This is about the coolest thing ever in my world right now. Hubert Duprat puts bug larvae in a tank of gold and pearls and other assorted precious stones, and the bugs make shells out of the stuff. And they appear to be making actual designs and patterns too. Sometimes nature is just so cool I don’t even know what to do. Plus I absolutely love the whole idea of tricking bugs into making things humans think is pretty. I wonder what other creatures we could trick. Someone get some scientists working on insect sweatshop technology, please.
Wolfgang Tillmans. July 23, 2007
Last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting the Hirshhorn in Washington, DC and I got to see the Wolfgang Tillmans show I’ve been reading about here and there. It was definitely different from any show I have even seen before, particularly by a photographer. It is a bit hard to describe, but basically the images were a mixture of subjects and dimensions, and scattered everywhere, unframed, as though they had just been thrown up against the walls and stuck there. Apparently the artist arranges the prints in response to the architecture of the room, so I’m sure the Hirshhorn’s unique layout proved an interesting challenge. None of the images are labeled; instead there is a booklet with a map and guide at the entrance, middle, and exit of the show that lists the title and date of each print. There were a few series included as well, my favorite being a grid of 48 prints of solid black or very dark blue, titled Memorial for the Victims of Organized Religion (2006). Close up, the prints were not really pristine, but many had scratches and folds in them. I can’t say I was particularly moved by the piece, but I did like that when viewed at a distance, you could see gray squares in the spaces between the corners of the prints, like that classic optical illusion. The other part of the show that stands out in my mind is the Truth Study Center (2005-06), an instillation in one of the rooms consisting of a maze of plain wooden tables of different heights and sizes. The tables were covered with newspaper clippings, fliers, printouts, photocopies, and other various paper artifacts. The booklet says “…it often makes use of humorous or even absurd juxtapositions to raise questions about the news we take for granted. In doing so, it suggests that the pursuit of truth is always in flux and contingent upon each individual’s unique perspective.” Well I don’t really remember all that happening, but I do remember that it made me think of a Carl Andre instillation I saw in Marfa, TX. Oh well. All in all, I think the show was interesting, certainly, but I wouldn’t call myself emotionally stirred by any of it. I guess it was pretty cool in that I have never really seen what I would call a postmodern photography show before. Not that the images were so postmodern -most that weren’t part of a bigger series seemed very snapshot-y, in a way that doesn’t really appeal to me- but rather the way in which they were displayed. It wasn’t a bad show really, and the Hirshhorn never fails to have something I like. For more information on the Tillmans show, check out the website here: http://hirshhorn.si.edu/exhibitions/description.asp?ID=42
Hello. July 18, 2007
So here’s the thing.
I think I am a pretty interesting person. And I also think I have interesting things to say. What I like to say things about tends towards the arts and technology. I’m a sucker for gallery openings and Discovery Channel specials. (I’m also a sucker for LOLcats, but I’ll try to keep that separate.) Sometimes I get these two categories confused. But the way I see it, science and art aren’t really different things at all. Both are just human beings’ methods of trying to explain the world around us. Simple as that. I enjoy clean lines and simple shapes and uncluttered ideas in both the work I look at and the work I make. But that doesn’t mean I’m not open to crazy things and pushing the boundaries. And I’m always open to learning about new ideas.
Hi. Let’s talk art.
