Thesis - WLCM BCK 2010

The Fall 2010 gallery show, WLCM BCK, was composed of a variety of a works from graduates and professors. This show had no overarching theme, the only rule was to submit a work that was medium sized (every artist may have had a different interpretation of what "medium" was.) Each work that was hung (except for Professor Ortiz's Dark Side of Liberty) was hung at 60". Each artist took a piece and placed it where they thought it looked best, after many observations and readjustments, everyone who participated in the curating process was finally pleased after walking through the entire gallery.

 The fact that there was no over all theme to this gallery show really allowed those who set it up to get playful in terms of organization and flow. This flow is based on connections of color and composition of each piece and how it has fit into its place near, or far from, the other art work.

Steven Westfall, Cosmadin, Oil on Canvas

The great thing about how this gallery was set up was that as amazing as some of the work paired next to each other was, the even better part for me was the works set across the room from one another. Take Westfall's Cosmadin for instance. This is simplicity at it's finest. Art has been stripped down to the four basic colors of red, blue, green and yellow and the white that separates them. Westfall has carefully calculated and executed a repetitious diamond pattern which starts at the corners of the canvas as diagonal lines, eventually joining together to become connected and ending in an infinite yellow in the center.

Martha Rosler, off the shelf, Digital Print

 Parallel to Westfall's painting was Rosier's print of a collection of books. The very graphic nature of this print is seen in that almost the entire composition is of vertical and horizontal books (spare the one on the top left of the white background print.) The details come in with the text of the titles and authors of the book.

I sensed a connection right away between these two works. As I looked across the room from one to the other I saw a relationship connection in the very similar color trends. There was also careful attention to direction of subject matter, one just went diagonally where the other was up and down/ left and right. As much as I could see the similarities between these two, I was happy they were not placed together but far enough apart, so that one could appreciate the playfulness. If they'd have been placed together they would have undoubtedly clashed.
This trend of across-the-room connections can been seen in a few other cases in the center gallery room, such as Gary Kuehn's “Untitled, Work in Progress” steel and granite sculpture seen across from Bryan Whitney's "Neo Kabbalah" print mirroring and the cube/circle shape seen in the sculpture on the podium.

Katherine DeGaetani, Insulate, mixed media

It was expressed that each room was supposed to be a separated show space. Each room certain was it's own, and all had running trends that were similar to what could be observed in another room.

When I reached the corner of the room to the back right of the entire gallery, I took note of the trend of "orange" to this half of the room space. DeGaertani's piece "Insulate" was interesting to look at. I spent a few minutes trying to take it apart with my mind and pull out what materials were used. The most attractive part was the orange border that surrounded the cream colored paper in the middle (the cream or off white also reoccurring in other pieces along the wall.)

Megan Flaherty, Plaid, digital print

And then towards the back corner of the room there is Flahrety's "Plaid" print. This print seems to only be tied in by it's common color of orange and white, and in some cases the blue is shared as well, This print seems to be a two-dimensional copy-cat of the "Insulate" piece, however the colors only appear to be sewn together like one would normally see in a fabric shirt or blanket. The piece, although very pleasing to the eye and hypnotising, still lacks the shading and texture of even the two-dimensional rendering of plaid fabric.

The other pieces that come to be part of the theme of Orange (white and blue) are Liv Aanrud's "Hanging in the Mystic Whispers of Supernatural Cave Shadows" and one other piece.
There were other rooms curated for an instillation video donated from the Zimmerli's Water Exhibit and another curated in memory of Lyda Craig imaginative illustrations.



Overall, I really liked the flow and piecing together of the gallery as a whole. I suppose the lack of them is a huge plus in my opinion because it leaves those installing to work so much room and potential for playfulness. Though, as discussed before, placement does need to be considered because the surrounding piece can affect how the individual piece is interpreted, so working with the artists, and the group as a whole, there needs to be universal agreement.