While sitting in class and listening to a lecture, picturing the professor outside the classroom, not as a teacher but as a researcher, can be difficult. It's pretty surprising to discover that an archeology professor slathers on sunscreen and dons camp shirts instead of her usual skirt and pumps to excavate ruins in South America. This sentiment of awe is present at Harvard University's "VES New Faculty 2007-2008" show.
Situated in Harvard's Carpenter Center, the exhibit seeks to showcase the artwork of the new Visual and Environmental Studies faculty at Harvard. Seven new professors exhibit their artwork in a variety of mediums such as video, color prints, pastel and collage.
Upon entering the exhibit space, it is apparent that the show lacks a start or endpoint. Because each artist works differently and there is no one cohesive theme, the viewer has to decide where to start and how to circulate between the four rooms that make up the exhibit.
Also, in an enigmatic gesture, the exhibit organizers purposely do not label any of the art, nor is there any introduction to the show. Instead, photocopied and stapled white handouts reveal a piece's title, artist, medium and date.
After a quick scan of the handout, the works of one artist, Jacqueline Hassink, leap out: two color prints titled "Christian Dior" and "Givenchy," both from the collection "Haute Couture Fitting Rooms, Paris." Both depict luxuriously decorated fitting rooms of two great couturiers, but discerning which is which is a difficult task but without any exhibit labels.
Perhaps telling them apart is not as important as being able to compare the two. Both photographs have similar compositions with a headless mannequin slightly left of center. Despite the richness of color and light, the photographs, lacking any human presence, seem empty. Only furniture, clothing and other material items are shown. The rooms are vacant and lifeless despite the ostentatious luxury. These prints speak about superficiality and artificiality.
In contrast to the hollowness echoed by the color prints, a video at the far right end of the exhibit screams and writhes with motion - literally.
"Secret Joy of Falling Angels" by Simon Pummell definitely excites the visual and audio senses. Pulsating between traditional animation and film and coupled with a violent soundtrack of violins and operatic singing, the video recounts the story an angel, who after falling from heaven and losing her body except for her skeleton somehow regains her wings and bodily form. The video climaxes with the angel meeting a man and engaging in an erotic dance of sorts. The soundtrack mirrors the emotions of the angel.
However, one of the most poignant pieces in the small exhibit is not filled with color, sound or aggravated motion. Near the exhibit's entrance, a gigantic canvas immediately greets the viewer. "Line Up" a pastel by Michele Zalopany depicts six African-Americans standing slightly larger than life-size and facing the viewer. Running vertically down the middle of the field is a ruler with a board that reads, "Police Dept. City of Detroit, Friday 8, 40774," signifying that these three men and three women are posing for their mug shots.
Standing poised and dressed sharply, they do not resemble criminals. The six people stare at the viewer, who is now in the position of the photographer, as if to ask, "Why are we here? What have we done?" Looks of confusion with a slight shadow of anger heighten the sense of wrongdoing.
Zalopany has rendered the canvas completely in grayscale to reinforce the idea that racism is a complex issue that cannot be dealt in simple black and white terms.
On a different note, one of the new faculty, Drew Beattie, strikes a special chord, because he is a graduate of Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. One cannot suppress a flutter of school pride even if Beattie's use of a wide spectrum of colors seems to visually clash.
At the MFA, ICA and other big museums, many of the artists don't carry a whole lot of personal meaning for Tufts students. In this exhibit, however, one cannot help but feel a sense of awe upon realizing that all the work in the show was done by teachers.
Even if the artists of "VES New Faculty 2007-2008" are not teaching us, one still walks away with a sense of appreciation for them. After looking and contemplating their pieces, who wouldn't want to learn from these artists?
