midway; contemporary

The Secret Life of Objects

Work from private Twin Cities Collections

    unfortunately midway doesn't have a clever alias like my pals Walker and Mia.  I'll just call him midway.      upon entering the building; i barely noticed Wade Guyton's piece X.  is this art? or is this simply a structure holding up the building? or both? art serving a purpose.  who knows.   wade guyton probably knows.

    as i set foot in the building before venturing to the back room, i noticed this disgusting stain on the ceiling.  i thought about telling them that they have a leak, and they should get it checked out before the whole place falls in.  i kept my thoughts to myself; and now i realize...that's art. to each his own.  the more i think about it, the more fond of it i become.  i could not locate this image on the internet; but it was interesting, to say the least. <--i managed to find the image on the gallery website.  who would have thought!

    further in my excursion, my eyes were glued to Monica Bonvicini's work : Add Elegance to Your Poverty, 2002.  I thought it was extremely fascinating and i was curious to know as to how this could be a part of someone's collection.  regardless, it was thought-provoking.  i was indifferent. 

my favorite piece of the exhibition was certainly Carlo Mollino's unique polaroids Untitled.   Matthew Fitzmaurice is a lucky man.  i can't find a close up of this exact image.. but these should suffice to get Mr. Mollino's expression across.  i don't think i could be friends with anyone who had a negative reaction to this piece.  to me, it defines beauty.  someone who doesn't like this piece is someone who wears croc shoes, and doesn't know anything.  and that someone, will never be my friend.

brilliant.

installation

Lovis Corinth 

Oil on canvas

The Minneapolis Institute of Art

  It appears i've made another new friend this past week.  her name is Mia. (MIA)  She is a lot more straightforward then my other new acquaintance, Walker.  I have to ask Walker a lot of questions, while Mia is much easier to understand.  But.. I appreciate both of their friendships.

  I'm still debating my subject matter for my installation piece.  This is simply an introduction.  I'm at the library, but my stomach is begging me leave and let it meet up with spaghetti.  So...  I'll return to this post; soon.

...ahem. that was delicious.

resume.

[side note, the school is on lock down -- and i'm stuck in the library.]

my camera was broken at the time of the visit... so i am improvising.

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If I were to create an installation with items from The Minneapolis Institute of arts it would include several images, photographs, sculptures of nudity along a back wall, painted black.  in the center of the room there would be a very sheer piece of fabric from somewhere in the textiles section.  I believe that viewers of the installation would get a sense that nudity is forbidden, but the sense of the cloth justifies the 'stark truth'   The various portrayals of nudity would give a sense of history of the body and it's importance.   

Even if there is no set purpose by the artist, the purpose is for the viewer to create his/her own thoughts about the installation.  Nudity is and will probably always be disputed, so the effect of this installation would be interesting.  Perhaps even have a few live nudes. 

A quote by William Blake would also be tactfully displayed.

"Art can never exist without naked beauty displayed."

Nude on a Couch

Gustave Caillebotte 

Oil on canvas

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Battle of the Nudes

Antonio Pollaiuolo
Engraving
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Reclining Female Nude

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Watercolor, graphite and oil pastel on off-white medium weight smooth wove paper
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Nude Male Body on Wicker Seat

Eva Rubinstein
Gelatin silver print
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Large Seated Nude

Henri Matisse
Bronze

Nude

Edward Weston
Gelatin silver print
The Minneapolis Institute of Art

Source: http://www.artsmia.org

me & my friends are so smart; we invented this new kind of art; postmodernist. -- the moldy peaches

i have a new friend, his name is Walker.  we'd never met before, but i can tell i'll be visiting him often.


(and old man just approached me @ nina's and asked me if i 'forgot' to do my homework)
no.. i politely lied.  i... work much better in the mornings.
what are you writing about? - old man.
art. postmodernism. the walker.
well why don't you write about the art of procrastination? - old man.


end scene.


new scene.
The Walker Art Center
Douglas Huebler,  Duration #31
Boston 1974.


interpretation is everything.


Postmodern attempts to explain reality.  Douglas Huebler succeeds with his piece Duration #31.  This was one of the most captivating pieces in the exhibit.  It truly expresses postmodernism.  It denies the existence of any principles. An attractive woman is depicted, as the write-up explains her stance.  He positioned the shot around midnight of new years eve so that approximately half of her body would represent the old year, 1973, and the opposing half would be a part of the new year, 1974.  Because 'time' moves from east to west. 


Some say postmodern, there are no originals.  Only copies.  And perhaps that is what it is.  The entire notion of postmodern is tested because it's definition is so open-ended.  And maybe that's what it is-- Is this true with this piece? Regardless, it's stunning.




Douglas is a conceptual artist.  The concept is far more important than material concerns.  Genius.
This quote summarizes:


"The world is more or less full of objects, more or less interesting. I do not wish to add anymore. I prefer, simply, to state the existence of things in terms of time and place." 


curtains close. 

insert title here.

alexandria, i am.  i have a lot of fancy nicknames for myself.  i enjoy doing crafty things, but i haven't had much time lately with classes at the college of visual arts.  uuuuum.  i would add more to this nifty introduction, but i have 26 other things i need to be doing.   i went to The Walker Art Center today... so look forward to some description of it in my next post.  hasta!