WLCM BCK Show Review

     After viewing the "Welcome Back Show" at Mason Gross (cleverly abbreviated as the WLCM BCK Show), I was pleasantly surprised by the work shown in the galleries, as well as the overall flow of the pieces from space to space. I thought that the Show had a good mixture of works from different mediums, but additionally a lot of variety of works that may have been within the same concentration as well. The Show had works created by graduate students and art teachers, but additionally featured separate works from artist Lydia Craig entitled, "Intimate Observations", as well as two video installations entitled, "Dissolving Gardens", created by artist Jim Toia.

     Each of the pieces shown in the galleries illustrated their own distinction against other works around them, while simultaneously working with these different works in some form, even if they were of a different theme or medium. The entire art show had an eclectic, yet evenly blended feel in terms of the way the works were displayed. I did not mind that the Show did not have an overall theme, because I feel that a theme would distract the viewer's from their individual interpretations and thoughts of each piece.

1. Eileen Behnke, "...on the grass", 2010, Oil on Canvas, 5" x 3"
     This was the first piece I noticed upon entering the gallery. It stood out to me not only in size, but in its brightness of color, circular composition, and cartoonish design and layering of color. This painting's theme is naturalistic, in that it illustrates 6 friends relaxing on the grass, an activity that most people do from time to time. However, what drew me further into this work was the way in which one of the figures makes direct eye contact with the viewer, almost incorporating that person into the work as well. This piece is very vibrant and possesses a lot of character, which helps it to stand out against the plain, white background of the gallery wall.

 

 

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2. Martha Rosler, "Off the Shelf: War and Empire", 2008, & "Off the Shelf: Utopian Science Fiction, M", 2008, 28 by 22 in. 71.1 by 55.9 cm, Digital Print

     I found these pieces to be very thought provoking as well as intriguing to look at. While viewing these works, I asked myself a variety of questions, such as: "why did she choose Sci-Fi novels?" "why are there no bookshelves when clearly this is meant to be a bookcase?" However, I liked the way in which Rosler made the images of the books appear so vivid and tangible, as if the viewer could reach up and literally take one of the books off of the invisible bookshelves. The artist took something so ordinary and familiar to the average person, and made it into something else. She makes the viewer appreciate the books at their simplest forms; linear, vertical, horizontal, colorful, plain, etc. which encourages the viewer to think outside of the box. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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3. Erin Dunn, "Woops", 2010, Mixed Media

     These works accompanied the vibrancy and excitement that was seen throughout the galleries in many of the works displayed within the Show. Although I am often drawn to abstract pieces, these works displayed something different to me that made me admire them. The irregularity of line, bright, bold splotches of color, interesting depth made me not only view the pieces, but study them. I felt the mix of media used on these paintings worked well for the overall look of the artwork as well as making the pieces more interesting and complex. These works seem like much more than paintings, but seem to convey different emotions from the artist as well. I liked how in the bottom painting, the paint continued from the canvas onto the gallery floor as if it was reaching out toward the viewer. It was also interesting how the artist had a smaller piece of an entirely different shape hidden behind the floor painting. This allowed the overall work to be displayed at different angles, as opposed to a traditional 2-D work.

 

 

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4. Richard Tuttle with John Yau, "The Missing Portrait", 2008, Handmade book with poems by John Yau, illustrated by Richard Tuttle, 18" x 16" x 8"

     I felt that this piece stood out from all of the others not because of its design, color scheme, or content, but simply because it was the only one of it's kind --- a book. I was very intrigued at the construction of this work because of the way the literal words of the pages worked together to form visual imagery. I enjoyed how the artists played with different words in order to create textual artwork. I also liked how the artists used different paper materials (including tissue and construction papers) to create the book. Although many of the sentences used throughout the book did not make sense within the book, I feel that it was more important to appreciate the visual aesthetic of the work, rather than the literal message. This book was one of my favorite pieces in the Welcome Back Show because of its simple, yet complicated design.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The WLCM BCK show was successful in displaying different, unique works in a gallery space but making them cohesive with the overall feel of the show. Each piece was placed well within the different galleries and worked well together to create the look of the Show. The differences in works made the Show more interesting and less predictable as well which kept me interested the entire time I viewed it.