From the moment I entered the Rox Gallery, my experience surpassed any other excursion we’ve been on so far. The vibrant colors demanded attention and brought a feeling of excitement to the viewers. Looking closer at the works, I found something even more interesting than vibrancy – each piece had multiple shapes and textures, bringing about a collage-like result. This made the pieces even more entertaining, because we were able to imagine all the effort that went into creating the variety of surfaces and space.
These different dimensions, layers, and exquisite colors brought on a futuristic atmosphere in the gallery. The colors alone made me feel like I was in a glow in the dark mini golf course as they radiated off each surface. Because of this, the handmade art brought about a paradoxical appearance of digital art. This intention of the artist reflects the norm of today’s society, as we spend most of our days entranced in the screens of our cellphones, tablets, and computers. In fact, some of the frames were so square and small that I couldn’t help but feel that I was looking at an Instagram post. These futuristic and current day aspects of the exhibition made it that much more relatable and exciting to view.
The exhibition as a whole conveyed the evolution of process. On one wall, there were ‘basic’ paintings with different brushstrokes, colors, and shapes. On the opposite wall, there were striped paintings that added another layer to the painted surface with glued on strips of painting. Finally, the most elaborate sculptures on display included three dimensional wood cuttings. This evolution can be seen not only on a broad level (in the gallery as a whole) but on the small scale of a single painting. As the artist stated, this evolution is all about discovery, the idea that the mystery product would come as a surprising result of an intricate and spontaneous process.
The spontaneous energy of the artist can be felt just by walking through the gallery, making this experience both captivating and exhilarating.
Going into the Rox Gallery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side to see Tom Smith’s Heavenly Bodies, the first thing that caught my attention about the gallery was the bold contrast between the plain, white walls and the pulsating colors of every painting. Like the Rox Gallery, most art galleries have white walls to create a sense of cleanliness and to direct the focus of the viewer to the painting. However, this effect is even more so for Heavenly Bodies as each painting is glowing with an abundance of bright colors that immediately strike the viewer as he/she comes into the room.
Boom Boom Room
As a result, the vibrant colors are a central importance to Heavenly Bodies. Take for example the painting to the right Boom Boom Room. In this art piece (one of my favorite), we see an assortment of light and dark neon-shaded colors such as green, blue, purple. yellow, etc. that are exuberant and work together to form an abstract, three dimensional-looking image. Although ideas about what the painting actually portrays differs from perspective to perspective, the vibrant colors of the painting nevertheless instill in the viewer a sense of joyfulness and enthusiasm. This sense of joy and enthusiasm, according to a discussion with Tom Smith, are meant to reflect the ideas of heaven and utopia, places people often envision and associate with happiness.
Strobe
Another interesting aspect of Heavenly Bodies is how digital each painting looks. From afar, the paintings look like they were made by computer. However up close, one can tell that the paintings were hand-made with physical objects such as wood, glue, and paint. As a result, Smith creates a paradox in which a hand-made painting looks digital, which blurs the line between what is digital and what is physical. Heavenly Bodies illustrates and reflects how art in modern day society is slowly becoming more and more digitize, moving away from conventional means of producing art.
Overall, Tom Smith’s Heavenly Bodies offers a refreshing take on art; its highly vibrant colors in conjunction with its digital appearance presented an art style that I found unique and enjoyable to look at.
More information about Tom Smith, Heavenly Bodies, and his other works can be found at: http://www.tomsmithart.com/works/
“Perfect Door/ Perfect Odor/Perfect Rodo” Bruce Nauman (American, born 1941)
Upon my recent visit to the MoMa i was struck mostly by art work, which provided insight into the flow and order of events. Moreover, I understood the focal point to the piece was the letter “D” which moved along the words. Through this movement the other letters followed suit and moved as well to create an entirely new meaning. I took away the message that even when something small changes it can actually have a larger effect on something else entirely. At a time when we are all worrying about of first college exams, I think this can relate to a lot of us in that all the little things like homework and participation will come to play a big factor in inflating our grades even when exams look hopeless.
After having spent a day trying to come to terms with what I watched in “Une Danse des Bouffons” by Marcel Dzama, I have come to only one conclusion- Marcel Dzama must have had a lot of bad experiences growing up. The 35 minute black and white clip is supposed to be a story that weaves together “good versus evil, death and rebirth, love and lost love, multiple identities and doppelgängers, false prophets, the corruption of power, and tensions between reality and fiction” (Jones, 1). However, taken at face value, the film tells the story of a freaky trickster forcing a woman watch her loved one recite haunting codes (only after reading the press release did I realize they were chess moves), the Joker beheading a horse, a clown blowing off the Joker’s head, the clown reattaching the horse’s head to the Joker’s body, and finally a man coming out of horse-Joker’s giant, full upper-torso vagina.
It was the craziest, most traumatic, terrifying thing that I’ve ever watched, yet by the end I was completely mesmerized.
