Student Senior Show @ the Else Gallery

          The art work of many Sac State Seniors is currently on view in the Else Gallery at Sac State and I encourage all of you, especially art majors, Seniors or soon to be Seniors to take the time to go and view it. I will be graduating next Spring and the senior show is something that I, like many Senior art majors will have to take part in. It's a good experience because it not only allows you to see the work of your peers, but it also gives you a glance of what you have to look forward to.
          As I was walking through the gallery, I saw many familiar artworks, names, and even pieces that reminded me of some of the artwork in Peter Kalb's, Art Since 1980: Charting the Contemporary. A few familiar names and pieces were those of my peers who I have shared classes with in the past and even currently; Sokthea Chan, Sarah Dutra, Alexis Wong and many others. Some of these artists, even being the ones whose artwork reminds me of those in Kalb's textbook.
          Sokthea's piece, Mechanism, is one of the first piece's on display as you walk in and I recognized it immediately because of the subject, size and medium. It reminds me of a combination of William Kentridge's  black and white charcoal style, and some of the recent Chinese and Japanese anime works that we recently studied; Kentridge because of the palette and medium, and the anime pieces because of the subject, although it is a little less clear in this piece. Last semester I shared a painting class with Sokthea and he started with a self-portrait and slowly moved into more mechanical type figures, which in his final paintings resembled fighting robots or Transformer type figures. Here, in Mechanism, the gears and parts of the "robots" are still present, but in a deconstructed type manner. I really admire his work for the size, detail and what really looks like a long process of moving back and forth with his medium.

 Sokthea Chan, Mechanism, Mixed Media, 2014

 

           Sarah Dutra's piece, I recognized before I even saw the name. She was also in my painting class last semester and her style is so recognizable to me. She really is a process artist; she works back and forth on her paintings, practically fighting with them. She could start one piece and then change a piece so much, you'd think it was a totally new piece. Although, as I look back at the photo I took of her work, I notice it says it is multi-media on canvas. This makes me wonder if it is even paint because when I think multi-media, I think graphic design, and electronic art, not paint, which is what I am used to seeing her work in. I guess I will have to go back in again to get a closer look. But in that case, it reminds me a lot of Albert Oehlen's, El Pez Roncando (The Fish Snoring).  Not only does the style look very similar, but Kalb's text says that Oehlen uses computer software to achieve the technique of expressionist painting, which very well may have been what Sarah was trying to achieve and may have even done if it truly is a multi-media piece, which if that is the case, I am stunned. It looks exactly like her paintings and to have the ability to turn a multi-media piece or an electronic piece into something that looks exactly like a painting is truly astonishing.

Sarah Dutra, Last Minute, Multi-Media on Canvas, 2014



             The third artist I mentioned and another peer of mine is Alexis Wong. I have had SO many classes with her over the past few semesters. She always seems to choose a subject that is close to her, whether it is an old teddy bear she is drawing or a Chinese Lion she is painting. I know she holds Chinese culture near and dear to her because after many semesters with her and hearing about her and her family celebrating the Chinese New Year and me not even knowing what day it falls on, I've had a few lectures from her about it (haha).  So it probably comes as no surprise when I say it reminds me of the Chinese Artists we've been hearing about in Kalb's text or about the other artists who find meaning in the events and cultures that surround them. Alexis has been using the Chinese Lion for the past two semesters now and she really tries to capture the emotion and energy of the lion; she does so effortlessly in her drawings and she has only been progressing in her paintings. Her brush stroke helps with that because she paints with so much energy, although energy isn't really needed in this piece of her, Slumbering Lyon, whose expression she captures perfectly.

Alexis Wong, Slumbering Lyon, Acrylic and Oil on Canvas. 2014.

 

            As an art major and as someone who will be graduating next Spring and also participating in the Senior show, it is nice to see and experience other peers works, but for me it is also a wake up call. As an art major who will be graduating in a year and who will thrown out into the real world, I should probably know what I want to paint and what I plan on doing when I graduate, but in all honesty, I have no clue! I enjoy painting landscapes, but I prefer to paint them realistically, but some people, actually many people, would say that is boring. I want to find a way for me to paint something and really enjoy it, but I don't think I have found that inspiration yet. I wanted to paint Disney paintings, but I have had quite a few peers and professors tell me not to. I feel like because I have a love of Disney, it might be something I would enjoy, but with so many people telling me what not to paint, it's hard to find something I'm passionate about painting. The artists I've mentioned from the senior show and many of the artist's in Kalb's text all seem to be quite successful in creating art that has meaning to them or represents where they come from, but I don't feel like I have anything that has really influenced me that I can use. I'm struggling to find inspiration, but knowing that I am graduating next year and knowing that I get to participate in the Senior show , along with viewing the works of my peers has inspired me to want to get on track. I plan to restock up on paint this summer and paint, paint, paint. The only way I can find my subject and meaning, is if I really practice and really try and succeed. I encourage all of you, especially you art majors to head on over to the Senior show because these are just a few of the inspiring artists of many and these artists and the rest, if you're anything like me, might just be the inspiration you need to get started.

