ICA

     On Sunday January 9th, we went to the Institute of Contemporary Arts to see the Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2010.  The exhibit included a wide range of contemporary work including sculpture, installations, video and paintings.  I was confused about the layout of the gallery and I do not think I was a fan of the space in which the pieces were displayed; I felt the rooms were very crowded and it was easy to get distracted.  The first room was so jam-packed but all everyone seemed to be focusing on was a disturbing animation projected high up on the wall of self mutilation and destruction called Cut by Kristian de la Riva.  I feel this type of art is unnecessary and simply a way to make everyone feel uncomfortable.  Instead of people trying to figure out the meaning behind it, they were just turning away disgustedly.  I felt a lot of the art in the ICA was difficult to relate to and I could not see any substance in more than half of the pieces there.  I found this surprising because I usually enjoy contemporary art but I had a very hard time finding anything in the ICA that was even interesting to me.  

   I did really like one sculpture on the upper level called Narcissus (2010) by Guy Haddon-Grant.  This was one of the only pieces I enjoyed because of the aesthetic and conceptual meaning.  I liked the rough way in which the half or a man's body was constructed and how it was reflected back at him because of the mirror on which he was placed.  I found it also satirical after reading the blurb about the piece on the ICA's website; it is making a humorous poke at narcism saying that is is boring and people are more self-loathing in today's society anyway and there is a lack of "moral guidance."  

     The other piece I was drawn to was a huge photo called In the Air (2010) by Raphael Hefti.  I liked the yellow-green tinge to the paper and I was curious as to what the white powder being emptied from the cup was.  It reminded me of milk spilling even though it was clearly not a liquid and I enjoy photographs that capture moments that happen to fast for the eye to see.  What Hefti was really spilling out of the glass was a material called witchpowder and was a study of its burning effects on the photographic paper.  I am drawn to pieces that are a mixture of art and scientific studies because the results are something I might want to consider as an artist myself.  I created a DNA animation last year that I thoroughly enjoyed researching and then drawing, so I try to keep works like this in mind whenever I need to come up with a new idea of my own.