Post Modern Exhibit

 Post-Modern art rejects the era preceding it. There is a re-examination of what composes art, and greater diversity in materials in art. Innovation in technology provides new outlets to create art. Art in the Post-Modern era is more diverse in subject matter and material. The idea of deconstruction is also very popular. Deconstruction can refer to taking things apart and the lack of universal meanings in art. The pieces I’ve compiled here exhibit the use of diverse materials in art that is so prominent in post-modernism.

Faith Wilding 

Crocheted Environment

This fiber art installation is Crocheted Environment by Faith Wilding. It is composed of Woolworth’s Sweetheart acrylic yarn and sisal rope, and it was created in 1972 for the exhibition Womanhouse. It was originally staged in an abandoned mansion in Hollywood, and it is also referred to as the “womb room” (ICABoston.org). 

This is the kind of art that you can walk around in. I like the size of this as well as the ability a viewer has for close proximity to it. It brings a whole new dimension to being able to experience art. In the crochet pattern, there are natural elements. Some areas of it are patterned like spiderwebs. There are areas reminiscent of braiding and weaving. There is variety in the pattern and tautness of the yarn. This gives me feelings of loose detachedness and being tightly wound at the same time. I see rejection in these juxtaposed differences. Even the contrast of the dark room against the lightness of the yarn and rope feels significant. The contrast in pattern and environment builds a sense of openness and claustrophobia. I imagine seeing it would be a potent experience. I like the way the shadows of the art litter the ground, and to fall under its shadow would be powerful. I have examined many paintings and drawings, and the otherness of a larger installation like this is exciting. 

Rick Satava

Moon Group 

Moon Jellyfish Seascape

Moon Group and Moon Jellyfish Seascape are glass-blown jellyfish art by Rick Satava. Satava began experimenting with techniques to make glass jellyfish from 1989-1994. He abandoned the technique for a while but picked it back up for a commission. The moon jellyfish piece is a commission for the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and it is Satava’s first jellyfish piece (ZoneOneArts.com.au). This piece accompanied the aquarium’s “Jellies: Living Art” exhibit constructed in 2003. Satava still sells glass jellyfish, so he is still making them. The moon jellyfish piece is probably dated in 2003 because that's when it was commissioned for the exhibit. The other group shown may have been made any time since the first jellyfish and 2020, which is the date of the ZoneOne Arts article. In 1977, he established his glass studio, Satava Art Glass Studio, in Chico in Northern California (SignatureGalleries.com). These pieces were made after opening his art studio, so they were most likely created there. 

The single moon jellyfish piece is gorgeous. There’s a prominent delicateness to his work. The texture of a jellyfish is something light, soft, and translucent. The softness of the jellyfish Satava has created alongside the fragile nature of glass is so fantastic. I look at his work, and I am engaged by the thoroughness of it. The colors he uses are magical and feel as if they glow. He brings fantastic light into his moon jellyfish art as if it’s reflecting the moon itself. He uses colors like blue and yellow that complement each other in a vivacious way. The jellyfish tendrils twist as if they are in motion. 

Satava’s masterful glass art is gorgeous, it’s glass art in a new Post Modern sense. Looking back on art and glass, stained glass windows come to mind. However, the dimensions and shapes of Satava’s works are entirely different from windows. His art feels like it appreciates natural beauty in a newer context. Glass reacts well to light, casting colorful rays, and Satava’s moon jellies are accentuated by it. 

Robert Smithson

Spiral Jetty

This environmental art is Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson. The artist sculpted this piece using mud, crystals, salt, and basalt on the northeastern coast of the Great Salt Lake in 1970. It is a massive structure, the coil being 1,500 feet and having a 15-foot width. It is sometimes submerged by the lake’s water, and sometimes visible. It is preserved today despite efforts to destroy it. Smithson erected Spiral Jetty in this location because of “its association with the primordial sea” and industrial structures nearby (PublicDelivery.org). The water reflects the spiral, landscape, and sun at times making for a beautiful, twisting sight. Smithson used salt crystals on the top of the mud and gravel with the intent of it changing with time and “contrast[ing] with the red color of the water'' (PubliceDelivery.org).

