again about the art shows

Susan: Social Media Class Oct. 20, 2010

I want to remind and point out again for the second time several art shows by women artists on now in NY City. Their scope and feel is very much that for me that of the reality of today’s world of multiple sources, cross-referencing, network interactions. I will hopefully make a voice thread with some artists works and ask for your comments. I want to get you this info now while the work is viewable and on gallery websites with more images and information. Since many of you are artists as well as creative arts therapists I thought you might be interested.

Sarah Sze installation is at: info@tanyabonakdargallery.com

Joyce Kozloff ‘s show, “Navigational Triangles”, of paintings is at: info@dcmooregallery.com www.dcmooregallery.com

I saw Joyce’s show today and was struck by her layering of visual information using mixed media and her continued use of maps from all historical periods and cultures. Three large paintings use maps of Pakistan, Iraq and the areas around from different time periods and juxtapose these with painting of the cosmos, i.e. maps of galaxies based on NASA images, and the history of wars and conflict from all times and cultures are embedded in this and much of her work which is colorful and beautiful to look at and political as well. Other works in the show are based on her photographs of the Chinatowns in the US, info from Google Maps, and cutouts from found on her trips. She combined these with her own drawings, some of old maps. The press release of the show mentions “visual clutter” of the kitschy stuff for sale from China and the overload of inexpensive clothing that is everywhere. Joyce says that her “project is about the exchange” and the intermingling in America of imported goods which become “artifacts” “dislocated from their origins” in much the same way that American pop art made it’s way around the globe in the 50’s and 60’s. This phenomenon of material goods being traded has been the way of the world and now we are faced with information transporting ideas, styles, goods, and much more on the web. Is this our cosmos?? Are we now going to clutter our air space and how far out? Does it touch the Stars?

Another observation that I have is that major museums have been doing blockbuster shows of older, “safer”, historically recognized artists in order to increase their audiences and please their supporters and funders, but artists working today do reflect what is in the air and possibly what we are all trying to get a handle on in our own ways. Just as the information out there has grown unbelievable large, so have the number of artists and tools available for right brain creatives as well as left brainers.