on a work in a gallery
I am.. going to post first about our trip to Chelsea, I guess. It took me long enough to figure out how to write.. a post…
The one that I was most attracted to was the exhibit by Jon Pylypchuk. It made such an impression because when you first enter the building, what you see is a wall with his name plainly displayed. When you walk past however, you see the display throughout the room, different slabs of old wood with rusted nails and plywood along with pieces of metal to construct little shacks in a miniature village. My first thought was: this is Hurricane Katrina.
It was especially the one “house” with the worn looking shingles that brought back that memory. I actually got to work on the roof when I was down in Mississippi and I remember seeing the one-story houses that were completely ravaged by the water. There would actually be an X on nearly each of the doors with four numbers, numbers indicating how many people were found at the residence and how many people were alive. The creatures in the exhibit seemed to be peering into the shacks, as if searching for something or surveying the remains. I noticed the different trees that the artist made, also with pieces of wood. There was one big leafless tree and a few scrawny “sticks” to be called trees. I’m no expert at trees but I felt that that also told a story about the South after the disaster. There were tall trees reaching several stories high that were basically just snapped in two like a toothpick. Then there were the ones that resembled or may have been oak trees, with thick trunks and deep roots that stood strong after the storm. You could even see the water mark, an indication of how high the water reached.
The next thing I noticed were the creatures in the room, some huddled in groups and others stood alone but it seemed as if each bunch was oblivious to the others; they were also stiff looking, some big and others smaller, with different hairstyles. Some looked alien like but there were many that were dressed like people, with overalls and pants, etc. There were also these cylindrical things made from Budweiser cans. It seems weird that the “houses” would be empty but the creatures seemed fascinated at these objects. Feeling like a giant observing this exhibit with its four snow white walls, I thought the artist was making a political or social statement of some kind. Then a man (with authority I assume) walked in and indicated to the person at the desk that there were too many lights on; it was too bright. They then softened the lights and in the dimmer light, the display took on a different effect, evoked a more personal mood.
I didn’t get a chance to check out the artist’s statement or anything of the sort but my impression of what the work was conveying, was that we are only seeing; some of the creatures looked absolutely foreign and that is exactly it; we from above, cannot know how they perceive things or how they feel.
I did enjoy walking through the different galleries. I think that no matter how different each one is, when I walk in through their doors, it is as if I have walked into their thoughts. I’ve always felt that when I take a picture, it can let people understand just a little bit of how I see things. And that’s how we as onlookers have to go about it; we can try to understand what it is they are trying to say. But there’s also a lot we can get out of such an analysis of someone else’s work.
September 21st, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Hello Kitty,
I really liked your post. I also got to see this exhibit and reading your post helped me understand it a lot more. It’s also very cool that you were down in Mississippi. I imagine an experience like that really changed the way you look at things. Thank you for enlightening me.
September 22nd, 2007 at 9:24 pm
I also visited this exhibit and it really left an impression on me too. I actually couldn’t decide at first whether to do this exhibit or the Large Field Array exhibit. I would have never thought about it in relation to Hurricane Katrina, but in retrospect I completely understand your point of view. On the press release, the artist said that the exhibit was meant to be very darkly humorous and ironic. I refer to it as the “gangster teddy bear neighborhood.” Like you, the exhibit really shocked me at and I was admittedly a little scared at one point. However, I do like your interpretation!