Shameless Self Promotion for Selfie: Self Portraits from the Permanent Collection

Below is a copy of my interview with Maggie Glisan from Art Noir.  And if you missed the Des Moines Register article here's a link:

Selfie Des Moines Register Article

Selfie Generation

Posted on Monday, January 11, 2016

Written by Maggie Glisan, Art Noir Marketing Chair
In anticipation of Art Noir's Annual Meeting, the board's Marketing Chair Maggie Glisan chatted with the Art Center's Assistant Registrar / Curatorial Assistant Megan Cohen about the new exhibition Selfie: Self Portraits From the Permanent Collection.
Selfie considers both well-known and little seen self-portraits from the Des Moines Art Center’s permanent collections through the filter of popular culture’s obsession with the "selfie." Works by Rembrandt van Rijn, Anthony van Dyke, Chuck Close, Cindy Sherman, Mauricio Lasansky and Danny Lyon among others span the 17th century to the present. The exhibition is on view in the Blank One Gallery through Sunday, April 24.
Maggie Glisan: How did this exhibition come about and why the focus on selfies?
Megan Cohen: The original idea was a show to highlight all of the great self portraits that we have in our collection. The selfie lens gave us a great way to look at the pieces through the filter of the selfie social media phenomenon and also use it as a tool to connect with our own Art Center community.
MG: The Des Moines Art Center (and many other museums) hasn’t always allowed guests to take photos of its exhibitions or even inside some exhibitions. Now all of a sudden you are asking people to take selfies with works of art in the show. Why the change of heart?
MC: In 2014 the Art Center started allowing photography within the museum, and other major museums are also jumping on the trend. It’s a great way for people to interact with exhibitions and create their own experience. Sharing the photographs encourages friends and followers to see what’s happening at the Art Center, and can expose them to works of art that they may not have seen any other way.
MG: What’s your favorite piece in the exhibition?
MC: That’s a tough one! I have a couple that stand out.

First is Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Still #56. This piece really speaks a lot about how the media affects our interpretation of self-identity.
Second would have to be Ragnar Kjartansson’s Me and My Mother I. A lot of people might think, “Why do you have a video of someone spitting in the show?” But I think it’s a great work of performance art that asks us to look to at one of our biggest identifiers: How do we interact with our families? For me, it evokes some memories of my own family, and I can see the humor in it. Some might think “that’s weird” and move on, but I encourage people to stop and give it a chance, even if makes them uncomfortable.
MG: Why should members of Art Noir check out Selfie?
MC: Art Noir members are the selfie generation. The exhibition can resonate with all audiences, but millennials in particular are so immersed in the social media culture that this exhibition is pertinent to their everyday lives.
MG: What's the best way to experience Selfie and how can I be a part of it?
MC: Start with the Selfie exhibition, then take some time to tour the museum and find something you really like in our permanent collection—something you feel really connected to (that is what you should do with any exhibition you see!), then go ahead and take a selfie with the piece. The more creative then better! Upload it to Twitter or Instagram using #ArtCenterSelfie. Then, go back into the exhibition and see yourself in the show!

SEE YOURSELF IN THE EXHIBITION

As part of Selfie: Self Portraits from the Permanent Collection, we're asking visitors to become a part of the exhibition! Post your own selfie with the hashtag #ArtCenterSelfie to have your image included on our gallery display.
Participating is easy:

1. Make sure your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram profile is public. We won't be able to pull images from private accounts
2. Take a great selfie with a piece that inspires or means something to you (whether it's at the Art Center or in your own art community)
3. Be sure to include the hashtag #ArtCenterSelfie
4. You’re done!

You can view your #ArtCenterSelfie in the gallery or online after you leave the museum.
Above:
Cindy Sherman (American, born 1954)
Untitled Film Still #56, 1980
Black and white photograph
Des Moines Art Center Permanent Collections; Purchased with funds from the Edmundson Art Foundation, Inc., 1992.40
Photo by Rich Sanders, Des Moines

Covered in Time and History: The Films of Ana Mendieta

My friend Tatiana and I took a road trip up to Minneapolis to see the current exhibition at the University of Minnesota's Katharine E. Nash Gallery titled Covered in Time and History: The Films of Ana Mendieta.  I would tell you all to run out and go see it, because it was really great, but we made it two days before the show closed so you'll have to take my word for it.

