MCA: Interpreting Art

i'm finding it very hard to choose one particular piece to interpret.

but; the mission impossible is suddenly possible.  i evoked a memory i knew i could not forget.  a stunning work of art.  it is that of Chiharu Shiota.  from my quick research, i am unable to tell if Chiharu is a man or a woman, and i think that makes this piece more beautiful.  there is no forced sexism regarding the artist's name.  i truly cannot tell if a man or a woman did this piece, and i think that makes it more wonderful.  i am not saying that incorporating an artists partiality is bad, but i am saying that no bias can be good.  i do however hope that by the end of writing this blog i will know if Chiharu is a lad or a lass.  maybe it's both.

the piece displayed at the midway was entitled Trauma (Mother and Child). 2008. it was crafted from plexi glass, string, and and 'object.'  i hate to admit that i don't exactly know what the object was?  does anyone? anyone?  bueller?  additionally, i'm having a very tough time locating an image of the exact piece located in the MCA.  i hope that the images i post within this blog do justice.

within the first few clicks of my research, i was able to find Chiharu's website.  it turns out he/she did an entire exhibit in 2007 called Trauma / Alltag in the........... ( must go to english conference! will return..... sometime)

return.  The exhibit in 2007 called Trauma / Alltag was in the Kenji Taki Gallery in Tokyo, Japan.

i find it very interesting that this show took place only 2 years ago, and it became a part of Darwin and Geri Reedy's collection. i took it upon myself to do further research on their collection, to see if it had any relationship with this piece.  the immediate answer.  below are a few pictures i have gathered from their collection.

i can't really get any cohesive theme from their collection except; expensive.  i wonder what they do for a living? from what i can tell darwin has a gallery @ 51 Peninsula Rd.  in Dellwood, MN, and he's a republican.  oh, the power of the internet....i actually just attempted to contact mr. reedy to inquire about his interest in Chiharu Shiota..  he did not answer.  i will try again later.

...i tried again.   still no answer.  i also went to the CVA library to look up some books about Chiharu Shiota.  of course they didn't have any.  and i would love to travel back to the midway; but lack of transportation forbids me.  chiharu sure is making this difficult for me.  but she ( yes, she! ) certainly has progressed over the years.

"What's under my feet, what I eat, whom I meet - all that influences my art"

i find it interesting that the current installation @ western is Woven Portals: An Installation by Randy Walker.  very similar; i wonder if he's seen her work? 


chiharu shiota's work is open to interpretation, but she puts a lot of her own energy from daydreams to nightmares.  i'm looking forward to learning more about her.


her formal expression is almost obsessive-compulsive.  she creates manifests of unconscious anxiety that screams.  deep; reflective; fascinating.  the work references mental disorder.  loneliness.  solitude.  tension.




unforgettable.