Table of Contents
˙pg.4 Land Change Artistically and Locally Illuminated Art by: ˙Diane Burko Diptych – Grinnell North Moraine, 2010 ˙Artist unknown Snake Hill, Saratoga Lake, 1912 ˙Nicholas Liu-Sontag and Karen Kellogg Snake Hill, Saratoga Lake, 2010 Ceanna Vangelder ‘13
˙pg.6 When Environmental Issues Become An Existential Concern Photos: Frances Young Tang Teaching Museam and Art Gallery Marielle Briant ‘14
˙pg.8 Out of the Art Building and into Case Photos and article by: Grace Travaglini ‘13 ˙pg.10 Instinct and Intellect Photos and article by: Alexandra McGlinchey ’14 and Elizabeth Porfido ‘14
˙pg.12 William Kentridge: Anything is Possible Taylor Dafoe ‘13
˙pg.14 The Skidtorialist: Skidmore’s Sartorial Expression Photos: Katie Humphreys ‘12 and Anne Porter ‘12 Drawing: Taylor Shields Lindsay Johnson ‘12
˙pg.16 Funk and Flavor Art by: Jessie Moy ’11, Michaela Stone ’11, and Miranda Duval ‘11 Chloe Nash ‘11
˙pg.18 Album Art: Avi Buffalo Album Art by: Devin O’Brien Adam Saltzberg ‘14
Behind LINE Editor-in-Chief: Hilary Knecht ‘13 Treasurer: Elise Babigian ‘12 Secretary: Taylor Dafoe ‘13 Layout Design: Pamela Hirschberg ‘13
Letter from the Editor Dear Readers: Thanks for reading the final issue of LINE for the 2010-2011 year! This edition of LINE consists of reviews exploring a wide variety of art, ranging from exhibitions at the Tang, student art, and a fashion blog to art beyond the Skidmore campus, including a local Saratoga gallery, album art, and a documentary. Special thanks to all who contributed to LINE, especially our writers! LINE would not be possible without our graphic designer, Pamela Hirschberg. Thank you also to everyone who helped plan and organize LINE’s Release Bash. LINE primarily focuses on visual arts review and criticism at Skidmore and in the greater Saratoga Springs community. Contact lineartmag@gmail.com if you are interested in contributing to this stellar publication. Your Editor-in-Chief, Hilary
Land Change Artistically and Locally Illuminated
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Ceanna Vangelder Did you know that several Toboggan runs used to be on the edges of Skidmore’s campus where the present Northwoods apartments are located and that the foundations still exist today? Do you realize how much the land around us changes and transforms over the years, often going unnoticed? Nicholas LiuSontag (’11) and Karen Kellogg, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, highlighted transforming landscapes on a local level as they juxtaposed early twentieth-century images of Saratoga Springs with current photographs of the same locations in their eye-opening exhibition, Unstable Ground. Located in the Winter Gallery at The Tang Teaching Museum, Unstable Ground opened on February 5th and closed on April 17th. The small yet powerful exhibition showcased seven pairs of images as well as one large diptych painting, also a comparison of a location documented several years apart. In addition, a computer program supplemented the show: “Visual Landscape and Land Use Change Project: Rephotography.” One could interact with the program by clicking on various locations on the map of Saratoga Springs and watch a silent video of the old photograph mesh and transform into the new one. Each pair of images captured a different aspect of land change in terms of cause and the extent of the change. The diptych Snake Hill, Saratoga Lake exemplified major human development as the appearance of houses scattered on the hill and the noticeably higher water level in the current image contrasted with the pristine image of the lakefront from several years back. Both the damming of Fish Creek, which caused the water level to rise, and the construction of the lakeside houses were man-made land changes. Liu-Sontag and Kellogg carefully timed their photography with the position of the sun in the sky, creating a new image of Snake Hill that accurately mirrors the old one; the shadows of the hill on the glassy water are identical in shape.
