Perspiring In Chelsea

On a hot and sunny "Fall" day i ventured out yet again into the city in search for intellectual input from the glorious galleries of Chelsea. Unlike our current weather, cold and windy, it was an unusual hot and sunny friday morning which caused me to sweat while gallery hopping. My goal was to visit all the galleries we were assigned too. Unlike a Museum where you most likely should spend at least 2-3 hours soaking in all of the artwork and exhibits on every floor and what not, i have come to realize that the galleries in Chelsea really dont work like that at all. For the most part they are usually just a small studio loft that on the outside just looks like a industrial warehouse, but on the inside it is filled with white walls and art pieces. At the time of my visit i was somewhat on a tight schedule and only had about 3 hours to visit each gallery. To recapture the essence of my trip my responses will be in chronological order of what galleries i went to.

My journey began at Aperture, one of my favorite galleries in Chelsea. They were displaying the exhibit, Nature as Artifice: New Dutch Landscapes in Photography and Video Art. The overall theme of the exhibit was that each artist was somehow showing a different approach to traditional landscapes as art and in this case within the country of Netherlands. I liked how through the use of photos and video they depicted the Netherlands landscape as being very man-made and artificial. The first piece that caught my attention was by GERT JAN KOCHEN entitled ENSCHEDE. I really liked his idea of how ones memory influences the perception of a landscape of a disaster area. Not necessarily capturing the exact moment of the catastrophe, which he has said as being too similar to journalist photographs, he is more interested in the aftermath and rebuilding of the area and how over the course of time the memory of the original landscape begins to fade away. I myself enjoy how photos can display the passing of time through the images. Particularly in specific details in the landscapes that change from photo to photo. This is something that i would like to utilize in my thesis some how wether it be with my images or sound piece.

I also enjoyed HANS AARSMAN's DUTCH SCENES. I liked how he went about photographing his images, rather than directing the subject matter he was interested more so in capturing the randomness of the world around him, letting himself be guided by whatever happens around him.

Next was the work of BAS PRINCEN and his piece ARTIFICIAL ARCADIA. I liked his idea behind the photos which were his interest in the way people spent their leisure time in different landscapes that normally wouldnt seem to offer any kind of interest to them but are used in todays culture as the backdrop or venue for different types of leisure activities.

The work by GERCO DE RUIJTER that was being displayed was possibly one of my favorite in the whole exhibit. The fact that he attached a camera to a kite and takes the photograph of the landscape from a high altitude by remote control is amazing. I really enjoyed these photos as they captured the landscapes in a way that turned them into abstract images that remind me of paintings and are formed by the shapes, patterns, and textures that are in the landscape itself. These reminded me of my past work i did last semester with the close up photos.

There was so much to take in at this exhibit that i kind of felt overwhelmed but in a good way. There was at least one thing in each set of images that i either loved, appreciated, or was inspired by. Some of the other notable pieces I liked were, MARNIX GOOSSENS: REGARDING NATURE in which i liked the way that he would photograph the way that culture and nature flow into each other seamlessly creating this mixture of natural beauty with man-made artificial decor.

Two artists that i thought where similar in what they were trying to achieve with their work were WOUT BERGER and JANNES LINDERS. Both of them where fascinated in capturing the beauty of landscapes that where either polluted wastelands or industrial areas untouched by man-made planners. This is something i am interested in doing for my imagery for my thesis but focus more on finding these polluted or industrial wastelands in new jersey.

The last piece i enjoyed was by CARY MARKERINK & THEO BAART: SNELWEG>HIGHWAYS IN THE NETHERLANDS. I am very much interested in their argument that the highway is its own environment that can be experienced in a positive way rather than a negative or polluted way. I also agree that a highway not only connects two places but creates its own vibrant emotion and feeling that you experience.

After completing my stay at aperture i went off to find the next galleries. I will now describe the rest of my trip through photos and brief responses to what i thought of each one.

Juergen Teller exhibit was the next place i went to. I was slightly interested in what he was trying to achieve with these photos, Placing the nude models next to the sculptures trying to show the similarities and differences between the two and how one is more humble and the others are more glorified.

The next gallery i went to was Mitchell-Innes & Nash. Which was showing works by painter Enoc Perez. It was quite a departure from the past two exhibits of photos, and even though i don't enjoy painting that much anymore, i did like how his paintings represents an optimism of a utopia but in the end fails to achieve that. Also I was interested in what i found outside the gallery as well.

I then went to the Andrea Meislin Gallery which was showing the breathtaking photos by Jed Fielding. They consisted of his trip to a blind school in which he captured the different people who where blind. The photos where very eerie especially the details in the facial features specifically the blank muddy eyes.

I also enjoyed the James Turrel exhibit with the holograms with its interactive mirrors and illusions.

Overall i very much enjoyed this gallery trip and felt that it helped me with some of my ideas for thesis.

in song,

Jeffrey John