When you enter a museum, they are lurking in the corners, uniformed, silent, eyes constantly scanning the room. You may never even notice them. It’s possible that museum guards spend more time physically with the artwork than the curators and historians do. I recently had the opportunity to ask a former guard at the Ringling Museum about her experience.
Seattle based artist, Chris Jordan, shows us an arresting view of what Western culture looks like. Best known for his large scale works depicting mass consumption and waste, particularly garbage, he has been called “the ‘it’ artist of the green movement.” His supersized images picture some almost unimaginable statistics — like the astonishing number of paper cups we use every single day.
It seems so simple; we all have feelings about the art we see. Yet comfort with our own reactions to it often seems elusive. It’s replaced with the idea of what we should like and insecurity about looking foolish.
This exhibition focuses on a group of artists whose work is minutely crafted to exacting detail, whether through surface completion or the inclusion of intensive narrative content. Implicit to this group of artists is their mastery of technique―whether it is old master, or the application of new technologies, each artist uses their significant knowledge to impart a comprehensive visual story.
Masterworks from the Vitra Design Museum provides an opportunity to contemplate the fascinating history of chair design. Assembled from the expansive holdings of one of the world’s foremost design museums, this exhibition allows us to consider the aesthetic, technological and manufacturing concerns expressed through the design of the most ubiquitous of objects, the chair.
