exhibition

The Air is on Fire, David Lynch (9/24/2010)

mandy — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Copenhagen, Denmark

A couple of years ago, David Lynch spoke at my graduate school. At one of the top communication colleges in the country, he refused to take media questions and would only talk about transcendental meditation. Flanked by men in suits who sat in high-backed chairs behind him on the stage, Lynch urged us each to dive into the reflecting pool of our soul. One woman stood at a mic in the auditorium aisle and said, “I meditate, and I understand your films.”

It seems like every encounter with the artist is like this: mildly amusing, somewhat bewildering, and much more surreal than one ever anticipates, even if you know the ground rules going in. Speaking to a crowd of assembled journalists and photographers at Copenhagen’s Gl. Strand in late September, Lynch spoke of the distinctive nature of the elements for which his showcase is named. “Air is very beautiful. When it moves, it makes a sound called wind. Fire: what a magical thing fire is... It’s always changing. It makes heat. It’s so incredible; it makes you dream, and it’s so different than water. Water is such an incredible thing. Fish go in it, you can drink it, and it’s wet.”

Before he became a film director best known for Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, and Mulholland Drive, Lynch studied expressionist painting at the Pennsylvania Academia of Fine Arts in Philadelphia and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Not unlike his films, his work in other mediums is loosely tied to unsettling themes such as sexualized violence and insect infestation.

For his second exhibition showing, following a debut showcase of the same name in Paris, the newly renovated Danish contemporary art museum turned three floors into a Lynchian gallery of paintings, lithographs, short films, and sketches on scraps of paper, from the 1960s to present. Entire binders of his work had been disassembled and displayed on glass wall cases. With heavy bass sound installation throughout, the entire experience was not unlike an episode of Twin Peaks, with spookily dramatic, vibrating music causing an uneasy sense of dread that might nevertheless turn out to be for nothing. Indeed, among the sketches displayed as a drawing of the infamous Twin Peaks fish on the cover of the show’s first screenplay.

Lynch’s non-filmic artistic work displayed in The Air is on Fire exhibition proved to be as memorable as his directorial features. Many of his painting featured guns and vaginas and often had literal titles: “This Man Was Shot Seconds Ago,” “Rock with Seven Eyes,” “Insect Bites Woman.” One entire room was filled with untitled prints. Complex architectural drawings were just as likely to have phone numbers scrawled in the margins as they were to be on stationary from The Claremont Resort, Hotel and Tennis Club. Several sculptures like “Component #3 for Night Fishing,” were made in Copenhagen, specifically for the Gl. Strand exhibition.

Exiting through the back, an enormous story-high neon sign of the artist’s name—of which I’d seen a drawing inside—hit me in the face with its purple glow. As I unlocked my bike and headed home, I thought about the magical nature of the wind that made it difficult to peddle.

The Air is on Fire runs through January 16, 2011.

Written by: Brittany Shoot, October 12th 2010

The Fatal Beauty of Tajooj (7/15/2010)

admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Cafe Ohm

Khartoum, Sudan

My artwork offers a glimpse into my world. I hope that it inspires your imagination and leaves you with a lasting impression. - Suzanne Hilal

Last Thursday, in a small cafe in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, guests sipped lemon juice and lattes and listened to a number of young men perform modern love songs as Suzanne Hilal transported a sizable audience hundreds of years back to an isolated place in East Sudan through her collection of print works. Hilal, a Sudanese-English artist whose work spans a range of mediums including printmaking, pastels, and ink, is known for the way her works are inspired by Sudanese folktales and reflects the country's culture and history.

The name of the exhibition, The Fatal Beauty of Tajooj, is taken from a well-known and tragic love story. According to Sudanese grandmothers, Tajooj was the most beautiful girl in Sudan during their time. She was also the love interest of her cousin, who was known for attacking neighboring tribes. One version of Tajooj's story tells us that the cousin in question, Mohlaq, was forced to divorce Tajooj because she was expected to marry another man. Another telling of the legend says Mohlaq's uncle refused the marriage proposal to his daughter because Mohlaq publicly declared his love for Tajooj in a song, which was against the traditions of his tribe.

Wandering the desert for the rest of his life, Mohlaq was brokenhearted and lost. The beautiful Tajooj was attacked and killed by a group of bandits. A sword was plunged deep into her chest, we are told.

Hilal was first introduced to folktales as an undergraduate student working on a paper comparing Sudanese and Arab stories. During her research, she read five books of these stories from different regions and tribes, and stumbled upon the story of Tajooj in Ali Lutfi Abdallah's The Clever Sheikh of the Butana and Other Stories.

