Midway Contemporary was an exciting experience. It was filled with such random art. Some pieces were easy to relate to and others made me raise my eyebrow in confu
sion. I liked almost all of the work but picking one that I negatively responded to was quite easy. In the first room there was a piece that I believe was called "Untitled" by Nate Hylden (Sorry for the poor quality of the photo). It was acrylic on aluminum. Usually I look at this type of work and I really like it. I like the dripping of paint and the "careless" nature of the work. But there was something different about this one. It was dizzying. It looked as if it had been screened on or too layered and was a little blurry. I felt like I was trying to look at something interesting but someone kept holding something up to my face and obstructing the view. In fact, while I looked at this painting I felt like I was wearing glasses with the wrong prescription. I believe that if it had been clearer it would have been more effective. But perhaps the artist used the obstructive view to mean something. Perhaps I missed that point...Things that came to mind while viewing "Untitled": Mass confusion, obsctructed views, listening to Nirvana , accidents happen, bad ruckus
The peice that I was positively drawn to was called "Lonesome Boogie Rattler" by Cameron Jamie. I loved it! It was ink on paper on board. I love works that are inky & drippy and generally messy. I felt that this peice had a lot of motion through out it. The artist used all sorts of curves and weights to give character to the work. I could even make out a story. What drew me in to this piece was the fact that looking from far away it just looked like lots of ink; as if someone had spilled their ink well. But when you got closer you saw the finer details, the smudges and lines were no mistake.
Things that came to mind while viewing "Lonesome Boogie Rattler": lines in motion, "visceral", agony and/or ecstasy, listening to a Kinks song, definite, Edgar Allen Poe, good ruckus
Ultimately, Midway was great and I would like to go back soon to visit their library and rummage through what they've got more thoroughly.
- m
You have a fresh conversational style of writing, Maria. Any ideas about the artists intentions in the works you have chosen to write about?
ReplyDeleteIf you like that ink drawing look up Ralph Steadman. He is an AMAZING and very talented artist from Britain. He gained his popularity by the journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
ReplyDeleteSuper! Thanks Red... I've heard of him but never taken the time to look at his work. Ink art just has an interesting quality. Most of the time its unsettling and, for whatever reason, I really like that about it.
ReplyDelete