A.I.R Gallery: “The History Show: Work from 1972 to the Present”

The A.I.R. gallery was established in 1972 as a “response” to the lack of space given to female artists in galleries. “The History Show: Work from 1972 to the Present” exhibition currently on view is a combining of seventy-five A.I.R. artists from the past and present. Feminist content is often the motive for the work but it’s not all agenda driven. Jill Parisi’s capricious Untitled piece and Howardena Pindell’s Op art certainly counteracts the obvious feminist framework of Mary Beth Edelson’s and Silvia Sleigh’s contributions. However, the gallery seems to favor their feminist foundation heavily. A.I.R takes a fresh look at past artists by merging their old and established work with emerging artists’ less familiar art. The mixture shines a new light on the past while elevating the contemporary work to a position of recognition.

Wessel + O’Connor Fine Art Gallery: Blake Little

“The Company of Men” exhibition at Wessel + O’Connor Fine Art Gallery also located in the 111 Front Street Galleries presents the solo exhibition of photographer Blake Little. Little stages everyday man in “settings that complement the subject or tell a story”. Common surroundings such as the subject’s home, workplaces, or typical hangouts serve as the backdrop for the artist’s note worthy photographs. Many of the authentic environments add to the rouged exterior of the man photographed. Some men are sexualized such as Wolfgang, Portland, OR (2006) or Mark, Rugby, Seattle, WA (2005) while others appear genuine and hard working like Todd, Vacaville, CA (2007) and Chuck, San Francisco, CA (2006). Each piece acts as a window into a different man’s unknown life. The men are portrayed as ordinary yet all of them harbor a certain secret. Each is gay but none outwardly exhibit the usual characteristics of a stereotypical homosexual man. Little’s motivation for the series was to document rarely seen gay men who are overtly masculine breaking down the common markers of a typical gay man.

303 Galleries: Doug Aitken

An artist’s creation must be spellbinding to warrant the amount of space Doug Aitken occupies at the 303 Galleries in Chelsea. Two separate galleries house the multimedia artist’s work. Whatever the medium Aitken’s art explores “constructed landscapes” and subsequently the consequences that follow such development.

Residing in the 22nd street space are thirty scenes formed entirely out of blue geometric shapes. The fragmented paintings guide the viewer through futuristic streets and allies. A glowing ceiling highlights the monochromatic watercolors that line the curved sterile walls. Aitken manipulated the gallery to resemble a spaceship not unlike a set for a science-fiction film. However, the alien interior lends nothing to the watercolors in fact the space outshines the work.

Cityscapes are a theme carried throughout the 22nd Street gallery. As the viewer progresses through the gallery they encounter Star. Aitken continues his homage to urban life with the neon illuminated light box featuring an aerial view of a metropolis lit up like an evergreen tree on Christmas morning. It seems that the artist is commenting on the loneliness of living in a big city. While we are surrounded by people, we rarely know our neighbors or care to meet them. In a city of millions one person is unknown and insignificant.

At the 21st street gallery Aitken’s alluring video installation monopolizes the warehouse space. Rarely seen wildlife star in the triple screened feature dubbed “Migration”. The lined up screens resemble highway billboards or fleeting birds. Close ups of a beaver’s scaly tail and the fully dilated eyes of an owl mesmerize the audience. The cinematography is a cross between a nature program and a psychological thriller.

Set in roadside motels the displaced animals appear lonely. Many Americans suffer similar feelings when visiting the very same locations. These motels are equipped with basic amenities like a shower and bed yet they never feel like home. Likewise the artist tries to make the animals feel at home by playing video of their kin on the television. Scenes of galloping horses for the brown stallion and flocks of migrating birds for the peacocks seem to only confuse the lost animals. However, the bathtub does appear to be an adequate substitute for a dam. The beaver leisurely swims as if unaffected. Other attempts such as the mounted antlers on the wall result in a clearly distressed deer.

The viewer becomes a witness to the animal interacting with their surroundings. Although not overtly conscious raising the piece does make the spectator wonder the affect development has on the natural habitats of animals.

The Brooklyn Museum: Ghada Amer

Set in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art the “Ghada Amer: Love Has No End” exhibition showcases modernist abstract painting, embroidered sculpture, and the artist’s conceptual work regarding terror. Amer’s work mostly deals with injustice for women and the Arab world. The exhibition consists of fifty pieces of Amer’s art including some collaborative works by Riza Farkhondeh. The exhibition is broken up into the four sections.

