week 005: one one point five two & three

ONE* and ONE.5*
Peter Bialobrzeski: Lost in Transition
and
Maggie Taylor: In Wonderland
October 30, 2008 - December 24, 2008
Laurence Miller Gallery


"Peter Bialobrzeski’s third exhibition at Laurence Miller Gallery will feature 6 large-scale color works from his recent series, Lost in Transition. Continuing his decade-long search for beauty and meaning in a rapidly industrializing world, Bialobrzeski focuses his large format camera on landscapes that are in the middle of being recreated, and celebrates in glorious color and glowing light places that are desolate and uninviting This contradiction produces images that suggest a festival atmosphere while describing isolation and dehumanization. The long exposures required by these mostly nighttime images create ghost-like and other-worldly scenarios which are rooted in reality by the presence of naked trees, people lingering in the shadows, and other evidence of man’s inescapable presence. By choosing not to specifically identify their locations, he points out the universal nature of these conditions."


"From October 30 through December 24, Laurence Miller Gallery will present a selection of contemporary surrealistic images by Maggie Taylor illustrating the 150-year old story of Alice in Wonderland. Maggie thus joins the ranks of artists like Salvador Dali and more recently the fashion photographer Annie Leibovitz who continue to find inspiration in this classic story."

"But Maggie’s illustrations, so many years removed from the original Alice tale, have a definite post-modern feel, and seem liberated from the literal aspects of the story."

*&*The Lost in Transition images are clearly a comment on industrialization, but I wouldn't specifically know that they are about the recreation of landscapes. I like that the locations are unspecified, but at the same time, I want to know more about where these photos were taken. I really like Taylor's surreal In Wonderland images. She has created storybook images that are being viewed within a gallery context, positioning them as fine art.

TWO**
Koichiro Kurita: Landscape as Metaphor
September 11, 2008 - November 30, 2008
Project Basho


"Project Basho Gallery is a place where visually arresting photographs and educated viewers will meet to celebrate the beauty, craft and vision of the medium."

"Koirchiro Kurita’s photography stems from the writings of Thoreau which he describes as, 'a reminiscence of Zuangzi’s philosophy and so close to the oriental way of understanding nature.' His connection with nature through his study of perceptual psychology has been central to his work. Kurita works primarily with an 8×10 view camera, implementing an alternative printing process by hand coating large format platinum prints on handmade Gampi vellum."

**Honestly, I like what Basho says about itself more than the current exhibition. Basho self-promotes themselves as "showcasing emerging photographers whose work is worth checking out." I've included Kurita's work simply because I don't get it. How is the photographed landscape a metaphor? I do, however, appreciate that Kurita was inspired by the writings of Thoreau. It's not that I'm so interested in Thoreau, but I do like it when an artist attributes inspiration to a specific essay, poem, article, etc.

THREE***
Media Projects
October 17, 2008 - December 14, 2008
Milwaukee Institute of Art&Design

“'The genre of video/filmmaking that is often referred to as documentary has moved far beyond the linear narrative format we're familiar with from films and television,” said Mark Lawson, Director of Galleries. “The three artists in this exhibition all create videos that could be labeled documentaries but they are less narrative, more open-ended and closer to the unscripted, unpredictable pattern of real-life experience.'”

digital still from Studies on Shit

"Bodil Furu (Oslo, Norway), whose work focuses on aspects of contemporary human life but avoids the conventions of traditional documentary. It is skillfully crafted yet representative of the awkwardness, informality and unpredictability inherent in the organic nature of humanity and culture we create around us. Furu has a degree in Fine Arts and a background in music and carpentry, and she has exhibited at such venues as the 10th International Istanbul Biennial and New York's Museum of Modern Art."

digital still from Winning Men

"Adam Frelin (Albany, NY) produces fictional narratives that have all the trappings of a documentary. They often act as cautionary tales focusing primarily on humanity's hubris and our often complex and difficult relationship with the natural world. Frelin is the recipient of several national and international awards and grants and has exhibited throughout the United States as well as in Europe and Japan."

***I'm interested in both documentary and narrative film/photography. Specifically in this exhibition, I like that the films are untraditional, narrative documentaries.