The Age of Industry and the Arts

My exhibit features works of art that depict and represent industry.  I chose this as a theme because I believe that industry has had a very strong influence and impact over the course of recent history and continues to have a large impact today.  Industry is not something that is generally considered synonymous with beauty so how artist choose to depict industry is very interesting.  It is interesting to see what artists have to say about industry.  One motif that is common in many of the works of art in my exhibit is repetition.  Whether it be multiple smokestacks or multiple pieces of machinery in a factory, repetition is used to explore the extreme levels of production in the age of industry.  The amount of goods we are able to produce these days is astonishing is when put in historical context.  Another theme in these works of art is the interaction between the natural world and the industrial world.  Some of the images show dense factory centers surrounded by hills or trees.  The nature stands in stark contrast to the machinery.  I do not believe that industry is depicted favorably in many of these works.  It is instead depicted as a force of destruction and as monotonous.  For example the piece entitled “Industrial Hall (Phillip Morris)” shows a rather bland, block-shaped factory that has very little that is beautiful about it.  It should also be noted that Phillip Morris is a tobacco company so not only is the building ugly, but its purpose is arguably sinister.

Walker Evans, “[63 Views and Studies of Ohio Clay Plants and Workers, Commissioned by Fortune Magazine For the Article "Clay: The Commonest Industrial Raw Material", Published January 1951]”, 1950, Not on display

Michael Wolf, “Industrial #2”, 2005, Not on display

Frank Breuer, “Industrial Hall (Phillip Morris)”, 2000, Not on display

John Kane, “The Monongahela River Valley, Pennsylvania”, 1931, Gallery 774

Charles Scheeler, “Water”, 1945, Gallery 911

Abe Ajay, “Heavy Industry”, 1935-43, Not on display

Charles Thurston Thompson, “French Machinery”, 1855, Not on display

Umberto Boccioni, “Landscape with Industrial Plants”, 1909, Not on display

Cesar Domela, “[Photomontage: Industrial Pipes and Boilers]”, 1928, Not on display

Designer unknown, “Panasonic Radio (Model R-72S)”, 1969, Not on display

The Erlking

LES galleries reaction

The art galleries located in the Lower East Side are quite different from those located in Chelsea.  It is pretty clear that the galleries in Chelsea contain the art of more established artists.  For one thing the spaces are substantially larger in most cases and the environment seems more professional.  Most of the galleries in Chelsea are filled with the art of only one artist.  In contrast, the galleries in the Lower East Side are smaller and have a different vibe.  They seem more underground and the art is certainly more experimental.  The art in Chelsea seemed to me to be more thematic.  For example the art by the Chinese artist which had political themes.  The art in the Lower East Side was different from that.  In the BOSI Contemporary gallery there was an interesting exhibit of art by Tatyana Murray entitled “In The Woods”.  This exhibit did not seem to me to be very thematic.  Rather it seemed to be more sensational and aesthetic. 

Another gallery in the LES was a hybrid gallery/bookstore.  In some cases it was hard to tell where the art stopped and the bookstore began.  Despite this perhaps seeming unprofessional, it lent a certain charm to the space.  The charm of this and other galleries stuck out to me.  Whereas the galleries in Chelsea were clean, ordered, and had shiny floors, the galleries in the Lower East Side seemed more disorganized and dingy which added to their underground vibe.  For example at the Stephan Stoyanov gallery and Untitled gallery the floors where hard wood and appeared to be old and warped.  At the Stephan Stoyanov gallery, the basement was accessible.  This downstairs space epitomized the word dingy.  It had projectors projecting mixed media works of art every which direction and the ceilings where low.  But it added to the feel and gave the gallery a uniqueness that I enjoyed.  The Untitled gallery had a section of the back that was a mix between a storage space for art not on display and pieces that were up for display, along with some folding chairs and other unanimous objects. 

I found the art galleries in the Lower East Side to be more accessible.  This was largely due to the spaces which were maybe less professional but more homely.  I also thought the art in the LES galleries was a little more inventive and maybe didn’t take itself as seriously as the art in Chelsea.  Both of these areas have their positives and negatives and share similarities and differences.  In the end that is maybe why they are able to co-exist in a city that is famous for art.  

Public Art Reaction

The public work of art I found in my neighborhood was located in near the entrance of an upscale apartment building.  It is a statue of an upright human figure next to a column.  It is made of flat pieces of stone, possible granite, stacked upon each other.  The slabs of stone are rough and slightly jagged.  The slabs are of slightly different hues of an earthy gray.  This statue looks almost as if it could be from ancient times.  It clearly has classical influences.  The column appears to be influence by Hellenistic culture.  The human figure has their arms crossed almost like an Egyptian mummy would.  There is no doubt that the artist was influenced by some archaic Mediterranean culture.  The statue looks like something that could be found in the ruins on a remote Greek island.  The form of the human figure is rounded and indistinct like a statue that has suffered from hundreds of years of rain and wind erosion; similar to the Egyptian sphinx.  I believe it was the intention of the artist to create a work of art that reflected its ancient influences. 

