Exhibitions and Lectures

The Cadre Exhibition

For my first event, I visited the Cadre exhibition at the Haldan Art Gallery in Lake Tahoe. Even though this exhibition was required, I enjoyed it more than all of the other events because there was so much variety in such a small space. It seemed to have a very well fixed organization for new media. The part I liked the most was playing the video games in which sent a totally different message than what the audience had thought. Its message was of sexuality and the trials or dangerous troubles with it. 

Another piece I enjoyed was Joseph Delappe’s depiction of a hand of a soldier from a digital game he created. I could imagine the work he put into it to make it look so digitally perfect in the real world. It’s almost like walking into a pixilated atmosphere. 

Other pieces that were captivating and interactive were the “Transborder Immigrant Tool” and “The Pixel Board”. “The Transborder Immigrant Tool” is by Brett Stalubum and Electronic Disturbance. This piece caught me because it actually senses its surroundings and they crazy thing is that he created this project using cellular devices. There were wires attached to them and the idea behind this is the struggle for immigrants to find their way into a safe haven. This is how one will find their way in the lost expansion of land. 

“The Pixel Board” by Dc Spensley and Peter Spangler. They created this piece so that everyone has the chance to become artists. This allows you to use your iphone or android device to scan the barcode and start building objects using your touch screen against a projection on a wall. Even though I was unable to experience first hand myself, I was still able to enjoy others do the activity. It was actually more interesting watching everyone do the activites because I saw how creative students are when given a foundation to guide them.

 Here's others from the exhibition:

"Two By Land" Exhibition

-->

For my next event, I went to the “Two By Land Exhibition” by Nicole Donnely and Katherine Sandoz. Since I didn’t attend their lecture, I was at a stand still with how to interpret things. Everything inside of the Sheppard Gallery was very neatly placed. The artworks themselves were very beautiful. There’s one where I stood directly in front of it and wondered how they got certain textures to lay over the piece. It was like a pattern of dripping water or paint, but not exactly done spot by spot. 

There were so many different pieces, but one of them stood out because it resembled an artwork done by a recent art group I researched name Liu Dao. They break down their artwork into different frames, but still make them cohesive. I really liked the idea of pattern or puzzling the audience. 

Since the exhibition was called “Two By Land”, I knew that these paintings were of land and all of nature that comes with it. Their use of neutral colors on a bountiful and colorful background really gave the feel of the smoke in the air. I’m not sure if the smoke represented a fire or something that could cause pollution. Each of the paintings had similar backgrounds and similar colors, so it seemed as though they were telling a story in the sequence they were placed in. Since I wasn’t filled in on what actually was going on, I left that assumption in the clouds. This exhibition was quite fun because it sparked my curiosity a bunch. It was like trying to find a hidden message in a jumble of letters.

Brian Kreuger Thesis Exhibition/Lecture

Last, but not least, I visited Brian Kreuger’s exhibition for his MFA thesis. Is was titeled “The Unknowability Center.” I first went to the exhibition so that I could get a gist of what he might be explaining in the lecture. At the exhibition, there were multiple pieces installed to help create a stellar effect. There was pink light on a few of the pieces, even on the flyers themselves. Up above attached to the ceiling as you first walk in is a net or nicely stitched pattern of fabric inside of a box-like container and at the time I didn’t understand its significance until I got to the lecture. There he explained his animated project that repeats the words “I Know” and “You didn’t know that?” He went on to say that he had a conversation with a man and he had just gave Brian some knowledge on a downtown art gallery that Brian never knew about. Creatively he tied in the matching key words that gave way to his idea on the “Unknowability” at hand. I really admired that he was able to take an everyday situation as such and creatively turn it into a great piece. 

The avatar did startle me a bit when visiting the exhibition at first.  During the lecture he says that he was on a quest to find his identity, which reminded me of another artist I researched by the name of Alexa Wright who bases her art solely on identity and human nature. This idea of incorporating identity is intriguing because it allows one to question one’s own identity. Things change when looking at one’s self from the outside. Towards the end of his lecture, he mentions the patterned cloth hanging up from the ceiling at his exhibition. The symbolism of the box was of a coffin that he wanted to dedicate to his brother who committed suicide.  The patterned cloth was a representation of a veil which symbolized power in a more subtle form which was dipped in antifreeze. Everything about this piece touched me, especially after finding out the bigger meaning behind it. Overall, the exhibition and lecture were great and I really got to find out how great and down-to-earth of an artist he was.