Journal Update

One article from Afterall that interested me was about artist James Coleman and his most recent work “Background, 1991-1994”. “Background, 1991-1994” is the third and final installment in a series of slide-tape projections, now being shown at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin. This medium of art interested me because it is not familiar and somewhat unconventional. The act/react exhibit in which we visited, sparked thoughts about how one is expected to interact with art and James Coleman’s piece is one that may present challenges to spectators.
The piece is not strictly slides as they are accompanied by audio narration which helps tie it together. There are four characters on the screen and we later learn parts of their respective histories such as friendships, betrayals, and insight into a love triangle. The character’s desires and recollection of moments and past lovers forge the thematic elements of the piece.
Coleman’s piece doesn’t give its spectators all of the answers right away. This in turn keeps them interested and engaged with the piece, forcing them to look and listen closely to cogitate meaning.
Pedro de Llano’s “The 80s: A Topology’ at Museu Serralves” was another article that caught my interest. Porto’s Museu Serralves decided to dedicate an entire exhibit to the decade of the 80’s. Being a child of the 80’s, I thought that this was a pretty cool idea for the museum. This exhibit provided an opportunity for spectators and artists alike, to trace the progression of art, see just how far or little it has come since this decade. What was “in” then could very well still be today, or perhaps just one of the decade’s fads.
Reviewer Pedro de Llano had a pretty negative outlook on the exhibit, offering many criticisms. He believes that the decade was misrepresented with a lack of material that he wanted to see and wasn’t impressed with what did make the exhibit. The Museu Serralves doesn’t claim to offer a definitive reading of the decade, in fact claims just the opposite, that it is just one perspective on a recent past. De Llano feels that the presentation of the exhibit leads one to view the decade in general as a step backwards in art. He seemed very bitter in his review and perhaps his column would have been better served as a letter to the curator.