The pair of images that depicted the intersection at Broadway and Division Street embodied less land change than the images of more natural landscapes. Liu-Sontag and Kellogg believe this is due to the fact that suburban and urban settings are more significant to communities “both economically and socially.” The movement created by the people and automobiles in the first photograph was mirrored in the current photograph, only in a more modern fashion. It was powerful to have a collection of both rural and urban settings. The curators’ wellresearched theory complemented the image pair, making sense of the degrees of change that varied so greatly depending on the setting. Although the photo pairs outnumbered the lone painting, Diptych-Grinnell North Moraine, 2010, by Diane Burko created a strong, over-arching tone for the entire exhibition. Burko’s oil on canvas depicted Grinnell Glacier in Montana; the first half of the diptych showed what the glacier looked like in the early twentieth-century and the second was of how it looks today. The identical frames of view allowed every difference in landscape to be seen. The first image showed the mountain peak covered in snow and surrounded by untainted glaciers, while the second image was full of blues and greens from the water, sky, and greenery growing where the snow used to blanket. The painting caught the viewer’s eye immediately with its fantastically large size and appealing color scheme. The strong contrast of colors used in each image gave a strong message of how f leeting nature’s preliminary beauty is because of climate change. The paint was thick and textured, which created an illusion of real snow and grass. Beautiful and rich, Burko’s painting loomed over the viewer as it demonstrated the extremities of land change. For such a modestly simple and small exhibition, it taught its viewers a great deal. The localness of the project made the reality of land change feel more relevant to our lives, while it can also be applied to everywhere in the world. Whether land transforms because of climate change, industrialization and man-made structures, or just by natural forces such as erosion and tides, it is happening everywhere and should not be ignored. Historically informative and compelling, Unstable Ground was a quick look that hopefully did not go by unseen, for just like the land, it had much to tell and was not around forever.
When Environmental Issues Become An Existential Concern
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Marielle Briant “The best way to know someone is by looking through their trashcan,” says emerging artist Bright Ugochukwu Eke. On a larger scale, the Tang Museum’s current exhibition Environment and Object – Recent African Art (from February 5th to July 31st) shows that the best way to understand our own society is by looking at our ecosystem. If you walk into the Tang and take a few minutes to contemplate this exhibition, you will understand Africa on another level than you previously would have. What is at stake on the second floor of the Tang Museum are the environmental issues in Africa that concern not only the Africans, but also our very own and personal lifestyles that contribute to the detriment of the world at large. Through exploring issues such as trade, colonialism and capitalism, and the themes of water and oil, a wide range of world-renowned African artists, including El Anatsui, Cheri Samba and Sokari Douglas Camp (to name a few), come together in this exhibition to counter western romanticized misrepresentations of Africa. While Nigerian artist George Osodi bravely comments on the Niger Delta’s oil spill problems through his photography, he is actually trying to get at a larger issue that concerns the corruption of the Nigerian Government: “Because Nigeria is rich in oil and oil exportation, it is seen as a rich place. This is why the government does not favor its people. And the people are living in misery.” Osodi explains that his work is first intended for the Nigerian people, as illustrated in his photo entitled Oil Spill Near Farm Land Ogoni where the man in the picture has his back to an oil explosion: “Nigerians themselves don’t even know what is going on behind their back.” The conflict between the Nigerian people and their government is expressed in the distressing work entitled Teasing Suicide by Sokari Douglas Camp, who comments on the absurdity of Nigerians fighting for oil while the government has been unable to prevent bloodshed. Sokari’s provocative work shows a middle-aged woman on the verge of committing suicide. She has a gun in her mouth; the artist uses pink paint on the woman’s body as a statement of naivety, femininity and innocence. For Barthelemy Toguo from Cameroon, the African president is ridiculed through Toguo’s photographic staging. He is shown in three different canvases as a misleading and incompetent president who has led Africa to the ground through destruction of his own people and resources. The first image shows the current president with his back to a map of 19th-century Africa, indicating his incompetence in not concerning himself with pressing and contemporary social issues due to conflicts in African history: “The real African conflict began in the 19th century when, during the Berlin Conference, ethnic groups were separated.” The second image shows the president again, but this time in a construction workers’ suit with a chainsaw over is head. This is supposed to symbolize the destruction of resources by the president himself, who has been razing forests across the continent. The third image, independent of the other two, shows a man (perhaps the president again) in what appears to be an oil can with an empty bottle of water in his mouth. The critique of the government in terms of destruction of resources is very straightforward. Toguo explains, “The best way to illustrate African leaders is through photographic staging, performance, a critical or political dimension, and humor.”
