Wednesday, February 24, 2010

You, the viewer

I'm presenting Exhibition 5 of Screen 2010 by asking you to participate in a viewer's quiz. The theme is one we can all identify with- The Stuff of Us: Our Objects- Our Selves. Here is the link to the exhibition. Take a scan through the nine works to acquaint yourself and then see if you can match the question with an image. Which one....

1. uses a common household material to comment on the emptiness of consumerism?
2. shows the power of mass marketing?
3.makes a humorous and sinister comment on concealment?
4. is the best comment on global warming?
5. depends on the viewer as a participant?
6. comments on the ever increasing demand for fossil fuels?
7 . relies on scale and other art elements to make a point?

Answers and comments follow in the next post. If you must know the "correct" answer put your paper somewhere safe!

6 comments:

-Don said...

I hate tests!!! But, I love a challenge... So, here goes:

1. Shopping Cart 7 by Rhonda Weppler and Trevor Mahovsky
2. 9 Marilyns by Shelley Ouellet
3. Blind by David Diviney
4. Iceburb by Donna Akrey
5. Hockey Organ by Graeme Patterson
6. Alternator by Rita McKeough
7. Midge by Allyson Mitchell

OK, now my brain hurts. I think I'll put it to bed.

-Don

Unknown said...

I'm allergic to tests, so I'll copy off Don's paper (hope he gets 100%)!! However, I did view the exhibition with great interest and found many of the constructions/images to be very imaginative. When I see work like this I wonder how anyone thinks it up in the first place, and then how they find a venue to show it. Wish I knew ...

M said...

Don,
You are very focused today and speedy in your response. Your answers are out there to help others. Of course, they may not be correct!

Kathy,
I tried hard to come up with a different way for people to view the work. We know how acutely visual Don is so your choice of someone to copy is a good one.

I liked many of the pieces in this show for their interesting takes on our world as we live in it. Much of this art has flowed through artist run centres and other public institutions in Canada. The artist run centres operate through grants mostly from The Canada Council for the arts and some provincial funding and centre fundraising events. Each year there are public calls for submissions for exhibition. For example there are two artist run centres in St. John's. While I have applied to one twice, I was not successful. My work is not "cutting edge" enough. That's my summary of the submission, not the official one.

-Don said...

Margaret, I can appreciate your summary. I feel that "not cutting edge enough" all the time. I've decided to heck with them... They'll come around.

-Don

tess stieben said...

Inspiring minds to be enquiring minds, good work teacher. Here is my mini-take seeing as you are promoting viewer response to said images.
1. The emptiness of consumerism is implied by the shopping cart by Weppler and Mahovsky, mashed to be of no use. Landfills are overflowing with flattened products of mass consumerism.
2. Ouellet uses the Marilyn image which is recognizable due its overuse as an American cult figure made popular by her early demise.
3. Humorous and sinister comment on concealment is Blind by Diviney. Of all this image falls short for me. I neither find it humorous nor sinister, yet rather boring. It incited no questions for me rather than why are there only 7 boots?.
4. Comment on global warming is the suburban Iceburb by Akrey. The photo is stark, subdued and does illicit interest in its texture and contrasts. I do question why the photographer chose the composition and the meaning behind. This subtle piece is by far, engaging.
5. The Organ depends on a participant, now this one I find humorous, as in "hockey night in Canada" theme with the organ music thumped out. The initial viewing of the organ brought to mind a church organ which of course made me think about "what does the organ player think when playing. Then it got deeper. The organ as representing a religious belief plus a Canadian sport/business enterprise. The infiltration of Canada by religious orders to subdue the masses as a type of sport. Oh my mind really loves this one, on so many levels. It would be interesting to read others takes on these images.
6. Well living in Alberta this was a no-brainer upon seeing the images of oil-rigs in a parkade. McKeough has presented an image that should open viewers response. Such as when is the corporate greed going to slow down? Will it come to this? Has it already? Are there better alternatives? Who powers the drive for more oil, is it really consumers, or is it a high level of corporate greed?
7. Scale, well I would site Slipping By, by McKeough. The clock hands spinning the human race, which is implied by small vehicles on straight tracks. A world regimented by control of an artificial concept of "time" . We have become programed to always be attempting to get to a destination "on time", the rat-race as it was coined years back. But in the corporate consumerism induced rush where do we really get?
Thanks for encouraging me to "think".

M said...

Teresa,
You certainly gave great thought to the works in this exhibition. I enjoyed reading your reflections on the various pieces but most especially the hockey organ.