Terry Berlier: Erased Loop Random Walk

 

Upon viewing Terry Berlier’s exhibition, Erased Loop Random Walk, at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, one might feel they are visiting the San Francisco Exploratorium. This comes as no surprise to those who are familiar with her work, but for those of you who are not, Terry Berlier, an interdisciplinary artist, works primarily with sculpture and expanded media. Her work is rooted in experimentation, risk taking, and problem solving and often incorporates kinetic features, and interactive and/or sound based elements with some requiring the participation of the audience. Multiple themes arise in her works which are derived from her experiences at places such as the Laboratory for Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona and the Recology Waste Center in San Francisco. Her work, as a result of her diverse background, offers an intriguing and audibly engaging demonstration, with a twist of irony and humor, of our ongoing relationship with the natural world and the consequences of our industrial and technological interventions.

            Berlier’s exhibition which was previously on view in the quaint gallery of the San Jose ICA, displayed 15 of her most recent works of art. The room being walled off into separate sections allowed for each work to be viewed either individually or as a whole with other relating works based on sound, lighting, or a complimentary piece. For example, Berlier’s, Core Sampling (Tick Tock) and its companion pieces were all displayed in the same room and took up about half of the gallery space. The choice to display them together and in such a large space was wise, although I felt the piece was quite lacking in comparison to her other works. The pieces were expansive and colorfully intriguing and the idea of them being able to read and produce sound like a record player was well thought out, but the most engaging piece was Core Sampling, itself, and it seemed to fall flat in comparison to some of her other pieces. Luckily for her, these pieces were some of the first few on display and lead up quite nicely to other more engaging works of hers.

Center: Terry Berlier, Core Sampling Prints (This Land is Your Land), 2013 Left/right: Terry Berlier, The Not So Solid Earth (Pay Dirt), 2013

Terry Berlier, Core Sampling (Tick Tock), 2009

            Almost all of Berlier’s pieces, with projections, sounds, and interaction, leave you with the feeling that you have just stepped into the San Francisco Exploratorium and that is rightfully so, considering that Berlier  has held residency at the Exploratorium and has had the opportunity to collaborate with both scientists and artists in the past. Sound is obviously an important element in her work as it is present in almost all of her pieces. Two pieces that really stood out were Where the Beginning Meets the End and When Comes the Sun. The latter marked the beginning of the end of the exhibit and so started the more engaging pieces of Berlier’s work. It was a response to the 24 hours of daylight that she encountered during the summer months of a 2012 residency in Norway. Incorporating guitar strings and tuners, piano pegs, a motor, solar panels, and wood, When Comes the Sun, plays an acoustic version of The Beatles song, “Here Comes the Sun.” With a little help from the solar panels, the tempo of the tune varies depending on the strength of the sunlight. In a nod to the ironic humor embedded in the work, Berlier thought it was hilarious that the solar instrument played a song about itself.

Terry Berlier, When Comes the Sun, 2012

In Where the Beginning Meets the End, viewers are invited to sit down and play this musical sculpture, comprised entirely of materials that Berlier scavenged from the Recology Center in San Francisco, including a working iBook computer, upright piano parts, and a Dell computer keyboard micro-controller. She has transformed a traditionally soloist instrument into a circular tabletop of piano keys inviting multiple players to explore the collaborative possibilities. Unlike a conventional piano, where wires and keys are perfectly aligned inside, Berlier’s piano, consists of clusters of wires exposed in the center, while still allowing for this complex piece to work; it would entertain anyone for hours.

Terry Berlier, Where the Beginning Meets the End, 2013

            Another important element in Berlier’s work is her obvious concern for the environment. In Ekman Transport (Plastic Ocean), a floor-mounted sculpture about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Berlier displays the fruits of her labor of rummaging through material at San Francisco’s recycling facility. She combines mundane everyday objects like Barbie dolls, water bottles and food packaging to create a piece that uses blue concrete to mimic the waves of the ocean. As you walk around the large sculpture the identity of the objects become clear as well as the idea of the garbage patch, and our environmental problems that Berlier so successfully makes the audience aware of.

 

Terry Berlier, Ekman Transport (Plastic Ocean), 2013

             In her piece Ambassadors of Time, Berlier’s tiny handmade saw reflects the enduring power of the majestic Redwood tree.  The sculpture was inspired by a quote from John Steinbeck, in which he states that Redwood trees, “are not like any trees we know, they are ambassadors from another time.” Even with man’s intervention, Redwoods still survive and that idea is very much so present in her piece with the tiny saw barely making an impact on this huge Redwood tree.

 

Terry Berlier, Ambassadors of Time, 2013

            Although Berlier obviously cares for the environment and portrays that in her work, it would not be complete without a little bit of irony. Her sculptures make bold statements about her concern for the environment, but you can’t help but notice as you make your way through the exhibit, that most of her work is constructed with wood. Although it is likely recycled, it is ironic for her to make such statements regarding redwood forests, while using wood to construct most of her pieces. This irony may very well be intentional because Berlier often includes irony in her work and we see this humor in When Comes the Sun as well.

            The exhibition does an excellent job at displaying and showing Berlier’s work and all the combining elements; sound, environment and irony. Each of these elements teaches you and makes you aware of the everyday technologies and interventions that are impacting our environment, but does so with an entertaining and engaging twist making the show well worth the while.