Processed
An artist living in New York City is like a kid living in the cereal aisle of a grocery store–faced with seemingly unlimited choices, many bright and colorful, and most crap. I’ve tried to do my best filtering, but there is still an overwhelming number of good exhibitions to see.
Josh Brand, Untitled, 2009, Unique C-print, (14 x 11 in)
‘Processed – Considering Recent Photographic Practices’ is an exhibition at Hunter College based around more experimental processes (think more Walead Beshty, less Edward Steichen). Curator Amie Scally has done a pretty good job of highlighting some lesser-known artists (and White Columns alums) along with bigger names like Wolfgang Tillmans and Marco Breuer. Josh Brand’s work is both beautiful and understated, comprised of small photogram experiments. I was also surprised by Jennifer West’s work. Her films were transferred to DVD and digitally projected in the gallery. This was enough to pique my interest in her work, but ultimately left me unsatisfied. For an artist that creates unique 70mm films by painting, scratching, and staining the actual film stock, the DVD transfer was pretty far removed from the actual piece. I imagine it would be analagous to hanging a large photograph of a Rothko in lieu of the actual canvas–sure, the picture is there, but it’s not the real thing, and it’s obviously been compromised. If anyone knows where I can see some actual projects of Jennifer’s work, let me know–I feel like it would be a real pleasure to see.
If you’re a fan of the similar shows currently up at the Met and MoMA, this show is definitely worth a trip. Check it out–it’s up until December 12th. Details here.