Another more straightforward theme explored concerns the negative effects of the economic trade market. Romuald Hazoumé makes seemingly traditional masks out of “jerry cans”, which are cans used by smugglers to bring black market gasoline and petroleum from Nigeria to Benin. In combining the traditional symbolism of masks with detrimental materials, Hazoumé makes a statement on modernity and corruption. Last but lot least, Bright Ugochukwu Eke explores the medium of water through his site-specific installation Ripples and Storm. His piece takes up an entire room and consists of two related installations, one made out of wood and another, more predominant, is a spiral with plastic bottles. This work connotes an universal phenomena that depicts each and every one of us as active contributors to the detriment of our ecosystem. The metaphor of the ripples and of the water spiral in his installation signifies that “just as throwing a stone in water generates multiple ripples, one problem – such as how we handle water can interfere with one’s whole life.” The problem that the artist evokes here is our interconnectedness with each other and with water, and how its use can affect so many people in different cultures. When we think of problems in Africa, we usually think of poverty. This exhibition not only shows us that Africa has other issues that are almost equally important, but also reveals Africa’s wealth and resources that make the continent such a complex field of study. The artists intend to find answers and explanations to current social, demographic and urban issues that disallow an improvement of the quality of life. The environmental disasters at stake are of significant importance, and if resolved, can help Africans out of poverty.
Out of the Art Building and into Case
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Grace Travaglini
As people began to file into and swirl around the Case Gallery opening for the student show Figures and Faces, Eliza Dunaway, one of the two artists in the exhibition, had expressed some concern. “I was worried that it would seem too academic,” she said in reference to the gallery pieces, which had been completed as assignments for class. While it may be true that a majority of the pieces had been made for Skidmore art classes, the show featured such a variety of work, styles and mediums that the space felt far from a classroom wall lined with drawings that had been completed for a deadline and were ready for a class critique. For the show, which ran from February 10th to the 16th, Eliza Dunaway ’11 and Suzanna Okie ’11 collectively compiled work that addressed or involved the human form in some way. The show included a variety of work ranging from paintings to drawings to sculpture. Walking around the show, it seemed as if anyone could find a particular style or medium that appealed to them—whether it was an oil painting, charcoal drawing or ink wash portrait. The painterly oil paintings showcased an expressive use of color, which worked to capture the energy and mood of its model. These works were contrasted with more subdued black and white charcoal drawings that captured beautiful gradations of light and dark shadows. The layout of the show helped distance the work from being seen as assignments in that different mediums were spread throughout the space, as opposed to being grouped together categorically. The show’s arrangement also helped viewers move along the walls of the gallery, as each side was anchored
by a unique, eye-catching piece. For instance, upon entering the room, viewers first saw a life-sized figure painting that was clearly visible even from beyond the Case Gallery doors. From there, viewers had the option to start on the side with an impressive sculpture of a human head made entirely out of stacks of carved newspapers. Or viewers could work their way from a series of suspended ink wash drawings on the opposite wall, where the weightlessness of the paper caused the drawings to capture light and slightly sway. Overall, the show was a great way to take the artwork out of the art building and into a more populated student space, allowing a new group of Skidmore students a chance to see it—even if it was only as they hurried to Burgess or sat gabbing on the couches just outside the gallery doors.
