of the play, each deliberate detail she put into helped carry her message. It began comical and casual with the brothers simply catching up and goofing around, but by the end the issue of privilege and what it means to be a straight white man in today’s society truly means. As the men begin to play the game “Privilege” which ends up being the overshadowing topic of the play. Lee tackles topics which can at times make society uncomfortable to debate such as racism, sexism, gender-inequality, sexual orientation, class, and financial status. The final scene with the elder brother alone, conflicted over his decision and urge to earn his way in this world and not abuse his privilege or take it for granted in comparison to what his brothers’ use of their privilege left me with a question; is it worse to take advantage of the privilege which you are born into or ungrateful not to utilize these privileges to your full advantage?

Posted on by elyssasur

Art of The Master Printmaker

For the group’s choice of exhibition, we went to, Memory Prints: The Story of Phillip Chen. This exhibition was in the Museum of Chinese in America, located in 215 Centre Street New York, NY 10013. Continuing the group’s theme of Asian artists, Observing Phillip Chen’s art was certainly the right choice. Its innovative presentation and the unique content of the art remain memorable. This was a solo exhibition by Phillip and it presented fifteen of his etchings, with his family as a center theme. These prints significance was shown based on what the drawing is telling the viewers. From the Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited Chinese laborers from the United States, to the racial violence, Phillip showed it all. Phillip’s emotions and thoughts were palpable and placed the people in his shoes and brought us to his world.

To understand the art, we must understand the artist. Phillip Chen was born in Chicago, Ilinois and Phillip received his bachelor’s from the University of Illinois and master’s in fine arts from School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His print media’s national and international fame was immense. His art has been shown over one hundred and fifty locations and was held by Brooklyn Museum, Carnegie Institute Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, San Francisco Museum of Fine Arts, and Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, located in  Beijing. He has served in many programs an evaluator. These programs include: College Art Association, National Endowment for the Arts, and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Phillip Chen was a Professor of Drawing and Printmaking at Drake University.

Phillip’s deliberate exhibition of family’s story, background, and struggles through his artistic work made his art genuine and realistic. For example, one of the prints was inspired by his great grandfather, who was a miner in California and another print was based on his uncle, who owned a restaurant that served African Americans in the 30’s. These hardships depicted in the art form through Phillip’s style could not have attracted our eyes any better. Not only did this exhibit contain his own works but objects that have been passed down from previous generations. This eclectic exhibition would help create a better insight into how one Asian American artist interacted with the world around him.

Posted on by Daniel Seo

The First True Modern Art Form

The Leonard A. Lauder collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is, in the Museum’s own words, “unsurpassed in its holdings of Cubist art.” It boasts eighty-one pieces of artwork from four masters of the Cubist art form: Georges Braque, Juan Gris, Pablo Picasso and Fernand Leger. Between the four of them, they started and shaped the Cubism movement, which revolutionized the world of art and influenced modern art, as we know it today.

Our group – Justin and I – went to the Cubism exhibit as part of our third assignment. Our interest in this particular exhibit was because of what it represented. The start of the Cubism movement signaled a time of transition, from the classical illusionist artwork to the era of modern art that we know today. The exhibit was divided into four sections, categorized by the four different artists. There was a noticeable difference between classical artwork and the cubist works. Whereas classical art was “flowy” and depicted clear pictures of nature and culture, cubist artwork was more precise and abstract. Many of the subjects of the paintings were objects encountered in daily life, such as in “Bottle and Wine Glass in a Table” by Picasso. These pictures were broken up into highly geometric shapes, with sharp edges, put back together. Instead of the smooth paintings of the classical world, cubism brought about fragmented, geometric and precise forms of art. Despite this manipulation, we saw that the subject of the paintings could be clearly identified. Cubism expressed the real world in the two-dimensional world of the canvas in such a way as to preserve its identity.

The impact of Cubism on modern art was easily recognizable. Many of the abstract concepts that originated during the cubist movement and could be recognized in the works of Picasso and Braque are reflected in the art of the modern world. Every-day objects and encounters were made abstract yet retained their familiar imagery. Justin and I truly understood why Cubism is considered one of the first truly modern art forms.

Posted on by Shahrouk Reza

Becoming Robots: Nam June Paik Exhibition at Asia Society

It all began at first, as a joke, that we three Asians/Asian-wannabe (referring to Lucius, Christopher Chong, and Anthony Cacchione) should go to Nam June Paik’s “Becoming Robots” exhibit at the Asia Society to appreciate our cultural background, until we came to realize that it is not a joke, but some seriously mischievous and daring art exhibit.

