Saddie Benning’s Art Exhibit “Form of a Waterfall”: An esoteric exhibit saved by the artist
LOWE EAST SIDE- Saddie Bening showcased her side work as a musician in her art exhibit titled “Form of a Waterfall.” Bening was known for her works with “play/pause” audio works which were audio snippets from various musical genres put together to create wild fluctuations in tone. The focus of the exhibit were her colored pencil on Davey Board drawings consisting of simple solid colored shapes that were almost touching. These drawings were accompanied by music the artist created which were playing from a vinyl record. In addition, the exhibit featured a sketchy black and white video of a hand sketching lines with a pencil. My initial impression was that this exhibit was pointless. Thankfully, the exhibit was salvaged–the artist was on the premises to explain the works. According to the artist, she chose simple materials in order to invoke a vintage and more childlike feeling to the exhibit. She mentioned the drawings were meant to look like an arcade. Although I did admit that the drawings did have a video-game quality to them, I felt that her main points would have been incomprehensible if it were not for her help. To make it worse, she added that gender identity was also a theme in the exhibit which I totally did not understand. Unfortunately, Saddie Bening’s “Form of a Waterfall” was only an engaging experience with the artist and not the art itself.