The statue is in the garden next to the doorway of a luxury apartment building on 96^th street between Lexington and 3^rd.  Off to the side and behind the statue is a plaza/garden that is very well kept and nice.  The statue seems almost to be a watchman of this quaint garden space.  The statue fits well into its surroundings.  As it stands as a watchman over the garden, it also stands watch over the entrance to the apartment building.  It looks good as part of the garden in which it stands because of the natural look of the statue; its edges are not straight and clean.  They are rough and look as if they were pulled right out of a river. 

I have walked by this statue numerous times but I really noticed it after we vised Moma PS1.  There was a work of art from the same artist which was a part of the same collection of stone figures.  When I used to walk by I didn’t think as much of the statue because, although I liked it, I thought it was maybe some corporate art.  My opinion admittedly changed when I found out that the artist was more renowned in the art world than I would have expected.  I think this piece would have initially turned my head more had I first seen it in a museum or gallery.

Boaz Vaadia

“Yahkin”

Stone sculpture

1993

Chelsea Galleries Reaction

When choosing a work of art I would want to collect, I tried to look at it as an investment and something that I would enjoy.  I looked for a work of art that seemed to me like it could be timeless, something that was not too trendy that would retain value.  To do this I tried to figure out the historical identity and the cultural identity of the art and how those respective identities fit into the world moving forward in time.  I believe art that has a high level of historic and cultural value has a better chance of retaining value.  For the art that I would want to collect, I chose works from the exhibit by Charles Freger entitled "Wilder Mann".  This exhibit contains portraits of people dressed in fantastical and primal costume.  They dress up in these costumes for different festivals throughout parts of Europe.  These works of art have a very strong cultural and historical identity.  The have influences from pagan traditions and Christian traditions of the past.  I think these aspects will give Freger’s work more value moving forward into the future.  As the forces of globalization continue to generate a more singular, monotonous culture worldwide, art like this with its historical and culture value will become more valuable; especially if the festivals where these costumes are worn begin to dwindle in number and significance.  I also really like this art.  I love the monstrous, shamanic costumes.  They strike in me fear and curiosity.  

On the other hand, for art which I would not buy as a collector, I chose work from the British artist Richard Hughes.  To me, this art does not have as valuable a historical and cultural perspective.  The cultural perspective of this art is very modern.  The pieces of art are made up of industrial material such as concrete or plastic.  This art seems to almost be factory made.  The historical perspective is very much rooted in the present, which, in my mind, will not add to its value moving forward.  The industrial nature of our global culture is growing, so, while Richard Hughes' art may remain relevant moving forward, I do not see it growing in value as much as the work by Charles Freger.  Another reason that i would not by Hughes' art as a collector is that the work is large and heavy and would be difficult to store and would be expensive.  

LIB 110 Picasso Imitation Project

For my Picasso imitation, I tried to try to recreate one of his drawings.  This was because I enjoyed the drawings by him done in pencil, and because pencil and paper were what I had at my immediate disposal.  The drawings of his which I enjoyed generally had a central subject like a person or an animal.  I found a lot of his drawings to be simple yet still abstract.  In these drawings, Picasso utilized simple contour lines and limited hatching and shading.  Because of these features, the drawings generally appeared very flat.  My drawing also uses simple contour lines and limited hatching.  I noticed in some of Picasso’s drawings he would establish a focal point by using bolder lines, and hatching and shading in a condensed area and then using thinner lines on the periphery of this area.  I used this technique in my drawing.  The focal point is meant to be the eyes and nose.  That is where I used the boldest lines and where I employed hatching and cross hatching.  The other parts of the subject surrounding the focal point, like the neck and ear, are done with thinner lines.   

Some of Picasso’s drawings seemed to have a sense of incompleteness.  There would be lines that did not connect or anatomical features, such as an eye or nose, which were missing.  It almost seems as though a full and complete drawing of the subject was on the paper in invisible ink and Picasso merely sketched a rough outline over the invisible form which only he could see.  In my drawing, the man only has one ear and I decided to completely omit the mouth. 

Illustrate a Story

This story is one of nostalgia for a time when people were more genuinely connected than they are today.  Despite all our technology and social media, in some ways we are less connected than we were in the past.  The narrator of the story laments that lack of the human voice in our society today.  I tend to agree with him.  The human voice is a powerful thing and is truly the best way for us to communicate and make connections with each other.  In my illustration, the human voice is represented by the forms which issue forth from the mouths of the old man and the infant.  These forms combine together to represent the connection that the old man and the baby are making through the human voice. 

http://storycorps.org/listen/studs-terkel/