The first section is “Patterns and Models” with works like Barbie Loves Ken, Ken Loves Barbie (1995/2002) and Love Has No End. In this section Amer’s motivation was women working domestically. Iconic images of women ironing and cooking decorate various articles of clothing. Amer’s reference to women’s craft parallels her predecessors’ work. Miriam Shapiro, Faith Ringgold, and Judy Chicago all incorporated such symbolism in their work in order to elevate women’s traditional work to fine art. Amer carries on this mission with her pieces while commenting on new issues women face globally.

On the flanking wall is the “Big Drips” section which consists of Amer’s “signature smut-embroidered” paintings. Included under this umbrella is a large-scale painting stitched with pale blue, pink, and yellow thread into the carbon colored background titled The Big Black Kansas City (2006). At first glance the piece appears abstract however a more careful look reveals the duplicated profile of a woman. The stenciled pattern repeats vertically up and down the canvas. Likewise Red Dragon (2000) employs the same embroidered pattern of an erotically posed woman. The orgasmic-faced figure stands out on the paint dripped background.


“The Reign of Terror” section is a commentary on how the Muslim world is perceived as the agents of panic and terror. The Egyptian born artist suggests these perceptions have been pierced into American minds further perpetuating racism and more often then not the American government orchestrated this continued discrimination. Amer counteracts the idea of the Arab world being the “axis of evil” by showing that the majority of Arab people do not fit this terrorist stereotype. The most spellbinding work presented shares the same name as the section. The Reign of Terror is an installation of wallpaper with printed definitions of terror. This concept of terror has become part of the social fabric of our nation and surrounds us much like walls. Many have become so engulfed by panic they have lost touch of what it actually means.

Although many of the pieces in this section focus on words, I ♥ Paris (1991) concentrates on visual stereotypes. The series of photographs depicts veiled women posed in front of Paris’ most beloved tourist sites including the Eiffel Tower. Combining the Iranian cador with the naqqab from Egypt and other countries Amer and her colleagues are completely shrouded by black fabric. Exaggerating the veil references the extent at which a small group of Arab terrorists have been seen as a canopy for all Arab people. The individual has been flattened. The artist adds humor by posing the women in same manner many Americans do when on vacation in Paris. Further proving these women are more similar to us than different.

THe Klompching Gallery: Cornelia Hediger

The walls of the Klompching Gallery bare the photographs of renowned Swiss artist Cornelia Hediger. Each rich and colorfully fragmented photograph in the “Doppelgänger” exhibition carries a narrative. The carefully crafted scenarios are comically shocking while simultaneously psychological. Hediger plays the role of the woman in all the works struggling “between the conscious and the unconscious”. The whimsy of brightly patterned dresses and fanciful embellishments are off set by a sense of eeriness and sorrow. The broken woman appears to be in a state of emotional terror yet the luscious hues of her surroundings create a jovial façade for the surface.

In Doppelganger 11/05 one woman on the left holds a cheerful doll’s head in front of her face masking her melancholy. The other is trapped in a bird’s cage screaming. Of course both are the same person battling an internal trauma. The artist is making a statement about the tendency to hide behind a public image to avoid signs of depression. Despite the weighty subject matter the work presents a humorous side to these sad emotions. Perhaps the message is that eventually we all stop and laugh at the past.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Jeff Koons and Giorgio Morandi

“Jeff Koons on the Roof” is a play land of imagination only possible by the magical location of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s roof. The breath taking view of the New York skyline competes with Koons’ sculptures almost outshining them. The relatively large-scale objects appear miniature in comparison to the big city.

Balloon Dog (Yellow) is an “updated version of Duchamp’s urinal” as Jerry Saltz quotes in New York Magazine. The yellow-tinted high-chromium stainless steel piece like any ready made is meant to play off the viewer's past experience in this case specifically a person’s childhood. Almost everyone has been to a street fair or carnival where balloon animals were a must-have.

The mirrored stainless steel of Coloring Book looks like a large scale 1980’s pop art piece until you read the name. Suddenly childhood memories of coloring in your favorite Disney themed coloring book come over you. With careful viewing the scribbled rendering of Winnie the Pooh becomes apparent.

Sacred Heart is a heart wrapped in reflective red paper and tied off with a yellow ribbon quoting the powerful Roman Catholic image that bares the same name. In the past religion was the main inspiration for humans. People devoted their entire lives to their faith. This notion seems less and less apparent in modern day America. Koons’ suggests consumerism is now at the heart of America. Sacred Heart is even more relevant in a time of economic crisis like today. Neatly packaging America’s lifeline is a reminder to the viewer that luxury is a gift not an entitlement.

Koons’ work deals with dreams for all ages. Each piece allows the audience to make up their own narrative harping back on their past experiences. Without our memories Koons’ work would be meaningless. Sadly I felt the work was cheapened by the bar and smoking section. People were not there to look at the art but take a break from the massive museum below them.