Instinct and Intellect
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Alexandra McGlinchey Elizabeth Porfido
John R. G Roth’s show at the Saratoga Arts Center features twelve separate pieces placed in two open rooms. At first, as we looked around the large space, we were confused as to where Roth’s work was located. Each piece is so different from one another that they initially do not seem to be created by the same artist. We soon realized that all of the artwork in the room was part of Roth’s Figment Transport exhibition. With his work, Roth attempts to juxtapose varying elements. The time he spent living in Michigan exposed him to a world both industrialized and rural. Mechanical contrivances set against a rustic landscape influenced the spirit behind the artist’s work. These contrasting ideas created a tension between “instinct and intellect,” as Roth responded to events in the wider world and his own experiences within it. These contrasting concepts then relate to politics, world order and the natural environment, so that Roth’s works serve as “3-D political cartoons.” Though the artist expresses his own voice through his work, he eschews the idea of using these politically related works as a personal narrative of his life. The first pieces that caught our attention were the free-form objects covered in sheet metal scales. One particularly interesting piece hung from the ceiling on a string and was capable of being moved by the breeze of someone passing. Although initially eye-catching, these scale-covered organisms were not the most interesting pieces. These objects had fluid shapes and the front and back were difficult to distinguish, allowing for many viewing points of the works. With titles such as Torqued Conveyance and Another One, the symbolism of these objects was ambiguous and hard to connect to the artist’s larger commentary. On the other hand, Roth’s theme of elemental juxtaposition was evident when viewing the pieces with such natural and seamless forms encased in a metal shell of scales. Distinguished from these scaled pieces and starkly contrasted against the clean eggshell walls of the space were intensely multicolored sculptures enclosed in furniture. Just as the other works can be looked at from more than one angle, the pieces in furniture also engender more than one way of viewing the sculpture inside, by way of Plexiglas. The piece Surreptitious Return includes a giant scaled foot submerged in water with what appears to be black mountains in the background, all encased in a wooden piece of furniture. In order to get a better view of these mountains and the giant leg, the viewer has to change their position. No matter how we were positioned, it was inevitable that our reflections blended with the piece itself. This encourages the viewer’s involvement with
each individual piece. When looking at these pieces the viewer sees his or her reflection while also seeing the artwork behind the glass. If one were to look at all the pieces in this exhibition separately, it would seem logical to categorize the scaled pieces together as one exhibition and the furniture-based pieces as another, but the fact that Roth blended both types of works together makes for a striking and cohesive exhibition. The most obvious contrast that Roth draws is natural versus mechanical forms. The scaled pieces are fluid and continuous and do not seem to resemble any man-made or mechanical construction. Yet, placed among these rhythmic forms are sculptures encased in furniture, which are purposefully fabricated by humans. As products of design and functional needs, they seem especially synthetic, even foreign among the swarm of organically shaped silver orbs. To contribute to this message, the materials used to create each of the pieces mimic the difference between the earthy and refined elements. Roth’s exhibition requires the complete cooperation of the viewer in order to understand its significance. Not only does the viewer have to look at perplexing sculptures, but the viewer has to examine him or herself within the work. All of Roth’s pieces “call for the viewer’s co-authorship.” Thus, the viewer feels a personal connection with the work. In creating this relationship between viewer and artwork, Roth has provided the viewer with reason to try and understand its meaning. Simply, by using natural forms and objects, Roth connects his viewers to his work, in turn, sparking their interest in his inspiration for the pieces.
William Kentridge: Anything is Possible
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Taylor Dafoe
“I am only an artist; my job is to make drawings, not to make sense,” says acclaimed artist William Kentridge in the opening scene of Anything is Possible, a fifty-minute long film detailing the man’s artistic approach. Though anecdotal, this quote is perfectly appropriate for the themes underlying much of the film: distortion, discovery, and the role of deliberate ambiguity in art forms. Focusing more on the intricate distinctions and sweeping scope of his heralded work than on the man himself, the biopic explores the artist’s process as it is applied to many artistic mediums, running the post-modernist gamut from film to theater, to sculpture, drawing, painting, and even the creation of tapestries. He draws out his message equally through form and style as through content, often relying on the creative process of his work to carry out his vision in addition to that which is actually