The film had a strange, hypnotic effect, beginning with the woman being forced to watch her man say chess codes and die. It reminded me of a brainwashing tactic used in a Communist, or dictatorial regime: beat the man to death, then force him to say certain things. It was certainly an interesting experience, and helped me understand the plight of people living in countries where things like this were practiced.
The dancers and masks, however, were too unsettling. Their bizarre and seemingly heartless actions reminded me of the story of clowns being serial killers. The main man, who bore a striking resemblance to the Joker, didn’t help- the Joker from Batman was known for being insane and whimsical, but Dzama’s Joker went further-he was more sadistic and gruesome, and his henchmen more terrifying. The Joker character added to the spooky and tense scene, and made the scene much more disturbing.
The finale, however, was what scarred me for life. The resurrected Joker with the beheaded horse’s head unzipped his shirt to reveal a gigantic vagina that spanned the entire length of his body. Then, slowly and disgustingly, out came the man at the beginning of the video, nearly dead from the arrow wound he sustained at the hands of the trickster. At this point, I looked away, unable to watch the horror in its entirety. However, I also became fascinated by Dzama- he had no limits; no social boundaries confined his work. He was unafraid to display such graphic images- from the brainwashing, to the beheading to the “birth”-that normally people would condemn. I interpreted his work less as a story that combined many themes together, and more as a film that pushed the limits of what society would view as acceptable to watch. It was this aspect of the film that mesmerized me, although one run-through of “Une Danse des Bouffons” is enough to satisfy (or scar) me for a lifetime.
Jones, Branwen. “Marcel Dzama Une Danse Des Bouffons (A Jester’s Dance).” Une Danse Des Bouffons (A Jester’s Dance) » David Zwirner. N.p., 9 Sept. 2014. Web. 01 Oct. 2014.
Upon entering the David Zwirner Gallery containing the Marcel Dzama exhibition, Une Danse des Bouffons, I was immediately drawn to one area. The gallery has standard white walls containing several pieces of art, but what stood out to me was a curious entryway with no indication of what it led to. It is guarded by mysterious beasts and covered by a bland curtain.
This entrance caught my eye because of the strange looking faces on the beasts, as well as the large vase acting as a sentry to the portal behind the drape. What are they guarding? The beasts and the vase are each holding an assortment of dark flowers. For some reason this is where my attention kept returning, even though it may not have been a piece that was for sale, it did seem like a focal point in the room. Each time I look at the picture of the beasts, their glaring eyes unsettle my brain and are almost hypnotic. The vase with its two sets of staring eyes appears to be keeping watch.
The blue flowers are and obnoxious addition to the piece, adding a sense of uniqueness to this installment. Dzama has two installments of this piece that are identical except for the color filter he uses, red and blue. In this case the blue represents good, rebirth, and lost love, in which the beasts and the vase appear to be protecting. These of which can be related to the film.
Before walking into the David Zwirner’s gallery today to see Jason Rhoades’s PeaRoeFoam, I attempted to mentally prepare myself to see art that would inevitably make me question: this is art? Yet even after hyping myself up, looking at the seemingly messy array of foam, glue, disks, yellow boots, chairs, peas and frankly things that just looked like garbage, I still could not help but think, “this is art?”
I have always thought the most important thing about art is the statement that the artist is trying to make. So, after Professor Eversaly explained an amazing point of view of the art, everything really came together for me.
This art was dada; it was meant to make me feel dumb. These sculptures are a thoughtful disarray of garbage, and they are being sold. If I think its crazy that one would spend money on the art being displayed, then actually, I am really getting the whole point. We purchase meaningless products all the time! Moreover, we are happy to spend a ridiculous amount of money on those products too! Jewelry is a prime example. What is a diamond? It’s a rare rock. Though its obvious to everyone that we are clearly not really paying for the rock, rather we are paying for the status and the meaning of a diamond, maybe regardless that purchase is still a little ridiculous! The dada was telling us we should feel dumb for wasting our money on meaningless things- on garbage.
I think Rhoades makes a valuable, and usually glossed over point. People do not generally consider this because nobody wants to admit that the shopping and purchases they love, are also a bit ridiculous.
In addition, I love the way the artist chose to make this statement. After understanding the backdrop, the “stuff” really does come together as art. It shouts in your face, “you think its absurd that someone would pay for garbage? Well you do it all the time.”
However, when watching the film of the art being created, something began to bother me. I watched the artists work with the tremendous amounts of supplies and having already been put in a “money” mindset, I could not help see all their supplies as a (for lack of a better expression) “waste of money!” I thought to myself, “wow, that much glue is probably expensive, look at them just pouring it everywhere!”
Thus, though I appreciate the message the artist was sending I am left a bit perplexed. If it is such a bad thing to throw away money then I wonder, was buying all that supplies the absolute most meaningful way for that money to be spent? Was there truly nothing more worthwhile to give this money to?
I was left with a new question: Wouldn’t it be ironic if the art making the statement “you waste your money” was a waste of money in and of itself?
