I can’t go on. I’ll go on.

I can’t go on. I’ll go on is on online exhibit from Samuel Beckett’s novel Molloy. It is an interactive piece that consists of two parts. The first is a blog portion where viewers are encouraged to leave their thoughts and comments. The second portion is a multimedia presentation that is triggered by comments left on the blog. Each comment changes the multimedia display based on the keyword entered. Appropriate excerpts accompany the deconstructed keyword that goes under the video.

Most of the videos are also deconstructed. The entire picture is not shown, but rather only certain portions. Beckett’s writing accompanies the videos as well. The text is dark and foreboding. I attempted to add a trigger word in the blog portion, but could not get the software to add my words. I do not know if there is a glitch in the system or if I was not doing it properly. Despite this, I was able to watch the streaming video with the comments of those that had visited the site prior to me.

One video seemed to be about death and accepting one’s destiny. The sound effects that go with the videos and text are on a continuous loop and do not change depending on content. The exhibit is cool and I enjoyed the interactive portions the best. I would probably have enjoyed it more if I could have left comments, but never the less it was still interesting. I really enjoyed how the deconstructed words scrolled on to the page slowly. The entire mood of the piece was vey mysterious and I think this definitely enhanced that feeling.

 

 

Why Some Dolls are Bad

I found this exhibit on Furtherfield.org. Why Some Dolls are Bad is a graphic novel that has been generated on a Facebook platform. Internet artist, Kate Armstrong, arranges a stream of images off of Flickr. Armstrong then attaches each with a certain tag as well as her own original text. This produces an ever-changing dialogue. Users who subscribe to Facebook can order the pictures. It is then up to each individual whether they want to reorder the sequence, delete certain pictures, save them or send them to a friend. As a result, every story is going to differ from the next. Dolls explores themes of fashion, ethics, “artifice and the self”. The novel also reexamines government systems as well as materials like mohair and household plants.

Originally, I do not find the individual images to be interesting. They seem like thoughtless snapshots that did not even make the cut to be in the family album. I suppose with the text, the pictures become a bit more inviting, but for me the whole project falls a little short. Despite this, I do think the concept is an interesting one. I think the execution left a bit to be desired. I would of liked to see more interesting photos with a much more provocative dialogue. I think this could really stir up some interesting conversations between the members of Facebook. I do enjoy the comic book look of the inserted text boxes. Unfortunately, the actual text just seems like an afterthought. All this being said, I think Armstrong was trying to keep the exhibit light and fun. The images paired with the text are meant to amuse the viewer. 

Transformer Gallery

I just went to the Transformer Gallery on P Street in Washington DC. It is a small gallery with only one floor for the art to hang on. The exhibit that on display now is Hatnim Lee’s Photographs. The exhibit runs until April 26th. The content is everyday life. The pictures do not seem staged although I am sure some of them required a bit of direction. They are all portraits. When I say portraits, I do not mean the normal straight forward shot. Lee definetly seems to capture the essence of each subject through different ways. The background gives a depth to the characters in each photograph. The images are large-scale prints. The content ranges from intimate portraits to fashion shoots. The images have an innocence that connects with the viewer. Lee utilizes short depth of field balanced with a good use of negative space. She definitely breaks the picture plane into thirds, which in turn draws the viewer’s eye around the entire image. The images are C-prints, which really make the saturated, bold colors within each scene pop.

This exhibit is a diary of Lee's life over the past year. She has photographed her every day activities. These include subjects from her freelance jobs at National Geographic to employees working in her parents store. One of my favorite pictures the one of an androgynous model. The mood in the photograph is dark and intimate. Lee seems to have a talent for capturing these real-life moments and showing them in an appealing way. One really feels that you have some knowledge of each subject, simply because of the way they are posed and the background information.

Lee has been writing a blog over the past year that includes these photographs and many more. A book is being compiled of all of these pictures in order to document their stories.

Here is a link to her blog

MANIFEST ORDER

At Hemphill Gallery on 14^th Street NW in Washington DC, Franz Jantzen’s Manifest Order is on display. All the works are cartographic assemblages. The images are printed using archival pigments. They are then mounted on aluminum sheets. Jantzen uses a digital camera to document a single plane from a constantly changing vantage point. The resulting images are assembled using hundreds of photographs in Photoshop. The final product is an inventive interpretation of the original location. Jantzen turned, twisted and pixilated certain elements within the each final piece, which creates an intricate maze of exploration for the viewer.

Jantzen has documented many historical sites such as the Uline Arena ceiling in Washington, DC and McSorley’s Bar in New York City. The images themselves are printed in large scale. The photographs range in size from 17” x 20” to an impressive 41” x 176”. They are all black and white, yet they are vibrant and saturated in deep blacks, crisp whites and a pleasing range of gray tones. Jantzen demonstrates a good use of negative space. In some images, he tempts the viewer with details and then fades out the necessary elements. It is a very interesting exhibit, so check it out if you get the chance.

Hemphill Gallery 1515 14^th Street NW Washington, DC 20005

“ If it makes you laugh, if it makes you cry, if it rips your heart out, that’s a good picture.”