created, that which is seen by the viewer. Political in nature, Kentridge is now famous for his critical artistic attitude toward the controversial social and political upheavals of his native South Africa. However, Anything is Possible paints a different picture of the man, one that presents him not in a political light, but in an unassuming, artistic one, illustrating his commitment to and emotional reliance upon his art. A strong bond between the artist and his work is demonstrated through the casual up-closeness of the film; it’s easy to see that this connection has been at the heart of everything he’s done, everything he’s accomplished. Kentridge has been astonishingly prolific in the years of his career, putting his hands on everything he can, sharing modestly his perspective of the world. The film echoes the subtle seriousness of the man, while showcasing his unbridled creativity at work and dismantling the mystique of the artist. The film gives the viewer an inside look into the experimentalist mentality central to Kentridge’s career. It follows the artist as he makes his way through his virtuosic repertoire, showing him working as the director of his opera during casting and rehearsals, as the subject and actor in some of his films, and as the artist behind it all, sitting alone, thinking or working with his hands – all interlaced with clips of his films on display. He is as diverse as he is productive, constantly challenging himself intellectually and creatively. What’s so interesting throughout the course of the film, though, is Kentridge’s methods as he creates these various works; even though he places such a priority on the creative process, it’s stunning just how strikingly different his approach and execution are each time. He has no set way of doing things, no isolated and mysterious studio where he works on his masterpieces; instead he works in countless different settings with each being appropriately conducive to the particular project on which he’s working (a trait that seems to lend itself to his genre-hopping nature). The film concentrates on Kentridge’s more recent work, a period of his career characterized by his innovative experimentation in not only the content and message of his art, but in the medium he uses to manifest these tropes as well. The documentary places a particular emphasis on his work within the realms of film and theater. Says the artist about this specific form: “I’m interested in machines that tell you what it is to look; that make you aware of the process of seeing, make you aware of what you do when constructing the world by looking at it; but more as the looking and seeing being a metaphor for how we understand the world.”
©William Kentridge
The meticulousness of his work, the minutiae that characterizes him as the artist he is today, is very much on display in Anything is Possible, as he works on notable pieces such as What Will Come (Has Already Come), in which a reconfigured projector plays a film onto an inverted and moving screen; 7 Fragments for George Méliès, in which seven different screens stand staggered in a dark room, simultaneously rotating films that depict an artist (whom very closely resembles Kentridge) working in a studio; and The Nose, an opera based on the short story by Russian writer, Gogol. The film is engaging in its insights into the mind of an acclaimed artist whose work has rendered him an enigmatic figure in the art world. He is very much a man who takes pride in what he does, who remains true to his process – in many ways the embodiment of his work. His commitment to improvisation and discovery through doing is clear throughout the film as he talks repeatedly about the complementary relationship between the artist and his work. “I think one does think with one’s hands.…There’s an uncertainty of what you’re doing, an imprecision, so that what you do when you look at it is, not to know something in advance which you’re carrying out, but rather recognizing something as it appears.” Kentridge is presented here as being a modern day expressionist, representing that sect of people that believe the creative methodologies behind artistic works to be the most important part of the process. There’s a certain casual elegance to the film, echoing its projected portrait of Kentridge, a man who has the kind of distinct wisdom and disarming demeanor that you’d expect from someone who’s experienced as much as he has; an attitude that, in many ways, has ultimately distinguished the man’s career. Never straying from the traditional hands-off documentary form, letting the content shape its direction, the film is an apt portrait of a humble man whose powerful work speaks for itself.