Hours after watching Marcel Dzama’s Un Danse des Boufoons at the Zwirner Gallery in Chelsea, it still resonated with me. Sitting on a foam cube watching this peculiar (to say the least), 35-minute video projection made me question myself, what I knew, and even my surroundings. I personally did not like the video, and could not wait to get out once it was over.
Marcel Dzama is a Canadian-born artist, who has had his work represented by David Zwirner since 1998. His art is held in museum collections worldwide. As for the video itself, it is described as a “Dadaist love story”. It depicts a fictionalized account of the romantic affair between a man and woman. There are constant themes of good versus evil, death and rebirth, love gained and love lost, and very obvious tension.
It seems as though Dzama is well known and his work is held in high esteem. However, after walking through the curtains to exit the dark room, I found myself feeling oddly uncomfortable. I then realized: I did not like the video at all.
Throughout the video, there was music playing. At some points, the music was very high pitched and dissonant; I would have felt awkward listening to that without the peculiar images in front of me.
Very few characters were just regular people. Many wore masks, or even costumes, that made them seem foreign (but at the same time human and familiar). This familiarity in something so confusing and foreign is part of what rubbed me the wrong way. It was the line of characters wearing costumes that troubled me, as well. They applauded, and had mannerisms unlike many people do.
Just as I thought the video could not get weirder, in trots a human cow. It was majestic in its movement, but at the same time did not resemble a cow in the slightest besides its unconvincing plastic head. A particular character that stuck with me was the one wearing the flippable mask that went form happy to sad. This made me think about human emotions, and what they show about a person.
One of the only characters that did not have a mask, was a man with eyes painted on his face. He wore make-up and had an oddly shaped smile that reminded me somewhat of The Joker. Regardless, this character was equally as creepy as the rest.
As the movie concluded, the oddest thing of all occurred. This reborn man-cow opens its cloak to reveal an enormous vagina on its chest. Out comes one of the characters from earlier in the video. What disturbed me most about this, was that a full grown man was being born. Not only that, but this man was coming out of the birth canal fully clothed with facial hair.
Basically, everything was wrong about “Une Danse des Bouffons.” Nothing made complete sense, and there was no time during the video in which I felt content about what was happening. The short film kept me on my toes, and didn’t allow me to relax and guess what was coming next.
It was this combination of the atmosphere with the video in itself that made me feel very uneasy. The purpose of the video was to make me question traditional beliefs, and to make me feel as though there were things I did not know (or even that things I did know were just wrong); it definitely succeeded in doing just that.
For further reading, you can go to the press review here
All pictures were taken from a preview of the video here
The part that seemed most interesting to me from today’s trip was the PeaRoeFoam, by Jason Rhoades. When I first walked in, I have to admit feeling a little confusion as to how such inexpensive material was, and how it was just nonchalantly mixed together and then called “art.” However, as I tried to understand the deeper meaning of the art and what type of work was put into it, it helped me understand it a bit more.
The art featured peas, fish eggs, and foam, all combined with glue. At first glance you might think just how different this art is. The purpose of the art was never specified. I think the reason for this is that it gives us the liberty to develop our own opinions and inferences from the art. As I tried to understand and find meaning in the art, I noticed that all the materials in the art are only of use to us when we use it, but once it’s used it up, it’s worthless. I think the message may have been for us to realize the amount of non-biodegradable things we throw out, and how it’s detrimental to the environment. I especially got this message from the boots filled with old bottles. I think it also helps us understand and recognize how much we take for granted such as a pea; in spite of the food shortages in others parts of the world, we waste so much.
Another interesting part about the art was the fact the artist makes everything look all sealed, manufactured, and official by using the “Not for retail sale” cardboard boxes, shrink wrap, and pallets. This is all in spite of the fact, that the objects used in the art are all valueless in there own right. This was where I began to wonder how this could be sold for such expensive prices! It wasn’t until I saw the video about the art, that I began to understand the value of the art. So many laborers were getting paid to make the installation. This is what a buyer is also paying for when purchasing a piece.
Lastly, I found it extremely clever by the artist to be able to create such valuable art that sells for exorbitant prices all from cheap, useless materials. What I also found different about the art was the fact that when I think of art, I usually think of one artist, but here, their were so many people who worked together to create the art!
Yesterday afternoon I was walking down 59th street when I stumbled upon beautiful, simple, spontaneous art. Outside of what seemed to be an apartment building were two pillars decorated with spray paint. The images were presented so effortlessly, it seemed like a random passerby impulsively decided to spray paint.
However, the two pillars had two different auras. The first to catch my eye was the bright and colorful geometric patterns. The solid colored rectangles contrasted the black graffiti backdrop. The second pillar had a gloomier persona. A red cloud appeared to be swallowing a twisted black figure. Again, a gold geometric pattern contrasted this dark scene.
The images are free to interpretation; in this way, they leave onlookers wondering. I liked how the art seemed so spur-of-the-moment, yet each piece could be analyzed for hours. The art in the streets of New York is easy to miss, but rewarding when noticed and appreciated.
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