The propaganda museum was wonderful. I would think there are more collectors of Mao posters (or maybe I just don't know about them) and more Mao posters around.
This may be an obvious statement but it is fascinating how time creates art, that it not only does but it must. Everything becomes art when we look back in time.
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I was very curious to see what the galleries were like in Shanghai. The gallery setting seems so far to be very similar to New York, though maybe a bit less pretentious and a bit smaller.
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Qiu Anxiong's exhibition was really nice. I loved the rectangular light on the floor, which seemed palpable/inpalpable at the same time. The play on space was beautiful. The videos were certainly nostalgic though the tree/root sculpture and large bug sculpture in the lobby didn't quite fit into the show. And the 2 paintings took so much away from the quiet and beautiful videos. A stronger show would've been a series of those videos in smaller scale.
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Photography is a medium that is so accessible that there is a lot of same ideas being repeated.
Fischer's photos in the show fall into three categories: the women in water, architectural and abstract patterns, and the series of occupational photos. While the architectural ones are nice it is quite overdone to photograph patterns, and the women in water are creepy and fascinating but I'm not really sure what to make of it. This is a problem I have with art-- some pieces we can't understand/appreciate until we know some more background information. Shouldn't art be able to stand alone? Art is something you look at. If you can't get it from looking at it then why not just communicate through words?
The strongest photos in this show are the series of officer's faces. It has probably been done many times as well but this concept is one that lends itself to repetition. The face is the part of the human body that distinguishes one from the other, the part that holds the most personality and expression. It is always fascinating to look at.
1 comment:
I totally agree with you on art being able to stand on its own. I felt the same way about some of the pieces in the Safety First show recently. I mean, it could be art, but until I know more about the piece and why, I can't really consider it so. Makes it difficult to try to think critically about the piece.
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