Those were the words of the legendary Eddie Adams. He is just one of the Pulitzer Prize Photographers highlighted in the exhibit at the Newseum in Washington DC.

In the Newseum’s Pulitzer Prize Photographs Gallery, I was very moved by the world’s greatest news photographs. There were six floors of exhibits, but I am going to focus on the Pulitzer Prize Photograph exhibit. Every Pulitzer winning photo was represented since 1942 to the present. The exhibit was unsettling at times, with graphic images of the world’s history. More than once, I got chills staring at the images of war, famine and natural disasters. True to the human spirit, there were many photos that made me feel hope and some that even made me smile.

A very nice thing about this exhibit was it was very interactive. There was a movie in the center of the photographs that ran on a continuous twenty-minute loop. It highlighted a number of the photographers that had won Pulitzers. It was really fascinating to see the images that came before and after the “money shot.” I particularly enjoyed being able to hear the stories of the events unfolding around these journalists during the different situations they were asked to cover.

Many of the photographers were still visibly distraught concerning the different stories they had been asked to document for the world. There was an image from a mudslide in Armero, Columbia that Carol Guzy and Michel DuCille captured. She explained how the woman, who had been trapped in water for 72 hours, was talking and reaching out to the people who were attempting to get free her. Even though so many were trying to help, she ended up drowning because there was no way to release her from whatever was trapping her underneath the muddy water. Guzy expressed her disbelief that it was not possible to save this innocent woman. The picture that won the Pulitzer was the last shot before she went under. Guzy made it clear you cannot go out searching for a Pulitzer; you just have to be there for that moment between life and death. You just have to get that shot. The shot that makes you question whether you should of helped instead of staying behind the lens. The shot that wakes you up in the middle of the night asking why things couldn’t of happened differently. The images are haunting in a way that video is not. The still image is so powerful. In just one photograph a story is told to the entire world. These images have helped shape history. I can only imagine how hard it must be to strike a balance between doing your job and acting like a human being. 

 

 

Dreams

I went and saw an amazing exhibit at the Hirshhorn Museum. It is called The Cinema Effect: Dreams. Twenty-one different artists contributed to the collection. In Dreams, the artists use the digital technology and techniques of the cinema to create an almost hallucinogenic experience. I was transported into their worlds where anything goes…

Each artist had a different approach to his or her work, yet the major emphasis for all of them were consistent. To me, each piece focused on crossing into a dreamlike state of mind. Reality is definitely questioned. This was apparent from the start of the exhibit. I entered through a plastic sheet hung from the ceiling into a room shrouded in complete darkness. I accidentally bumped into a stranger that seemed just as confused as I was. As we exchanged apologies, I noticed a small arrow illuminated on to the floor. The arrow led me into many more dark rooms filled with whimsical and scary pieces of art. I felt as if all my sensibilities were taken away at the door and this made it very easy to focus on each piece. It was a three-dimensional full-body experience.

There are too many pieces to mention them all, so I will only give you the highlight of my trip. In one giant pitch-black room, I found Anthony McCall's You and I, Horizontal. This piece consisted of a projector giving off a large circle of light. The way one must enter the exhibit, the light is shining directly towards you. This definitely throws of your depth perception of how to get through the room and what exactly this beam of light is supposed to be doing. After allowing my eyes to adjust, I realized the beam was creating a half circle on the opposite wall. I actually walked into the middle of the projected light and it was like sensory overload. I honestly felt like I could have been on drugs or something. It was so fantastic to look into the light…there were cloudy rings that were moving all throughout the light. It was not smoky in the room, so I have no idea how this effect was created, but I definitely enjoyed it. This piece was very simple when it came to the elements required to create the actual finished product, but the mood that was produced as a result was intense. I felt as if I had been transported back into my childhood while being trapped between a state of consciousness and sleep. It was a very interesting and bizarre experience.

If you get a chance, check this exhibit out. Dreams runs until May 11, 2008. It really is an extraordinary experience.

 

UNCOVERED...

I am reviewing Uncovered by Thomas Allen. It is a book of photography that I came across on the Internet. It is very interesting work. His work is very unconventional. He takes figures from the covers of old pulp paperbacks, cuts them out and then creates a scene around them. The figures take on a three-dimensional look when placed into the wonderful moments created by Allen. 

The photos have a vintage feel, like something out of the 1950s or 60s. The images are kitschy, and some remind me of old pin-up girls and comic book pictures.Allen combines the figures with interesting everyday objects. His lighting in each scene is impeccable, making the flat figures appear to be coming to life. His use of shadows only increases the believability that these figures are not flat. 

Most of his photographs utilize shallow depth of field which works to his advantage. The scenes he creates are not to be taken too seriously. They are light-hearted and witty. 

Allen is inspired by a long affair with pop-up books and a fascination with the View-Master Stereoscopic toy from his youth. The scenes he creates are generally muted colors with the figures being the main pop of bright color. This definitely draws your eye immediately to the focal point of each piece. 

Overall, I very much enjoyed looking at Thomas Allen's work. I find it refreshing and innovative. Its always fun to create something new out of something old.