Week 004: one two & three

ONE*
Angela Strassheim
October 11, 2008 - February 1, 2009
Monterey Museum of Art


"This fall, MMA will present Angela Strassheim, an exciting solo exhibition by a rising star on the national contemporary art scene. Strassheim’s carefully staged works explore scenes from the life of her family and friends, focusing on the mystery and timelessness of seemingly ordinary events and moments. Formally trained as an artist and a forensic photographer, Strassheim approaches her work with a complex visual aesthetic and a scientific rigor."

*I like the composed nature of this Angela Strassheim image.  The intentionally constructed elements of this photo work together to create a multitude narrative possibilities.

TWO**
Road Trip
September 12, 2008 - January 25, 2009
San Jose Museum of Art


"Often considered a distinctly American experience, the road trip is an excursion in which the journey is as compelling as the destination. The exhibition Road Trip examines this travel experience through photography, video, sculpture, and works on paper by Eleanor Antin, Jane Benson, Sophie Calle, Steven Deo, Lordy Rodriguez, Ed Ruscha, and others. Photographers Candace Plummer Gaudiani and Catherine Opie methodically document their surroundings, often searching for remnants of the past. Other artists such as Val Britton and Nina Katchadourian favor a metaphorical approach, reinterpreting maps to produce invented landscapes. Road Trip offers a broad exploration of real and imagined journeys, which often entail not only a physical displacement but also a psychological and emotional passage."

Road Trip - Curator - Kristen Evangelista

**I love this image by Amy Stein.  It says so much.  The little girl is cold, annoyed, and seems generally dissatisfied with her all-American road trip experience.

THREE***
Frida Kahlo: Portraits of an Icon
October 11, 2008 - March 22, 2009
San Jose Museum of Art


"Shedding light on the life and art of Frida Kahlo (1907 – 1954), this exhibition features approximately fifty photographic portraits of the legendary Mexican artist. "

"Overall, these portraits chronicle Kahlo from the onset of her artistic career until her death and portray her various roles as painter, patient, wife, daughter, lover, and friend. Many of the photographs offer an intimate glimpse of private moments in her bedroom, hospital room, studio, and garden. Other images reveal the artist’s carefully constructed self-image. Often dressed in pre-Columbian attire, Kahlo demonstrates a deep interest in her Mexican heritage while discretely concealing her physically deformed leg beneath her long flowing skirts."

***I don't know that I've ever seen any photos of Frida Kahlo. This one is particularly interesting to me because of how closely Nickolas Murray's composition resembles the structure of Kahlo's own self-portraits.  Murray has captured her inherent gravity and beauty.