There are times when we, as a group of people occupying the area called New York, tend to think ourselves progressive. The future is unknown, and therefore, it is savory. It can be anything ranging from the most delightful to the most destructive, and neither is a crime as the unknown future has all the rights in the world to be what it is. Artists sometimes function as mirrors, reflecting the past and the present. They are also the seers and clairvoyants of our age, as they bring closer to us what is not yet seen. “Becoming Robots” is an exhibit of such nature, whose charm is through sight and sound, and the enchantment is to conjure the distant future of the past: the art that Paik imagined fifty years ago tells the story of an alternative way of looking at today.

The intended accident, the bard of the ancient made into a robot, the artwork that changes depending on who is looking at it… These are the themes and geniuses that we saw at Paik’s exhibit. The robotic brain has handwritten notes in it, showing the inseparability between the sciences and the humanities. The violent colors, advanced video techniques, the hermaphrodite robot… These are the ideas that the artist imagined us to embody. He, through his ideas, conceived us of different dimension, and born is the collection of artwork which will stun and amaze the children of the coming generations.

“Becoming Robots” has an important message: before there is a robot, there is a human. There must first exist the cellist, or the mischievous artist sitting on the TV chair, or the Chinese poet in order for the technology to advance. True to this message, before there was Google and Facebook, there was art.


-Lucius, with Anthony and Christopher Chong

Posted on by Lucius Seo

Nature Untarnished

Sebastiao Salgado’s “Genesis”, displayed at the International Center of Photography, was the first exhibition that our group – Shahrouk and Justin – went to for our assignment. In “Genesis”, Salgado captured the raw power of nature in a series of black and white photographs. In a project that took 8 years, Salgado traveled to every corner of the world to photograph nature that was untouched and untarnished by man.

“Genesis” covered a variety of landscapes, from mountain ranges to tundras to deserts. From the photographs that were displayed, it was apparent to us that Salgado had gone to great lengths to accomplish his project. There were photographs across from a leopard, as well as at the edge of a lake filled with caymans. Salgado had placed himself in a great deal of danger for these shots, but in doing so, he had taken photographs that most people would never see in their lifetimes. Most of Salgado’s work comprised of his natural landscapes. These were taken at surrealistic angles and times. Many of these photographs, especially those of Brooks Range and Bryce Canyon, look mythical. They portray a powerful side of natural that is not observable in highly urbanized world.

Salgado’s exhibition also sends a clear environmental message. He shows us the beauty of nature when man does not encroach upon it with cities and skyscrapers. This sort of beauty has to be preserved before it vanishes forever from our world. “Genesis” not only shows us the beauty of the natural world around us, but also what we stand to lose should we not take appropriate action to safeguard it.

 

Posted on by Shahrouk Reza

Zero Tolerance Addendum

Christopher Chong, Lucius Seo and I went to see “Zero Tolerance” at MOMA PS1. This exhibit took a look at many protests and demonstrations that have taken place across the world in order to fight many forms of oppression. However, since the exhibit has opened, many major protests have taken place over the country, mainly related to the ongoing racism throughout America. We have already written about the exhibit itself, and another group that went and has given a great in-depth look at the show’s features, so we will do something a little different. So, it is time for an addendum to the exhibit that will include these new protests.

Mike Brown Protests

Mike Brown Protests

These new protests were sparked by the multiple killings of unarmed black individuals by white police officers, in which the officers received no punishment through the judicial system. In the two most significant and enraging cases across the country, Michael Brown was shot in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner was suffocated to death by an officer who put him in a chokehold in order to arrest him in Staten Island, New York.

The Mike Brown case was the first of these incidents to really ignite protests throughout the country, although the most significant protests were in the surrounding areas of Ferguson. These demonstrations focused on raising awareness to a judicial system that is racially biased and allowed for an officer to kill an unarmed African American man without receiving any charges. Many of these protests were peaceful and well organized as the first image in this post shows; however, others took the form of riots, as the photo below shows.

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Ferguson Riots

These riots were usually poorly organized and often involved violence towards individuals and businesses that were not involved in the killing of Michael Brown. The riots largely drew scorn from those not involved, as it seemed to detract from the efforts of the peaceful protests. In contrast, the peaceful protests in Ferguson spread throughout the country, as many people supported their cause.

The protests in New York followed the decision not to indict the officer responsible for killing Eric Garner by chokehold. This case, unlike Michael Brown’s, was caught on film, so it was shocking for many people when the grand jury decided not to indict the officer. In the Michael Brown case, it was always unclear what the exact events were that led to the shooting, but in this case, the circumstances and actions were very clear. With many people around the country already protesting the grand jury decision of the Michael Brown case, the protests grew, especially in the amount of people that supported and participated in them. Many of these protests are well organized and often involve blocking very public areas. They have stopped traffic on numerous occasions for their protests. These protests have also seen people have “Die-ins”, where protesters lie down on the floor and act dead, usually in public spaces:

Eric Garner Protests

Eric Garner Protests

These protests have been widespread and recognized throughout the country, but in order to be considered successful, they will need to lead to new dialogue and change. These demonstrations have the potential to raise awareness about many issues that have been difficult to speak about in the past. The protesters are most concerned with the constant racism throughout the country, excessive force used by police and the judicial system that seems biased towards whites and those with money. However, in order to do this, they need to have a clearer message and set of goals. While the protests in Ferguson mostly focused on the issue of race, many of the protests about Eric Garner’s death crossed the boundaries of race and focused more heavily on police use of force and concerns over the judicial system. While raising all these topics is valid, some argue that merely blaming racism is the wrong course to take. Nevertheless, it is still a conversation that we must have, but something that many people agree on is that the police force must held accountable when they use excessive force, as we saw in these cases, especially with Eric Garner. A positive response to this would be to see reforms made to how oversight of police shootings are handled, such as taking the case away from the prosecutor and giving it to an independent review board.

Posted on by anthonycacchione

Zero: Countdown To Tomorrow

The Guggenheim Museum in New York showcased the exhibition, Zero: Countdown to Tomorrow. The focus of this exhibition was to showcase art that was produced post World War II. The focus of this artwork was to start anew after the war and experiment in different types of art. Upon hearing of it, our group (Chris Pun, Elyssa Sur and Tony Chu) decided to go check it out.

The Guggenheim Museum itself was a sight to see. With its six rotundas combined by gradual spiral walking area, the perfect word to describe its architecture would be: complex. The artwork however, was the complete opposite. We found that the art seemed very minimal and simple. As stated in an earlier post, the Zero artists wanted to begin a new beginning for artwork during this time. Their art focused on color, light, movement and certain mediums such as light and fire.

As a whole, our group was indifferent towards the artwork that was presented. Certain sections of the exhibit, especially where light was used as a medium of focus, interested us and we found it very elegant and beautiful. (Otto Piene’s Light Ballet is the perfect example of something vibrant and elegant.)

On the other hand, there were other sections that we did not find very appealing. Certain sections explored color and consisted of one color painted on a canvas. Other sections experimented with movement and vibrations and we just found that very confusing. There was even one piece where it was just feathers stuck onto a canvas. We had a hard time digesting the fact that it was considered as art.

 

Despite the fact that we didn’t find some of the artwork appealing, it was nice to experience this different take on art. Since the artworks didn’t really have a definite meaning, it allows those who view it to put their own take on it. In our case though, we ended up being confused.

– Tony with Pun and Elyssa

Posted on by Tony Chu

ZERO: Countdown to Tomorrow

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“The Yellow Picture” Gunther Uecker (Yellow Monochrome and different materials such as nails)

Our group, Nabila Akthar, Sophia Ebanks and Angelika Pokovba went to see an exhibition at the Guggenheim. The New York Guggenheim Museum presents the ZERO: Countdown to Tomorrow, 1950s-1960s exhibit that is shown in the United States for the first time. The artists that are displayed began a completely different art movement using dynamics and distinct media to convey their seemingly meaningless pieces.

The ZERO Network initially began with Otto Piene and Heinz Mack in 1957; Gunther Ucker joined the German post World War 2 group in 1961. The group further became associated with distinct international artists that identified themselves with the Zero philosophy; the Guggenheim presents the works of 37 artists. They chose the name in order to indicate the post-war situation in wounded Europe, ZERO represents “a zone of silence and pre possibilities for a new beginning as at the countdown when rockets take off” (Piene). The artists shared a desire to redefine the art in the aftermath of World War II by rejecting the existing European styles such as Tachisme and Art Informel. These styles emphasized personal expression and spontaneity, but Zero artists wanted to banish any trace of personal style or signature from their work and rather bring in elements of the “non-artistic” world into their art. In essence, the artists started with a completely clean slate and let their art be their guide from there. They denied all art that was a precedent and instead focused on making their own art without any influences; ZERO was completely unprecedented and utterly unique to its artists.

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Yves Klein “Blue Monochromes”

ZERO artists concentrated on pure color, pure light and pure media as the fundamental premise of their art. The artists reduced their color palette to only ONE color and often their work was bland because the use of vivid colors was limited. Further, the artists incorporated a wide range of materials, such as aluminum, plastic, and sand into their work. They used lines and grids to emphasize the structure of their works. Some members even used destructive elements, such as burning, cutting and nailing in order to create something new in the aftermath of the war. The artists emphasized the creation involved in destruction, thus fulfilling their main objective by “making it new”(Ezra Pound).

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“Concetto Spaziale, Attese” (1959) Lucio Fontana (destroying the canvas by cutting it to make it new)

For the exhibit, artists employ space as both subject and material, and they explore the “interrogation of the relationship between nature, technology, and humankind.” Light, movement and space were the central themes for the ZERO network. The audience is not supposed to ponder about the artwork because the artist completely rejects his trace in the piece and wants the viewer to simply see the final product. The artists emphasized a sense of nihilism; their art works are not supposed to have meaning but because the art pieces are meaningless they in turn gain meaning. The ZERO network incorporated some of the most avant-garde artists of the 20th century that defined the post-war era. ZERO art screams despair, yet at the same time it provides a sense of tranquility and hope.

