The child and I visited Susie J. Lee's Refrain exhibit at Lawrimore Project and Patricia Piccinini's Hug exhibit at Frye Art Museum.
Refrain is a mixture of acrylic forms—a sculptural pillow, a rectilinear tank of water, a cylindrical tank of water, a "stained" shelf, quilt batting—and light and sound.
Rain Shower (Sonagi), 2007
We encountered the first piece as soon as we entered the large metal doors of Lawrimore Project. The large main warehouse space was exceptionally dark, and a couple of temporary walls were erected and painted black to heighten the darkness. Suddenly, a large rumbling began that could be felt in the intestines. The child stated the child's desire to "go home right now!" We didn't. Overhead LEDs began to "rain" down light, increasing in frequency, peaking, and then diminishing. The motion detector sensed our movement as we tried to exit into the space near the office and another "shower" began.
Caesura, 2006
A black shelf gains an instant black, brown, and white "stain" due to projected light. Some of the stain begins to disappear as though running back into hidden channels, or time running backward, such that we see a spill in reverse.
Frequency Map, 2007
The Lawrimore "White Room" appears empty. Usually it contains a piece that needs extra lighting or a more "traditional" setting for display. The room, however, is the artwork. False walls have been erected and a lone motion detector is perched over the entryway. Initially, the room didn't do anything. Scott Lawrimore, the gallery owner, came in and knocked on the walls, trying to get the room to "respond." He recommended we look at some of the other installation pieces, and perhaps the room would "whistle us back at some point." It did. As soon as we left, the room whistled to us. We returned and then it sounded as though someone was climbing around the outside of the walls, knocking upon them. There was also the faint ringing of windchimes.
Fugue State, 2007
The child especially liked this piece. An image of shadow hands is projected onto an acrylic "pillow." The shadow hands begin to "dance" around one another and caress one another. The child though it interesting for us to place our hands in the "stream" of light, whereupon our shadow hands were also "projected" onto the pillow.
Conjugal, 2006
This was another pillow receiving projected light, although it was made from quilt batting hung upon the wall. The image projected upon it was of a wool-like surface that occasionally "breathed" and had small shadow "figures" move through it. An accompanying soundtrack on headphones provided a breathily-delivered poem.
Noli Me Tangere, 2006
A third "pillow" seemed to be a hernia of the wall. The wall "space" was back-lit and a small dark object kept "approaching" us.
Rings of St. Genevieve, 2007
A strange, ephemeral sculpture was contained in an acrylic cylinder. Water filled the cylinder and light was projected from above. It appeared that water was dripping into the cylinder, although I couldn't tell if it was real or not. The drop and its subsequent ripples may have been projected onto the surface of the water, or actual ripples may have been highlighted by the projected light. The vibrations of our movements around the sculpture were also "disturbing" the piece, adding to the mystery of what was actually happening. An ethereal soundtrack was playing.
Wachet Auf Ruft Uns Die Stimme, 2007
This piece was a rectilinear acrylic tank filled with water. Above it hung a concave rectilinear acrylic lens. Light was projected through the lens and into the tank. White liquid appeared to be squirted into the tank, similar to a squid's ink cloud, although this was indeed looped video that accompanied audio of someone playing a piano. This was my favoite piece. Therefore, the child and I kept wandering between this piece and Fugue State.
Susie J. Lee is definitely an artist to keep an eye on. Her work reminded me of that of Jim Campbell. The work of both artists examines similar themes of time and mortality in the realm of manipulated images and light.
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Patricia Piccinini's hyperreal sculptures were the antithesis of Susie J. Lee's "spiritual" pieces. The small vaguely human mole-like and meerkat-like creatures were too real. The child was intrigued by many of them, but I was unsettled, maybe because I could imagine these things really running around. I might have to kill them if they were real and "bothered" me, and that is where the true nature of the discomfort emanates. They weren't "cute" or "cuddly," and it was difficult to tell if they were "friendly" or "threatening," which was part of the point. And, perhaps, that says more about me than I am willing to acknowledge, because the child seemed to have an easier time of "accepting" them.
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