November 10, 2004
‘WOW’: Letting the art speak for itself
Step into the darkness, slowly, and just breathe a moment, then another. Let your eyes adjust. Now, move forward — the art in this dark corridor will present itself to you in time.
And remember, it’s OK to ask questions — of the art, and of yourself. What response does this elicit from you? How does the art “work” on your perceptions? Where does it take you?
This is “Tall Ships,” an installation piece by Seattle artist Gary Hill, one the 14 artists and 48 works at the Henry Art Gallery and Western Bridge (a new gallery working with the Henry on this show) that comprise “WOW (The Work of the Work).” The new exhibition, the largest presentation of contemporary art in the Henry’s history, opened on Saturday, Nov. 6, and will run until Feb. 6, 2005. In most cases, participating artists have work on view both at the Henry and at the Western Bridge.
“It is an exhibition about experiencing works of art,” writes Elizabeth Brown, the Henry’s chief curator and director of exhibitions and collections, in notes about the show. “The exhibition was designed to accommodate different viewing preferences and to reward multiple visits.” And that seems true, because even as you leave the dreamlike visions of “Tall Ships,” you may already be planning to return.
Elsewhere, in another of several pieces that involve the use of video, an African-American man stands motionless before a wooden building. This is “Deadpan,” by English artist Steve McQueen, which seems at first like a still image, then falls into movement in a way that owes a debt both to classic comedy and metaphoric reality.
The illusion of being motionless, though only an illusion, also is at play in Korean artist Kimsooja’s video installation, “A Laundry Woman, Yamuna River, Delhi.” Here, as with several other pieces in “WOW,” it’s good to remember curator Brown’s suggestion: “First of all, slow down. Be still and allow yourself to feel present, attentive and grounded in the same space with the work. Give it a little time.”
There is a stillness, too, in Catherine Yass’ film, “Descent,” which draws the viewer in with its slow, steady motion and ultimate revelation of context. That sense of peace is the very antithesis, however, of “Diorama,” an installation work by South African artist Candice Breitz that juxtaposes the brassy insistence of nine television sets babbling looped dialogue with the faux serenity of a cheesy living room setting.
The late Swiss artist Hannah Villiger explored the shapes and shadows of her own body in “Block,” a grouping of Polaroid photographs enlarged and mounted. Olafur Eliasson’s “Your Compound Eye” and “The Ice Series” each provide multiple views of their subjects, but in wholly different ways. “Light Rein,” the permanent James installation at the Henry, invites visitors to reconsider the column of stratosphere above them.
Monochromatic abstraction is represented both in the painting and what’s termed “unpainting” — revealing parts of the canvas through the removal of paint — of Callum Innes’ “Exposed Paintings,” and of Montana-based artist Anne Appleby. Of the latter artist, Brown writes, “Appleby’s delicious colors and associations redolent of ecstatic nature might help reluctant viewers begin to understand the rich potential of monochrome abstraction.”
From its silences to its bold strokes, “WOW (The Work of the Work)” is about the relationships that exist, or can spontaneously grow, between art and its beholders, and it underscores that copies don’t — simply can’t — pack the environmental punch of original works, no matter their style.
As Brown said, leading guests among the works just before the show opened, “Art can change your life, but it can only do it if you come and spend time with it.”
