Exhibition Title from the MCA Chicago. Photo by Eiko
I visited this exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and I think this is a pretty good overview of the main points for the exhibition and the dancers themselves. This article is taken from examiner.com and written by Laelle Valdez (http://www.examiner.com/article/eiko-koma-at-the-mca-chicago?cid=db_articles)
"Contemporary dancers Eiko & Koma bring
to light the beauty in silence, detail, and anticipation. Through
their original choreography and performances, the duo has been blurring
the boundaries between dance and performance art for almost forty years.
Eiko & Koma are true artists, collaborating to conceptualize and
execute not only their physical performances, but also the accompanying
sets, costumes, and sound scores.
Photo Timeline. Photo by: Nathan Keay @ MCA Chicago
Their recent exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago was part of an ongoing retrospective
that they have embarked on in partnership with multiple institutions
across the country. The retrospective hopes to summarize and revisit
their past works in a way that will inspire and lead to future artistic
endeavors. With a novel approach to the exhibition space design, Eiko
& Koma transformed their gallery into a live performance set, a
collage of their history in print, and a video exhibition of past
performances. This multi-media display effectively portrayed the
extraordinary breadth of their achievements, while highlighting the
vacancies within the academic display of artworks in a museum setting.
Photo by Nathan Keay @ MCA Chicago
Eiko & Koma performed multiple times throughout the exhibition.
The performances within the gallery space allowed the audience to come
and go, experiencing the creation of an organic and living art. When
they weren’t physically present, the artists were represented by a video
image projection onto the performance space of one of their old sets.
During the performances, the intimate theatre space was completely
silent except for the sounds of nature and the hushed breathing of the
performers. The audience watched mesmerized by the slow and controlled,
tension wrought movements of the dancers as their limbs tangled and
unfurled, telling a beautiful tale of yearning and desire.
While their work doesn’t feature dance in the usual definition of the
word, it is evident in their style of movement, the grace and fluidity
with which they control their bodies, and the poise and discipline with
which they carry themselves onstage, that this is dance. Dance in one
of its most basic and beautiful forms."
Please follow the links within the article to visit the Eiko & Koma home page and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago home page
The quoted article was written by Laelle Valdez. All opinions and thoughts belong to her.
In Max Ernst’s Massacre
of the Innocents one sees an entirely different mode of image construction
and a greater emphasis on societal critique.
This image is composed of a black and white photo of what seems like a
possible night time city scape, with various drawings over it in watercolor,
gouache, and black ink. These can appear
to be buildings or ladders depending on what angle they are viewed from, and
seem to jut out of the city and into space in impossible directions. Out of this scene of chaos spring four
amorphous human figures. The two on the
right and the one on the bottom left are composed of pure flat, unmodulated
color and seem to be running hurriedly out of the city scene; the singular
figure in the top left has the foot and general shape of the running figures,
though it is modified and slightly more detailed in the body to resemble what
could be a machine-like head and wings – possibly an airplane. The night sky is filled in with dark and
emotionally motivated visible brush strokes of bluish black, intensifying the
dreary, mysterious, and chaotic scene below.
Massacre of the Innocents is deeply laden with ideas connected to the art of
the insane, surrealism, and a cultural critique of the destruction of the
modern machine instigated by the terrors of World War I. The use of a photo for the background city
acts to engage the viewer as it is a familiar scene of everyday life, while the
jutting building/ladders and the floating figures disturb the image by turning
it into a nightmare view of the chaotic modern city. This image calls to mind a common theme within
Ernst’s works of this time: the representation of his own anxieties about the
body and the necessity of “lines between self and world necessary to a sense of
autonomy.”[1] This is seen in the radical emphasis of the
individual’s hostile estrangement from the world and from each other indicated
by the illusion that the figures are floating or running to get out of the
scene in opposite directions of one another.
The chaotic combination of the twinkling cityscape and the spatially
confusing buildings/ladders offers a stark contrast to the minimalist colorful
body shapes which attempt to escape it, while the dark outline of each body
further emphasizes the separation between body and world. These bodies are also reminiscent of the
ideas of the primitive figures seen in works such as Matisse’s Music of 1910, which ties this image to
the idea in the art of the insane, that the “madness” is a “regression to a
primitive stage of psycho-physical development”[2] through
which modern artists could access the unconscious, and a way to progress
forward from the destructions of mechanized modern-day life.
This idea of the primitive unconscious and
the dreamlike trauma created in the floating and barely shaped human figures as
well as the unrealistic and unidentifiable angles of the building/bridges ties
this image to the focus on dream images within the production of Surrealist
images.[3] The menacing and disfigured airplane-person
figure and the unnerving maze created with the jutting building/bridges also
serve to emphasize the terror imposed on and created by the modern machine
within everyday life.
