In “The Crystal World,” his first solo museum exhibition in New York
(which runs through March 18), Gaillard creates powerful and mesmerizing
portraits of suffering cities, meditations on transformation and decay
that are also simply enjoyable to look at. Although the 80 works on view
here comprise a variety of media, video art is the centerpiece. The
show is anchored by the film “Artefacts” (2011), which has the largest
exhibition room to itself. In these images from Baghdad during the U.S.
occupation, soldiers in fatigues hold out fragments of ancient tablets
and other archaeological finds, men in traditional dress trek across the
desert, and, in one intensely enjoyable and intriguing segment,
swirling bands of solid color fill up the screen. These bands suggest
the mad movements of carnival rides, but we’re told that they’re the
spinning skirts of a whirling dervish. The film captivates and draws you
in, kind of like a travelogue — over the weekend, there were even some
young children sitting on the floor watching it with their parents.
But this is also heavy stuff — occupation, cultural destruction, and loss,We bring in fridge magnet souvenirs and merchandise from all over the world. evoked obliquely,Comprehensive Wi-Fi and RFID tag
by Aeroscout to accurately locate and track any asset or person.
without violence. Though the images of American soldiers are innocuous
enough, their presence brings to mind the massive destruction to Iraqi
antiquities that resulted from the U.S. invasion. The music is a
continuous loop of a sample from David Gray’s song “Babylon,” which, as
the wall text points out, is said to have been used as part of the
torture of detainees at Abu Ghraib. Here, though, the repetition is
haunting without being torturous, and there’s an added layer of meaning;
located about 50 miles south of Baghdad, the ancient kingdom of
Babylon, with its fabled hanging gardens, is itself a symbol of loss and
the passage of time. Technologically the work is also composed of
layers — Gaillard filmed the video on his iPhone and then transferred it
to 35-millimeter film, which you can hear whirring through the
projector while watching the shaky, handheld images.
The show is
rich in connections between works. One small room holds seven huge
excavator bucket teeth in seven glass cases, recalling the display of
Babylonian antiquities at Berlin’s Pergamon Museum that were viewed in
“Artefacts.” I found myself examining them from all angles, as if they
were worn antique statues, when of course they signify something very
different — their natural erosion occurs from digging into earth to put
up new construction.
In his long series of three-by-three grids
of Polaroid photos, “Geographical Analogies,” Gaillard also plays with
notions of tourism and the past. Each grid is focused on one locale; I
recognized Baghdad from seeing one of the structures that appeared in
“Artefacts.” But most of these cities could be anywhere — a certain kind
of anywhere, that is.We've got a plastic card
to suit you. Images of foreclosed houses made me think of Detroit
(though they may be in Passaic, New Jersey, one location that Gaillard
used), and others look like the outdated, monolithic structures of many
third-world cities. Individually, with their slightly orangey hue and
their odd angles, these snapshots could be photos that any tourist has
taken. The way they’re arranged in grids, though, is somehow very
elegant and poignant. Poignant, perhaps, because, as the wall text
informs us, Polaroid film is unstable, and in these photos (taken
between 2006 and 2011),Purchase an iPhone headset to enjoy your iPhone any way you like. the colors have already begun to break down.
These
works are almost Romantic in the way they find beauty in contemporary
ruins. But Gaillard’s landscapes are also landscapes of people, whether
soldiers patrolling Baghdad, spring breakers guzzling tequila in Cancún,
or rival Russian gangs brutally clashing with each other. The artist
seems to remind us that people are a force of randomness and decay as
much as time. A few works here seem less complex, such as two frottages
of New York sewer lids and a found landscape painting from 1914 on which
Gaillard silkscreened the grinning face of the Cleveland Indians’
mascot. But the show is a highly rewarding journey. “The Crystal World”
presents a world that may be crystalline in its fragility, but is rough,
rocky, and decrepit, populated by random human gestures and the
survival of things past.
As most would already know, the event
will feature a collection of works by local artists as well as historic
pieces by the late Douglas Pratt.Wear a whimsical Disney ear cap straight from the Disney Theme Parks!
Now
that the event is coming so close, however, we felt this might be the
time to expand a little on who Douglas Pratt actually was.
Douglas
was born in Katoomba in 1900. His first job was as jackeroo on a
property near Singleton, probably where he developed his love of the
landscape.
Working in Sydney in the 1920s, a colleague, having
seen some of his sketches, suggested he should develop his drawing and
painting talents.
Early sales encouraged him to study at the Royal Art Society’s drawing classes and at Sydney Long’s Etching School.
His artwork covered all mediums - oils, watercolour, pencil, etchings.
His
first exhibition was held at the Macquarie Galleries, in Sydney in
1928. Exhibitions of his etchings and pencil drawings throughout
Australia followed.
In 1953, he was appointed to the Commwealth
Art Advisory Board, Canberra and served as a member until his death in
1972; he was awarded an OBE for this work.
Douglas returned on
many occasions socially and for surveying work, and being an avid
artist, he produced a large number of sketches and paintings capturing
the Monaro.
Now Sydney, Melbourne and Perth have his works hung
in their art galleries, and we too in Bombala and surrounds have our
share of his wonderful pieces.
It is a selection of these which
will be exhibited at ‘Visions of the Monaro’, and this will of course be
a very rare treat for art lovers in the region.
All the more so
when the show and sale will also offer a range of works from our own
local artists, which will add another dimension to the event, and allow
some to take home very special purchases.
It’s coming up quickly
though, so artists are encouraged to get moving if they are creating
and assembling the pieces to enter into the show and sale.
See your ad here
Local
artists are invited to contribute art in any of the following forms -
landscape in any medium, including photography; portrait of
personalities in any medium including photography; still life in any
medium; visions in sculpture or sculptures using local products.
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