The Skidtorialist: Skidmore’s Sartorial Expression Lindsay Johnson While necessary to cover oneself, clothing is also a means of expression. Trends in fashion such as animal print dresses and large headbands are fun, yet fleeting. How an individual wears certain pieces and crafts a unique personal image defines true, lasting style. Someone may wear a striped shirt without consciously thinking of making a statement, but the way in which they wear it transforms the piece. The Skidtorialist aims to showcase this fashionable nonchalance. Inspired by the popular street style blog The Sartorialist, written and photographed by Scott Schuman, and the student body at Skidmore, friends Katie Humphreys ‘12 and Anne Porter‘12 have joined together as the creative force behind The Skidtorialist, a blog that pays tribute to individuals who radiate confidence while exuding their personal styles. I recently had the pleasure to ask them a few questions about the philosophy of the blog and what they look for in fellow students’ style that will be featured on their site. LINE: What inspires you? SKDT: The first influence, the one that started the blog, was The Sartorialist. In the beginning, we felt as though he really sought outfits that were attainable, street savvy, and even specific to the city he was shooting in. But other street blogs have had an effect as well, especially HelLooks, a Helsinki based style blog that started off mad grungy, and after seven years maintains a cleaner, but just as diverse focus. There is also Fruits that is a street style book by photographer Shoichi Aoki with a focus on the Lolita and other Japanese subcultures (check out http://fy-fruits.tumblr.com/). One blog that I would say has a big impact on what I look for in an outfit is Susie Bubble, from London. Street style is an international, boundary crossing kind of thing! These all influenced me in my decisions about layout, content, and even how we choose whom to photograph. Skidmore tends to have hundreds of examples of perfect street style, big fashion ideas put in more contained, less over the top outfits. (A few others I might suggest are Hanneli Mustaparta, The Clothes Horse, and Jak & Jil blog. Also, for local blogs, CannedCaviar from Skidmore as well as Rackk & Ruin from Burlington.) LINE: Are the photographs a collaborative or individual effort? AP: Typically photographic fashion blogs solely reflect the photographer’s eye. For example, Scott Shumann is the editor and photographer for The Satorialist. The Skidtorialist acts as more of a collaboration. I assist Katie’s vision by creating images. Katie has one focus, while sometimes I have another. I am trying to take what I’m learning from photography class and apply it, which usually means that it won’t
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turn out how I expected it. At times, Katie and I have different ideas of the best shot. We rarely have discrepancies over the people we shoot. I’m beginning to understand Katie’s aesthetic—after seeing which images she selects—and shooting with that in mind. I’ve been restraining myself from processing them too much. I decided to try something different this week. I wasn’t sure how the processed image would go over with Katie. She loved it! It was yesterday’s post. More images like that will come. LINE: As a photographer what do you look for? What makes you do a double take? SKDT: A unique combination. We have stopped people in clothing from their dance classes, and people wearing fur coats on sunny days. The possibilities are endless. LINE: What are some of the questions you ask people? KH: What inspires you? What are you looking forward to this spring? Tell us a little bit about your outfit. What are you listening to? We try to allow the person to talk about what they want to talk about; sometimes the most telling thing about their personality has nothing to do with their outfit. And that’s totally cool—the outfit is important, but it is more important if it reflects something about you. For instance, when we photographed Kevin, he was wearing pretty silly gloves, and his quote had nothing to do with clothing. What he said when we were talking just seemed to fit, so we kept it. LINE: What do you think of style around campus? SKDT: Great. Skidmore is one good lookin’ college! I often wish I had cameras for eyes because of all the amazing outfits I do not get the time to photograph. It is rather amazing how people dress so well as a whole. Even in all the winter snow. LINE: Who are your personal style inspirations? How would you describe your personal style? KH: Personal style? My personal style is as simple as I can make it: I love patterns and colors, but with a base of black or white. Masculine meets femme. Large meets small. I love Mod style, such as Edie and Twiggy, but also punk, and I really love Goth style (not mall Goth). As a rule I try to love every piece of clothing in my closet so when I am in a rush, I will never be unhappy with what I throw on. LINE: What are you taking away from this blog? What have you learned from it? SKDT: This blog has been an amazing learning curve. Especially going from two editors to one. (When we started in Spring 2010 we had two editors, but for Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 we have only had one, a different one in spring and fall.) It feels like running a magazine—you have to learn to talk to people even when you are in a bad mood, you have to make tough editorial choices, have big calendars with stuff laid out months in advance, and you have to spend so, so, so much time loving it. I don’t know that I could do any of those things before we started The Skidtorialist. The learning curve is steep—and we are currently looking for help! If you have read our editorials, and think you could contribute, please contact us at skidtorialist@gmail.com. We will only accept one or two people, unfortunately the blog cannot support more than that. LINE: Anything we should look forward to from the Skidtorialist in future months? AP: Hopefully, we’ll experiment with different photographic techniques—perhaps video or multiple, continuous shots—to keep our site fresh and interesting. KH: Look forward to more editorials, style profiles, and street style this spring. At the conclusion of our interview, I was most impressed by the enthusiasm each girl generated. The Skidtorialist is not a fashion blog raving about the latest designers and dissing people with “bad style.” This blog’s positive outlook focuses on people whose individuality shines through with their creative choice of apparel. Not only that, but also the Skidtorialist has interesting interviews and the photography is noteworthy in itself. This blog is definitely worth checking out! www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com www.theskidtorialist.tumblr.com
