Albright Knox Art Gallery Visit

1. Artworks that made an impact on me:

Frank Moore’s Niagara, 1994-95, oil on canvas, 60” x 96 1/4”: Initially this painting caught my eye due to the beautiful colors. I’ve see the falls many times and I thought he really captured the falls on a bright sunny day, almost like a photograph. But then I caught the chemical formulas rising out of the mist and details of all the factories and chemical plants in the background. The frame of the picture is actually copper piping, including two knobs. I thought, what a clever commentary on the environmental effects on an American icon.

Mark Bradford’s Mississippi Gottdam, 2007, mixed media on canvas, 102” x 144”: The huge size of this work is certainly eye-catching. From afar, you can see the wave-like structures. Up close you can see it’s a collage. Reading the plaque next to the painting, it says that Bradford incorporated debris from Hurricane Katrina into the collage. So the work gives a sense of the destruction from the hurricane and the incompetence of the response to it.

2.  Artworks I feel a connection with:

Jeanne Silverthorne’s Under a Cloud (artist’s proof), 2003, rubber, synthetic hair, aqua resin, Styrofoam, Cloud (12”x5”x10”), Figure (4”x1 ¾”x3”): According to the plaque, this work was modeled after the artist’s mother, who struggled with depression. I’ve had my own struggles with depression. I could identify with the oppressive weight the “cloud” brings over the tiny figure (which is finely detailed).

Vincent Van Gogh’s The Old Mill, 1888, oil on canvas, 25 ½ ”x21 ¼”: As I’ve noted before, I love Van Gogh’s work. I think he was the first artist I learned to recognize. Here, I love how the picturesque old mill with the peasant couple contrasts with the intense colors and brush strokes, making even the clear sky look a bit turbulent.

3. Artworks I’d like to know more about:

Rene Magritte’s The Voice of Space, 1928, oil on canvas, 25 ½ “x 19 ½ “: The work looks so ominous – I was wondering what the artist was thinking. I found it interesting that there are at least 4 different versions of this painting – the one in the Guggenheim is brightly colored in daylight, and the orbs are meant to be bells. Why did he make such different versions?

Erwin Wurm’s Jakob/Big psycho, 2010, aluminum and paint, 47 ½ “ x 15 3/8 “x 42 1/8”: This caught my eye because, despite its strange positioning, it was clearly humanoid. What is s/he trying to do? Is this some strange piece of clothing they’re trying to get into? Or out of?