As a piece of artwork that changes constantly due to its surrounding environment, it has a lasting temporary beauty. It is not meant to stay the same, and one visitor’s view of it will be different from someone else visiting at a different time. This relates to the deconstruction of post-modernism. Its beauty is left to perspective and time as it changes. Spirals themselves are fantastic shapes because they draw the eye in. The large structure Smithson has created delivers a bath for the eye that one can actually approach. I think this piece is diverse in its materials, location, size, and nature. It is a massive structure of earth and rock, and like the earth it is ever-changing. It is not attached to the permanence that other previous art is desperate to achieve. The location adds to the diversity of the piece because it is so central to it. The artist chose this location because of the water and landscape, it is a part of the work. 

Cindy Sherman

From 1977-1980 Cindy Sherman took over seventy black and white photographs referred to as Untitled Film Stills. She presents herself as a different character in each one, building distinct scenes in each photograph reminiscent of movie or show scenes. There is a familiar unfamiliarity to her stills. They are characters and scenes captured in small windows of time, giving the viewer a restless curiosity. There is a desire to know more about the characters portrayed and too much unknown. 

Untitled Film Still #2

Her photographs portray vague scenes that are familiar to the viewer, yet unknown because of their vagueness. The first image is Untitled Film Still #2, even the way of referencing the photograph leaves the viewer with unknowns. This still is from 1977. Her collection reflects the way women were represented and stereotyped in Western media (Magazine.Artland.com). Her work is relatable and intriguing. She started the series in her apartment, so this early image was photographed in her New York apartment (MoMA.org)

This still makes me sad. There is innocence on her face as she looks into her reflection. Her gaze is focused on herself. It makes me think of movies that don’t pass the Bechdel test. The Bechdel test is whether a movie features two women discussing a topic that is not a man. I think she is getting ready to bathe because her hair isn’t wet, but she could have taken a bath. Her gaze is simple, and she is unclothed but modestly covered. It presents a way that women are objectified in Western media. The way the towel is held looks as if it’s not covering her back. She’s covering herself, but it’s the areas that face the viewer. The innocence adds to the unawareness a movie character has of being watched by someone else. I feel like I am seeing something I’m not supposed to. This is an intimate moment. It shows a woman in a bathroom. You can even see a glass with toothbrushes on the sink. The door is closed. Sherman knows there’s a viewer, but does the character she plays here know? 

Untitled Film Still #28

Untitled Film Still #28 was taken in 1979. Early in the collection, she changed to scenes in urban settings beyond her apartment, but, likely, this was still taken in New York. Sherman looks off into the distance, her head tilted to her left. The tilt and her gaze indicate she is watching for someone or something. She might be waiting for someone or watching someone leave. She wears a long garment that she is holding closed in front of her. This could show she feels vulnerable or that she just came outside in a rush. Perhaps she is cold because she holds herself and her feet are bare. The fingers of her left hand are splayed out, her other hand mostly hidden from view. Maybe the hidden nature of her hand and clothing are supposed to give viewers the suspicion that she is hiding. I also think the splay of her fingers increases the area covered. This is another scene where the viewer is unwelcome. I think I am looking at a character who does not want to be seen.

Bibliography

Blakeley, Deborah. “Rick Satava Glass Artist.” ZoneOne Arts, 13 Apr. 2020, https://zoneonearts.com.au/rick-satava/. 

“Cindy Sherman: Moma.” The Museum of Modern Art, https://www.moma.org/artists/5392. 

Crocheted Environment, ICA Boston, https://www.icaboston.org/art/faith-wilding/crocheted-environment. 

Foundation, Dia Art. “CART.” Dia, https://diaart.org/visit/visit-our-locations-sites/robert-smithson-spiral-jetty/. 

“Modern Classics: Cindy Sherman - Untitled Film Stills, 1977-1980.” Artlead, 25 Nov. 2021, https://artlead.net/journal/modern-classics-cindy-sherman-untitled-film-stills/. 

Public Delivery. “Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty - Everything You Need To Know.” Public Delivery, 18 June 2022, https://publicdelivery.org/robert-smithson-spiral-jetty-utah/. 

Ricci, Benedetta. “Portraits of America: Cindy Sherman's Untitled Film Stills.” Artland Magazine, 1 July 2022, https://magazine.artland.com/portraits-of-america-cindy-shermans-untitled-film-stills/. 

“Richard Satava.” Signature Gallery Group, https://www.signaturegalleries.com/artist/richard-satava. 

“Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty - Everything You Need To Know.” – Public Delivery, 18 June 2022, https://publicdelivery.org/robert-smithson-spiral-jetty-utah/. 

Zoolex Exhibit - Jellies: Living Art, https://zoolex.org/gallery/show/771/.