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“Bottle Wall” (1962) Jan Hendrikse

 

Angelika Pokovba, Nabila Akthar & Sophia Ebanks

Posted on by angelikapokovba

The Result of an 8 Year Worldwide Expedition

“In GENESIS, my camera allowed nature to speak to me. And it was my privilege to listen.”
—Sebastião Salgado

The International Center of Photography is the first American venue to present Sebastião Salgado: Genesis, his third long-term series on global issues. Our group – Tony Chu, Pun, Elyssa Sur – had decided to switch to this particular exhibition from the Asia Society exhibition, and boy were we glad that we did. After a little bit of research into the exhibition, we found that even at first glance, his photographs online were compelling, so we thought it would definitely be worth it to see them in person and in a larger scale.

The message Salgado desires toexpress through his Genesis project is for those living in this world to preserve what exists. His photography has shown us an entirely new meaning to how powerful one photo, or in his case, over 200 photos can be. Through over 30 trips travelled by foot, light aircraft, seagoing vessels, canoes, and balloons, he beautifully captures a collection of images that shows us a perspective of nature, animals, and indigenous peoples that we would never have even dreamt of seeing with our own eyes or face to face,even though everything he has captured is present at this very moment. The compilation of his Genesis project took 8 years to capture and select the photos displayed at the ICP now, and so many of them are simply just breathtaking. Each of us found that there was something sort of enchanting about each of his photographs. Salgado was able to successfully draw us towards his pictures to examine every detail. We thought that his landscape photography was stunning and the way Salgado captured the pure natural beauty left in the world as well as in distant cultures, strikes a stark contrast to how much of modern society has become distanced fromnature. The collection is not only a reminder of the natural beauty from which the earth roots its origins, before humans transformed the planet, but it is also the possible beginning of a movement to preserve the planet and protect its beauty.

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~Tony Chu, Pun, & Elyssa Sur

Posted on by Christopher Pun

The World Before Industrialization: Genesis

Genesis, an exhibit featuring the photography of Sebastio Salgado, has the purpose of depicting the beauty of pure nature.  The abstract of the exhibit states it as a “journey to the landscapes, seascapes, animals and peoples that have so far escaped the long reach of today’s world.”  His exhibit takes you around the world with him as if you had been there.  It captured majestic landscapes with purple mountains reaching into the sky, pristine lakes, and untouched snow laden lands.  There had been one clear absence, industrialized societies.  Although humans were present in many of the photos, they had lived in harmony in nature.  They had not caused massive deforestation or exploited natural resources, but instead lived as hunters and gatherers.  Our group had liked the photos of pure landscapes more but the pictures with these “primitive” societies had posed a giant question to us.  Are these people less expendable than we are in our society?  If one of us dies, there are millions more to take our place due to the size of the population our lifestyle supports, but if one of them dies, they lose a hunter, a child-bearer, a midwife, or a craftsman.  Their groups are so small that every man and woman is more important to their society.

The overall exhibit had been very easy to follow along.  Each specific part of the exhibit focuses on a different region in the world.  From the frigid regions of the Antarctic to the tropical regions of South America, you see the animals, landscapes and peoples of all the areas.  Each photo from each section was placed on a color that corresponded to that section to keep you from becoming overwhelmed.  Some photographs even came with audio-tours to further describe the picture beyond the brief description that came with it.

When our group had seen some of the humans that lived in the societies mentioned above, we had encountered major culture shocks, particularly those that lived in Africa.  We had seen people with large lip plates and scarification all over their bodies.  Although it does not fully make sense to us, these traditions probably have very long cultural roots.  Although not in the exhibit, we came to think about one tribe in Africa that had required women to wear neck braces from the time that they enter puberty.  The reason they started doing this, however, had been because men from another tribe would invade and take their tribe’s women and so in order to prevent this, they began to make the women wear the neck braces so that they would only be beautiful to the women of their tribe.  Although it does not fully explain to us, that live in a “civilized” society, why exactly they would still start the tradition, it does not make them any less human.  This was apparent in one photograph of a boy, playing with a necklace around his neck.  He was just like any other boy his age, finding joy and entertainment in some of the most basic things.  He had that playful spirit like what we had when we were children.

There had only been one problem with the exhibit that our group found.  It had not been with the photographs themselves but with the way they had been displayed.  The lighting in the room and the frames that the photos were displayed in made a very bad glare on some photos.  Although the problem was very minimal, we felt that it took slightly away from the exhibit.

Kevin, Adrian, Joshua

Posted on by kevincall