The exhibition was the largest collection of Mendieta videos to be displayed at one time.  There were 20 some videos accompanied by an additional 20 some photo stills.  The exhibition also included a short documentary about the artist.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Mendieta's work, I'll attempt to give you a quick summary.
Ana Mendieta and her sister came to the United States as Cuban refugees when they were young children.  With no family here in the states, they ended up in foster care in Davenport, Iowa.  Ana studied art at the University of Iowa and went on to become a world renowned artist, a pioneer in performance and earth art.  She later moved to New York where she began a relationship with famous artist Carl Andre.  Mendieta was found dead after "falling" (although many say that Andre pushed her) out of her 34 story apartment window in 1985.  She was only  37 years old.

I've always liked Mendieta's artwork.  There is something about it that I feel very connected to. While watching her videos I still could not put my finger on what exactly it is that makes me feel connected to her work.  It could be Mendieta's own connectedness and appreciation for nature.  A large body of her work consists of her "siluetas" where Mendieta traces her body in the earth, only for the silhouette to disappear to the natural elements of earth - whether it be burned by gun powder or washed away by waves.  There's something about watching the artist laying in a pile of dirt that feels comforting - I know, crazy right?  Watching the videos actually made me want to go outside, take off all my clothes, and then cover myself with dirt and grass.  Luckily, it's winter so the frigid temperatures have stopped me from acting on impulse.  

One of Mendieta's "Siluetas" showing the in-process burning with gun powder.

Maybe one of the reasons I feel so drawn to her work, is that a lot of it takes place in Iowa.  Several of the "siluetas" take place in creek beds and other performance works on the college campus of my own alma matter, the University of Iowa.  I see myself walking the same streets in her videos and visiting the same parks that her performance pieces were video taped in. 

My friend Tatiana, viewing "Moffit Building Piece".  

If it's not Mendieta's love for nature or Iowan roots, her interest in the human condition might be the biggest factor as to why I see her as a kindred spirit.  One of the most powerful videos in the exhibition, was in response to the murder of a nurse which took place at the University of Iowa while Mendieta was studying there.  I don't know much about the murder but it sounds like there was little investigation and very little attention given to the crime.  For this reason, Mendieta felt that the victim deserved attention and so created a series of works where she uses blood to explore themes of violence towards women.  The video, titled "Moffit Building Piece", shows passerbyers casually walking by a pool of blood on the sidewalk without giving much concern, if any at all.  While watching the surveillance like footage, I couldn't help but think that if this were reenacted today, in the age of cell phones, more people would have stopped and called the police.  Maybe not though?  Maybe people would snapchat it and move on.  Maybe I should recreate it and find out :) !  Regardless, I really enjoy Mendieta's exploration of the human condition and investigation on how people responded to a very violent scene.  It's really quite sad to think that nobody cried, nobody knocked on a nearby door to make sure nobody was injured, and nobody (as far as we can see) went to seek help or notify anyone. 

"Self Portrait with Blood"

As I mentioned, the show in Minnepapolis has closed -BUT if you want to see some of her work, come check out Selfie: Self Portraits from the Permanent Collection at the Des Moines Art Center.  Two of her "silueta" stills are in the show as well as a book with her branded hand prints.  Her work has everything to do with self identity and is a great contribution to the exhibition.

Return of the Blog (cue "Return of the Mac" music)

The blog is coming back baby!  I've taken a long break from blogging and cannot wait to share new entries with you.  Since my last blog I've had a baby and gotten a new job!  My little baby, Michael, is almost 1 1/2 and I've been at my new position at the Des Moines Art Center since February of this year.  My current title is Assistant Registrar/Curatorial Assistant and I've already been awarded some amazing opportunities and worked with some really great artists (both internationally and locally).  So... I'm really excited to get back to this blog!  Right now I'm working on a 3 part essay featuring a series of interviews with Iowa Artists that I hope to share by the end of the year in 3 weekly installments (fingers crossed!).  I'm also planning a road trip to Minneapolis to see the current Ana Mendieta exhibition at the University of Minnesota and have been curating an exhibition at the Art Center to open December 18th.  I'm 20 or so pages away from finishing Sally Mann's memoir so I also hope to put up a book review (new territory for me!).  My hope with all this blogging is to not only share my experiences in all things "art" but to help work on my poor writing skills.  So please - email me, message me, text me, and tell me how I'm doing and how my writing can improve!