Another special exhibition on view is a comprehensive body of work by one of the most skillful artists of the twentieth century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art hosts the first showing of the Italian artist’s beloved still lifes and landscapes within the United States. The tasteful “Giorgio Morandi: 1890-1964” exhibition showcases works Morandi produced for his friends and perspicacious collectors.

Examining Morandi’s collection gives a sense of the artist’s personality and intent only possible with such an expansive body of work. He painted dozens of works with the same subject from alternate views and varied positions in a range of styles. Likewise he experimented with painting identical objects with slightly altered lighting. He even changed color palettes to record the differences. A fascination with intricate details and minor variations consumed that artist’s entire career.

Morandi was more experimental in his early years before narrowing his focus to vases, pitchers, vessels, and similar receptacles. In the 1950s Morandi became interested in voids and negative space but remains true to his favorite subject of still lifes. Concentrating on how objects appear in relation to other objects the artist positioned items in front of on another as if the covered section was lost.

Etchings such as Bouquet of Flowers (Fiori in un Cornetto) and Landscapes (Paesaggio) highlighted Morandi’s skill and eye for making something truly beautiful. Each was unique breaking away from his typical mode of painting. Although the subject matter remained the same there was a unique quality to each piece not seen in his painting.

One great curatorial element was the addition of quotes from art historians, friends, and the artist himself. Each passage further explained Morandi’s artistic motivations. However, navigating where the exhibition began and ended was difficult. There was a sense of chronology yet the pieces were also separated by subject matter making the artist’s timeline unclear. On the other hand the grouping of related subject matter allowed the viewer to compare slight disparities on a similar theme. The exhibition is sophisticated and appropriate for the context of the work but crowds are certainly not pouring into the museum for this lackluster show.

The Museum of Modern Art: Dali: Painting and Film

Combining film, painting, and drawings the “Dali: Painting and Film” exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art examines the influence of film on Salvador Dali. With the inclusion of gems such as the artist’s most recognized work, Persistence of Memory and Un Chien Andalou (The Andalusian Dog), the show was congested with museum-goers all struggling to catch a glimpse at the surreal and perplexing work of Dali. Seeing every piece was impossible. I found myself peering over heads and looking through crowded bodies, which in a way was fitting for Dali.

Oddly enough Dali’s work Persistence of Memory was not drawing the crowds I expected. I was able to decipher the famous symbolism I learned in my art history classes. It was much smaller than I thought, which was disappointing. I imagined it as big as my college roommate’s poster version.

The first film on view was Un Chien Andalou surrounded by paintings the semi-darkened room was less then appropriate for either medium. The film directed collaboratively by Luis Buñuel and Dali is probably one of the best-known surrealist films of its time. Un Chien Andalou is based on two separate and unrelated dreams of Buñuel and Dali and explains why the chronology of the film is fragmented. The bizarre film features two central characters that appear to be having a love affair that ends in tragedy. The imagery of the man widening the eyelid of his lover’s left eye with one hand and preceding to draw a straight razor across her eye with the other still makes me flinch even after seeing it numerous times. Not to mention the chills that run over my body during the ant scene. The absence of a narrative leaves the viewer with many questions much like Dali’s painting.

Dali and Walt Disney’s shared film, Destino, was certainly the showstopper. The animated film encompasses the alluring appeal of Disney classics combined with the strange hypnotic whimsy of Dali. Ben Walters speaks of the delightful film saying it was like “walking a weird fault line where Disney's dream world meets Dalí's precise surreality”. The exhibition includes storyboards and letters between the producers mapping how step-by-step the film came to fruition. The distraction of the chattering crowd was lost as soon as the looped film began. The room silenced and people gathered around as if in a trance completely mesmerized by the film’s flowing love story. The wall postings and storyboards allude to the ill-fated love Chronos, an all-powerful god, has for a mortal woman. The long-haired hour glass shaped woman looks like any other Disney princess but Dali’s surrealist backgrounds prevent it from being cliché.

In 1966 Dali sat for some screen-tests produced by Andy Warhol who flipped the film upside down to distort the image in honor of the Spanish Surrealist. Warhol stated, "it's like being with royalty or circus people". Dali’s work has a sort of awe that is unexplainable. He truly was the first artist to be seen as a celebrity. A notion perfected by Andy Warhol and carried on by Damien Hurst.

The alluring and very comprehensive exhibition not only shows the influence of film on Dali’s work but his impact on the cinematography. It was really wonderful to see the artist’s iconic representation of melting clocks and ants set in motion in his films. It is as if his paintings come alive in these films.