A.) There were many works at the museum that made an impression on me; that's the funny thing about the word 'impression', it's a very vague term and it leaves a lot of room for interpretation. I think the two pieces that had the greatest impact on me were Wall Drawing #1268: Scribbles: Staircase (AKAG), and Untitled (Mylar), pictured below.
The first thing that struck me about the Scribbles was it's absolutely immense size and it's ridiculous effort to make! It is literally composed of nothing but scribbles of Graphite pencil on a three huge walls; it took over 5,000 man hours and over 1,700 pencil leads to complete! Standing in the stairwell was quite an experience; you're literally surrounded by a never ending sea of various shades of ever so slightly shiny black. But when you look very closely at the whiter sections, you realize it is all composed of tiny individual scribbles working together. It was a strangely moving experience for me.
(Mylar), on the other hand, left a very visual impression on me; not emotional like Scribbles. The way (Mylar) reacts to the lighting makes it appear as though it is made of something alien; something otherworldly, that is showing us a reality we could have only dreamed of. It is a strange mix of shadow and shine and looking at it was surprisingly entertaining, without being dizzying.
B.) In terms of feeling 'connected' to the works, I can't say there were any that I specifically felt connected to. There were pieces that moved me; many works made me feel something, but none really 'connected' with me; except for maybe Niagara. This obvious reason this piece connects with me is it is focused on Niagara Falls, right in Buffalo's backyard. It's also concerned with the pollution in the river, something I too take very seriously.
The other work I would say I felt connected to was Ground III; part of the Joan Linder: Operation Sunshine exhibit. The entire exhibit connected with me, again it was based in WNY and dealing with pollution; but the exhibit contained many locations I recognized personally, places near my home and workplace. One of the sketch books on display showed the bridge to Grand Island and the fuel refinery in the background; I travel past there almost daily on my way to and from work, and the refinery is owned by the company I work for, Noco. Ground III was particularly moving for me because its so simultaneously large and small at the same time. The photo below isn't very good, mostly because the piece is very large, but contains many intricate and small details that my camera just couldn't capture.
C.) There were several works that just had me asking more questions than finding answers. The first of these works was The Flying Fish, pictured below.
There isn't much in this image that doesn't make me scratch my head. Those are clearly husband and wife in their wedding garb, but why are they standing in a bouquet of roses? Why is that house upside-down? Where did the rooster come from, and why does that flying fish have an arm holding a candelabra? I found no sense in the image, and yet it didn't seem random or unplanned; this is what piqued my curiosity.
The other work that grabbed ahold of my curiosity was Reckless; a large floor sculpture of bright colors and strange shapes. The first thing I thought looking at it was it looked like bacteria growing across the floor, or was it a garden? It was brightly colored and full of shapes, but it was flat; like someone had just painted all over the floor. It made me rethink what 'sculpture' really was; here was this sprawling floor decal sitting among three-dimensional forms, yet it seemed more full and alive than the rest of them. Certainly it was less...disconcerting than some; I did not care for that large wooden pumpkin baby thing.
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| Sol LeWitt
Wall Drawing #1268: Scribbles: Staircase (AKAG), conceived 2006; executed 2010
Graphite on three walls
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| Tara Donovan; Untitled (Mylar), 2007; Mylar and glue |
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| Detail from Scribbles |
B.) In terms of feeling 'connected' to the works, I can't say there were any that I specifically felt connected to. There were pieces that moved me; many works made me feel something, but none really 'connected' with me; except for maybe Niagara. This obvious reason this piece connects with me is it is focused on Niagara Falls, right in Buffalo's backyard. It's also concerned with the pollution in the river, something I too take very seriously.
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| Frank M. Moore; Niagara, 1994-95; Oil on canvas |
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| Joan Linder; Ground III, 2014; Ink on paper |
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| Marc Chagall; The Flying Fish, 1948; Oil on canvas |
The other work that grabbed ahold of my curiosity was Reckless; a large floor sculpture of bright colors and strange shapes. The first thing I thought looking at it was it looked like bacteria growing across the floor, or was it a garden? It was brightly colored and full of shapes, but it was flat; like someone had just painted all over the floor. It made me rethink what 'sculpture' really was; here was this sprawling floor decal sitting among three-dimensional forms, yet it seemed more full and alive than the rest of them. Certainly it was less...disconcerting than some; I did not care for that large wooden pumpkin baby thing.
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| Polly Apfelbaum; Reckless, 1998; Synthetic velvet and fabric dye |
I really enjoyed looking through your blog of the art gallery. My favorite has to be Reckless, the vibrant colors throughout the art work really draw me in wanting to take a closer look. Tara Donovan's piece really drew me in as well it looks like the objects were not placed on the floor but rather emerging from naturally which really inspires me. Great job I really enjoyed your blog!
ReplyDeleteYou picked some good artwork there! I so agree with the Flying Fish one. There is so much about that work that makes no sense no matter how much I stretch my imagination. It's like a depiction of the word "nonsense."
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