"Her beauty is taken from Tajooj" declares a popular Sudanese song. "You will see the beauty of Tajooj in her people," declares another song about Kassala, the closest city to the town Tajooj was from.

One day, between her artwork and studying law in Chicago, Hilal plans to write and illustrate her own love story. Based on her own multicultural heritage, the story will be set in Sudan, but will end like an English love story: happily.

Written by: Reem Abbas Shawkat, July 20th 2010

States of Union (09/2009)

admin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:40:00 +0000

Morgan Lehman Gallery

New York, New York

Artwork can rarely be separated from the artist. The two inform each other. At least that is the case with photographer Alix Smith, whose latest exhibition, “States of Union,” recently opened at the Morgan Lehman Gallery in New York City.

A common theme of Smith’s work is identity—the perceived notion of one’s identity and one's actual identity. The identity that was most challenging for Smith is her own as a lesbian. She always had a feeling of wanting to fit into the norm. "I was intent on being straight or trying to figure out why I didn’t fit in," says Smith.

By illuminating other people’s perceptions of themselves in her “Constructed Identities” project, Smith came to terms with her own identity. The exhibit was on portraits of friends and acquaintances she grew up with on the Upper East Side who were told to dress as if they were going to work or dinner. As a result of the nature of the shoot, many of the subjects began to exhibit many of the same mannerisms: placing their hands and crossing their legs in a certain way.

The shoot taught Smith that others also experience the feeling of having to fit in. “I got that everyone was playing this part, whereas before I always had this assumption that I was the only one who felt awkward. Through this project I was subconsciously hashing out this idea, that I was playing a part like an actor on a stage.” Smith ultimately realized the people she was photographing were substitutes for her self.

Smith has made a lot of progress since being scared of what people would think of her lesbian identity. Her latest exhibit focuses specifically on monogamous gay couples. Part of what she wanted to do in “States of Union” was give gay people more role models. “I feel like when you are growing up and straight there are many models of what your life might look like; you can watch movies that show all these depictions, but when you are gay there are a lot less.”

She doesn’t want to hit people over the head with the message behind the pictures. “I get them there before they realize the full impact of the work. Something is drawing them to image, and then (they say to themselves) wait, there are two women or two men. I’m not trying to be completely outrageous.”

Smith's long-term goal is to travel across the country taking pictures of lesbian and gay couples from every state and lecturing about LGBTQ issues. "States of Union" can be viewed until October 10, 2009.

Written by: Danielle Sonnenberg, September 23rd 2009

Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture Around the Bay of Naples (10/19/2008 - 3/22/2009)

admin — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 11:21:00 +0000

National Gallery of Art

Washington, DC, USA

Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture Around the Bay of Naples provides one with the sense of being transported to the area of Naples in the first century AD. The gateway to the exhibit is graced with a reproduction of a tile mosaic stating “cave canum” (beware of dog)—complete with a reproduction of a ferocious canine showing his teeth. The exhibit then moves forward to provide a glimpse of the lives of the people in this part of the world, rather than the images that we have become accustomed to seeing, which tend to focus on the infamous destruction that occurred at the hands of Vesuvius. This exhibit highlights the importance of Greek philosophy, art, and culture in harmony with all things Roman.

As evidenced by the more than 150 objects displayed, the inhabitants around the Bay of Naples were fond of the arts and beauty. Even the working class who lived within the city of Pompeii had courtyards, sculpture, and frescoes in their homes, and the elite also had homes that reflected their passion for all things luxurious. While Naples was a Greek colony for several hundred years, it was under Roman rule that the infrastructure of the city of Pompeii was established. As part of the Roman Empire, the city of Pompeii grew beyond its merchant roots and into a playground for the rich and famous of the time.

Yet the most important aspect of this lush and extensive exhibit is the awareness that women in the first century around the Bay of Naples were valued and valuable. In and of themselves, women were people of power and prestige. The female figure is presented as having a distinct and important place within the culture. This is evidenced by the number of ways that the feminine spirit is immortalized in this exhibit. Most notable is the depiction of Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt, who stands ready for whatever she may face. There is also an endearing depiction of the empress Livia and her son Tiberius, which is crafted to convey the power of a mother’s influence.

Even more impressive than the art itself depicting the value of all things female as pure, strong, and essential is the fact that this exhibit represents the collaborative efforts of the National Gallery of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Direzione Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici della Campania, and the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei. Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture Around the Bay of Naples is a delight for the spirit and the senses.

Written by: Susan G. Reyes Vasquez, January 24th 2009