Unless
otherwise noted, the thoughts and opinions in this article are solely those of
the author: SadieFaye
[1] Hal Foster et al, Art Since 1900:Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism, 182.
[2] Hal Foster et al, Art Since 1900:Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism, 180.
[3] Hal Foster et al, Art Since 1900:Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism, 190.
Max Ernst "Self-Constructed Little Machine" 1919/20
Max Ernst’s Self-Constructed
Little Machine is a pencil sketch that unites the Dadaist concern with the
possibility of personal and cultural destruction by the machine (a response to
World War I), and the surrealist fascination with Freud.This image depicts two machines placed on
either side of the paper with an explanation of the scene in Ernst’s own
handwriting that seems to be “a confused account…that conflates sex and
scatology.”[1]
From simply viewing the image, the depicted
machines might be hard to categorize. The machine on the right somewhat
resembles a wind turbine with capital letter A’s placed in a round near the
top, with what a viewer of today might recognize as a solar panel above it-
though this object would not have been known to Ernst at the time of the
image’s creation.The machine on the
left resembles a giant saw, waiting at ready for someone to pull it down and
cut something.Art historians have
discovered that the image is actually based on a “found printer’s proof”
depicting a “drum figure with numbered slots” on the left and a “tripod
personage” on the right[2].Ernst also plays with the spatial relation of
the two objects by adding a mismatching tilt to the flat surface lines on which
they appear to stand.
The numerous effects and visual oddities within this
work can be explained to have origins and relations to both the Dada and Surrealist
movements.Its inspiration from a found
object is representative of the Dadaists play with such objects in novel
combinations as a way to create a feeling of shock and to cause reason for
societal evaluation and revolution; while the fact that the original object was
a printer’s proof is indicative of Dada’s embrace of the “new synthesis of
avant-garde art with technology.”This
represents both Dada’s critique of and reliance on the materials and machines
of modern society.While a large part of
the Dadaist artistic and political motivations were a reaction to the
destructive and negative world changes brought about by the machine as a
response to WWI, they also embraced the new mechanical advances in printing
technology as a way to spread their ideas to a greater population[3],[4] .
The Self-Constructed Little Machine can also
be linked to ideas within the production of “the art of the insane”- with which
Ernst dedicated himself to while still in his Dadaist phase.The modernist interpretation of the art of
the insane as “directly revelatory of the unconscious” came from the
publications of the psychologist Lombroso, whose ideas surfaced in the early
1920s.[5]Ernst used the “disturbances of schizophrenic
representation” to “disrupt the principle of identity” in terms of both art and
the self.It is this freedom from
reality that lead Ernst to develop the idea of the body as a “dysfunctional
machine” which can be seen within this image, and within some of his early
Dadaist collages.[6]Upon closer examination of the work itself,
one discovers the hidden bodies within the machines; the object on the right a
knock-kneed quasi-man with the protruding A's as arms, and the solar panel type
object as a head.There is also a long
cylindrical object placed between the “legs” which can be thought of as a
phallic symbol.Its detachment from the
body is crucial in light of the burgeoning interest in Freud at this time, as a
possible representation of the male castration anxiety.The object on the left can be seen not only
as the source of this castration anxiety in the female form (suggested by the
numbered slots in the drum, or the slot in the middle of the base of the
machine), but also as the saw itself which physically removed the phallic shape
from the body of the machine-man on the right.On the base of the “female” machine there appears to be a pair of
glasses, which could represent the new vision of reality, of the self, and of
the female counterpart that was revealed through the experience of a young
boy’s realization that his mother does not have the same parts that he
does.This integration of symbols that
represent castration anxiety into the image can be seen as a connection and
possibly an influence to the Surrealists, whose main preoccupation was the
depiction of the ideas of psychoanalysis and dream images.
To read more
about Max Ernst’s pivotal role in the transition from Dadaism to Surrealism and
for an in-depth look at his work, Massacre
of the Innocents…check back here tomorrow!
Unless
otherwise noted, the thoughts an opinions in this article are solely those of
the author: SadieFaye
[1] Hal Foster et al, Art Since 1900:Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism, 183.
[2] Hal Foster et al, Art Since 1900:Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism, 183.
[3] Hal Foster et al, Art Since 1900:Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism, 135.
[4] Hal Foster et al, Art Since 1900:Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism, 168.
[5] Hal Foster et al, Art Since 1900:Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism, 180.
[6] Hal Foster et al, Art Since 1900:Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism, 183.