There is a lot I'm looking forward to sharing so please stay tuned!!!  Here's a few photos of what I've been up to while I've been away.

My son Michale (right) with his friend Gabby at the sculpture park during a "Baby and Me" art tour.  That's a Di Suvero sculpture in the background. 

Me at MoMA in NYC visiting the super awesome Picasso sculpture show.  I was in NYC for work as a courier, delivering a painting to the new Whitney museum for the current Frank Stella retrospective.  It's not as luxurious as it sounds though - I had to ride 24 hours on a semi truck. 

 

I took Michael on his first plane ride to California to visit my best friend Audrey. We went to a Phish concert. 

My husband Andrew and I attended a bajillion weddings, one of which was in Jamaica.  Here I am making a song request to the wedding band.  I think I was asking for "Get Luck" by Pharell and Daft Punk.

It has been an amazing year and a half for me and Andrew.  Celebrating six years of marriage, traveling all over the place, and of course welcoming this amazing little guy into our lives.

Call to all artists! $400 Reward!

I've been asked by Chait to share this:

Call for Artists!
Benjamin's Buttons...Faces of Intensity
Juried Art Show
Hosted by:
Chait Galleries Downtown
218 E Washington St
Iowa City, IA 52240
(319)338-4442
www.chaitgalleries.com

How do you judge intensity?  What experience can you portray through portraiture
that captures the spirit and invites viewers to share emotion and understanding?
 What do you envision when someone's buttons are pushed to or beyond their
limits?  We are interested in entries of original portraiture and the emotion,
drama and light underlying intense and distinctive imagery.  The challenge is
simple- grab us in no uncertain terms.

Deadline to enter in Jan 23, 2015 postmarked by midnight.  $400 award for
Best-in- Show and $250 for Honorable Mention. Complete application and
prospectus available for download at www.chaitgalleries.com, click on upcoming
exhibits.

Thanks!

Current Moberg Exhibition: Exploring Opposites and How They Attract

The current exhibition at the Moberg Gallery highlights paradoxes in nature on a colorless stage where the shadows, shapes, and materials hold suspense for the viewer.

Front of gallery view.  Kathranne Kinght's drawings in the background and Jessica Teckemeyer's animals in the foreground. 



I visited the exhibition last Saturday and was pleasantly surprised that I was the only one in the gallery.  I felt like I was on a black and white movie set that was about to shoot a dream like sequence in a haunted forest (I have a great imagination J ).  Immediately greeting me at the door was an all-white panther hanging vertically in the air with its teeth clenched to a knotted rope.  Artist Jessica Teckemeyer writes in her artist statement that this specific piece represents the human emotion “struggle” .  The emotion of the panther is pretty impressive; clenched muscles, strained limbs, “struggle” is written all over this guy’s body.   

Navigating through the gallery, I wasn’t particularly drawn to Guy Loraine or Kathranne Knight’s works (trees and acorns)  but viewed them more as a back drop to the real action that was happening in both Teckemeyer's and Larassa Kabel’s works.  This is not to say that these works are unimportant but I just found them to be complimentary instead of having a significant role in the show.   



Teckemeyer's fawn with panther mask close up

Teckemeyer's fawn with panther mask

Continuing my trek through the creepy colorless forest, I was greeted by more panthers, confused animals, and beautiful horses.  I was really impressed by Teckemeyer’s fawn with a panther mask.  I learned from the gentleman working at the gallery that she uses taxidermy molds and poly urethane to create the sculpture, then sands it down and paints with exterior car paint to achieve the soft matte finish.  The outcome is outstanding.  It really works to achieve the polarity in soft and sweet vs rough and dangerous found in both the animal and the composition. Smooth surfaces with jagged, dramatic, expressions and movements are executed precisely.  Because the animals have taxidermy eyes, a reflection of one’s self on the sculpted animals is strongly proposed.  

I think I could go on forever about all the opposites touched on in this show, such as: light vs dark, good vs evil, hard vs soft, tame vs wild, but I won’t in this blog because it would bore you.

 East wall of the gallery highlighting Larassa Kabel's horses.