16 Funk & Flavor Chloe Nash
With 70 pieces of art on display, the Student Art Exhibition is pushing the physical capacity of the humble Schick Gallery. It is the largest volume of art ever featured in this show and with every corner of the gallery occupied, the Schick Gallery assistants even admit to be a little short on light fixtures. Juried by Rachel Seligman, class of ’91 Skidmore Alum and previous Director of the Mandeville Gallery at Union College, the exhibition boasts a wide array of mediums ranging from oil on canvas to ceramic pieces to woodblock prints and more. Seligman was recently appointed the position of Associate Curator at the Tang Teaching Museum and among the more than 200 pieces of work submitted to the show, she was looking for pieces that were able to “balance proficiency with risk-taking and demonstrate a clearly articulated sensibility.” Ashley Rowe’s piece, Territory (ink on mylar), won the Schick Art Gallery Award; Everette Hoffman’s series of three small sculptures entitled Recreations (wood, plaster and bronze) took the Tang Teaching Museum Award. Both works consist of earthy hues and abstract yet sturdy shapes and although different in medium, there is something subtly similar about them. Although these pieces, along with the nine other award-winning pieces, demand thoughtful viewing and acclaim, two pieces of art immediately draw viewers to them. Positioned directly across from the gallery’s front door, Michaela Stone’s larger-than-life oil painting, Palpebral Fissure, catches one’s eye and demands instant inspection. Perhaps it is the vivid color scheme or the subject’s bulging eyes, but according to one Schick employee, this painting even drew an impressed “wow” out of a Skidmore security guard who had been called down to the gallery to fix something. Melinda Kiefer’s untitled sculpture is another one of the show’s gems. Out of the whole collection of art, this may be the one piece of work that quietly asks the viewer to stay for a while, to come in. Untitled is a universe in and of itself, consisting of a unique assortment of used objects such as tea bags and candy wrappers and pieces of nature like sticks and dried flowers. With paint, glue, and a talented sense of artistic balance and harmony, Kiefer managed to produce an incredible atmosphere that looks like something one might see in a fantastic dream. From afar, Untitled is a surreal city, and upon closer scrutiny, it is a flood of scenes and scenarios frozen in time for your viewing pleasure. The 2011 Schick Student Art Show is dense and delightful. In her Juror’s Statement, Seligman says that the most successful works are the ones “in which formal and conceptual elements are united with energy, elegance, wit and intelligence.” One can find exactly this in any piece in the show. The exhibition captures the creative essence of the Skidmore student body as well as the beautiful and confusing moment of our present world.
Album Art: Avi Buffalo Adam Saltzberg
Not every band chooses a painting for their album cover; such a move can be seen as pretentious, or otherwise in bad taste. However, I think Avi Buffalo made a good choice in choosing to do so. The painting shows a strange yet undeniably captivating scene. The subject of the image stands amid a stormy and cacophonous scene, appearing to be in the process of not only falling into the water, but also of being crushed by an oncoming wave. Though he is falling and being crushed, he looks frozen somehow, resisting the forces that will eventually submerge him, while basking in the glow of a beam of sunshine. He is at once struggling against and at the mercy of his surroundings. The man’s bizarre appearance matches his strange situation: his one visible leg points in the wrong direction; three arms are depicted in the picture (one of which does not appear to be his); his only clothing is his shirt and a strange curled rope around his neck; his head and eyes are represented with a vicious intensity and convey a feeling of anger or desperation. He is fighting hard against forces that he can’t stop; but he continues to fight nonetheless, resembling the struggle that is everyday life. These themes of desperation and struggle are not reflected explicitly in the music; however, by evoking such heavy content, this picture sets up the viewer to listen to the music with greater care and to take it more seriously. It is not all somber and serious, though; the Avi Buffalo sound is decidedly optimistic and relaxed. Employing a summery guitar and bass sound, understated drums, the occasional clarinet, glowing synthesizers, aching vocal harmonies drenched in reverb, and the sound of hands clapping softly, Avi Buffalo creates a uniquely gentle sound that draws the listener back over and over again. Do yourself a favor and go check them out!
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