Max Ernst is often described as “the German Dadaist
turned Surrealist,”[1] a title
which can be explored and understood through his two works, Self-Constructed Little Machine (1919)
and Massacre of the Innocents (1920). This appellation is not only afforded by his
status as one of many modernists exploring ideas found in the art of the insane
(a movement which gained substantial interest within the artistic community by
the early 1920s[2]), but
also by the various new techniques of pictorial creation which he began
developing during his engagement with the Dada artists. These techniques, including collage, frottage
(producing an image through rubbing), grattage (creating an image through
scraping), his early collages, and his “veristic dream paintings,” proved to be
highly influential to the later ideas that fueled Surrealism[3], [4].
Massacre
of the Innocents from
1920 and Self-Constructed Little Machine
from 1919 originate from Max Ernst’s Dada period, and suggest continuity
between Dada and Surrealism in both their subject matter and composition. A comparison of these two works offers a wide
range of critiques on modern culture and the destruction of World War I. These works also show a move away from other
forms of abstraction and modernism in their renewed concern with the subject matter
itself and the impression and meaning therein.
They accomplish this while also giving consideration to the various
novel and inventive mediums through which these ideas could be made
transmissible to their audience. This
combination of effect of both medium and subject matter is a step away from the
supreme priority placed on the artist’s medium found in earlier forms of abstraction.
By utilizing
both the medium and thematic elements in these images, Max Ernst was able to
offer a powerful critique on the use and destruction of the modern machine as
well as to transform specific elements and themes of the Dada movement into
inspirational material for the Surrealists.
To read a more in-depth analysis of the two works
mentioned above and their connection to both Dadaism and Surrealism, please
check back later this week!
Unless
otherwise noted, the ideas in this article are solely those of the author:
SadieFaye
[1] Hal Foster et al, Art Since 1900:Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism, Volume 1: 1900-
1944 (New York: Thames &
Hudson, 2005), 182.
[2] Hal Foster et al, Art Since 1900:Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism, 180.
[3] Hal Foster et al, Art Since 1900:Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism, 183.
[4] Hal Foster et al, Art Since 1900:Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism, 190.
Brooke
Shaden’s photographic portfolio offers an exploration of femininity and
simplicity.Through a dichotomy of
emotions, color, movement, and content, she gently sweeps her audience along
on a journey of secrets and self-realization.Most of her work features a nude female figure with radiant porcelain
skin, loosely covered by a simple flowing fabric, enmeshed in various natural
terrains.There is a quiet sadness and
struggle of emotion evident in her work.
"Rebirth"
Shaden’s
use of rich yet muted earth tones give the images a hazy
and dreamlike effect; acting to distance the viewer from the woman, allowing
one to witness the glorious moment of emotion tempered through the mystical setting
of a dream.
"The Struggle Ballet"
While these images offer a more
serene stage for the display of female beauty and haunting emotion, Shaden’s
underwater images allow a more carnal scene of female beauty.The women in the photos writhe and fight
against the downward and encompassing quality of the liquid in which they
appear to be trapped – only later to be seen having succumbed, and peacefully
given in to the pull and weightlessness of their watery grave.
"Bathe"
The
above image is a testament to Brooke Shaden’s ability to create an overwhelming
emotion in an image which actively works to diminish the connection between the
woman and her audience.The audience is
forced to stare helplessly as the masked woman utters a blood-curdling cry and
gasps for breath underneath the water-soaked cloth.Despite the tension in her outstretched hands
and gaping mouth, the scene is calm; the water smooth and tranquil.Despite her cries, and her outwardly evident
inner struggle – she is inaudible and has no effect on the world around
her.She is trapped in her own solitude,
unable to even see the world which refuses to acknowledge her.
"Uneven Staircase"
This
disconnect between the woman figure and her world is a common theme throughout
Brooke Shaden’s work.In most of her
photographs, the women are anonymous figures, their faces rarely captured on
film.In the few instances they do
appear, they are partially blocked by knotted tendrils of hair flowing in the
wind, a hand with palm extended to push the viewer away, or a plain white mask.It is difficult to pinpoint whether this
disconnect is intentional and the women are actively refusing the audience the
ability to understand, or if the women act unaware of their audience, living,
yearning, exalting in their own private world.Either way, this disconnect does not force the audience away, but
instead draws one in – demanding attention, and a recognition of the beauty and
power of these women as they appear tranquilly nestled amongst the natural landscape
of mother earth, battling the agonizing forces of society and their own mind in
quiet desperation, or pleasantly being swept away into a pleasant dream.
"The World Above"
"Half the Hours Lost These Days"
"The Chainless Links"
The
above statements are solely the opinions of the author – SadieFaye