Kabel close up

"The Brave One' Colored pencil on paper by Larassa Kabel

Rounding out my walk around the gallery, I almost passed up on the horse drawings by Kabel.  Boy am I glad I didn’t.  These are amazingly beautiful.  The craftsmanship and detail that has gone into these drawings are amazing!  My shitty camera phone cannot give justice to the high quality of her work so please do me a favor and view her website http://larassakabel.com/and go see these works in person.  I find the pose of the horses breathtaking.  I learned from a friend who has worked with the artist that some of the subjects are diving horses, others are mustangs bucking wildly.  The drama captured in these moments is stunning and brilliant.  I absolutely adore and cherish any artist that puts so much detail and work into a single piece, the end product speaks volumes to their skill level and patience.

Front:  Teckemeyer's fawn casting a wolf shadow.  Again working with light and shadows to create drama and show paradoxes in nature.
Back: One of Kabel's larger works.

This show ends mid-October so get in while you can.  http://moberggallery.com/exhibits.shtml

Celebrating Claes Oldenburg

In celebration of Claes Oldenburg’s dual exhibitions currently at MOMA in NY, I’ve decided to highlight one of his most beloved works here in Des Moines.  Maybe you've driven by it on your way through downtown, perhaps you walk by it every day on your way to work, but have you ever stopped to ponder what that thing is?

Claes Oldenburg, Crusoe Umbrella, Cor-Ten steel painted with polyurethane enamel, 37 x 37 x 58 ft. , 1979

Nollen Plaza, across from the Des Moines Civic Center

That thing, is Crusoe Umbrella.  And I can't tell you how lucky "little old Des Moines, Iowa"  is to have it.  Oldenburg is a big deal and it says a lot about our city that he accepted this commission and gifted us with such a prolific work of art. 

The idea for Crusoe Umbrella came after a visit to the Netherlands where Oldenburg discussed Crusoe’s umbrella with his father in law. The work is an oversized replica of the handmade umbrella from Daniel Defoe’s historic novel: Robison Crusoe in which the main character, Crusoe, makes by hand an umbrella while castaway on an island.  The umbrella became one of the few items he took with him off the island once he was rescued.

The work was commissioned by the Des Moines Civic Center in 1978 and was installed Thanksgiving week of 1979.  In regards to the placement and site specific work Oldenburg said the following:

“We wanted to place an exotic element in the midst of prosaic circumstances and turn the center of the continent paradoxically into an island in the sea.”

Keeping Oldenburg’s inspiration in mind, viewers can see just how precisely he has executed his plan.  Crusoe’s umbrella has been carried through the wind from far away seas and fallen in Nollen plaza. It’s rough and rugged angles combined with its enormous size, emphasize the significance of the simple every day object.  One should also notice that the Traveler's umbrella which lights up the Insurance Exchange building at 5th and Grand speaks to Oldenburg's umbrella in a way that allows the object to give Des Moines a downtown symbol.  Going along with Oldenburg’s theme of monumentalizing the ever day object, he has glorified the umbrella like no other artist could for Des Moines. 



View of the Insurance Exchange Building in Downtown Des Moines

Here's a link to MOMA outlining Oldenburg's current show.  I'm so jealous of anyone that gets to see this, as I'm a huge Oldenburg fan.  Make sure to share this blog with your NY friends and tell them about the show!

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/1320

 

Des Moines also hosts Oldenburg's Plantoir, across from the Meredith building, publisher to Better Homes and Gardens.  Kinda cheeky huh?  Here's a link to the Des Moines Public Art Foundations' website for more information on that piece:

http://dsmpublicartfoundation.org/public-art/plantoir/

 

The Des Moines Art Center is home to Oldenburg's Plug.  Although the piece is currently at conservation, it usually displayed in the lower contemporary gallery and in my opinion, is one of Oldenburg's best works.  Here's a link the the piece through the Art Center's website:

http://emuseum.desmoinesartcenter.org/

 

 

Lindsay Burke: Emerging Artist

Among the emerging artists at this year's Des Moines Art Festival was Lindsay Burke.  An Iowa native and University of Iowa  BFA student, Lindsay's multimedia works show dynamic use of paper and paint.  Her use of small nonchalantly placed paper cut outs give her paintings depth and uniform.  The works I found most striking were her landscapes and figures. This winter scene was my favorite.

I was pleased to see that Lindsay's booth was busy with activity and that people were showing a lot of interest in her work.  Lindsay was extremely humble and a delightful artist to chat with for 5 minutes.  I encourage you to support her work and know that your money is going to a cool Iowa native.

Check out her profile online to explore all of her well accomplished genres (don't pass up the "Tradition" section) :   Lindsaymburke.com

We hope to have works by Burke up at HOQ restaurant later this year.