Untitled, 2004 (1523 Plum Island, MA)© Frank Breuer
From the intro by MOCP curator Natasha Egan:
"Robust infrastructure has become a defining characteristic of modern civilizations. It enables the economic productivity that drives prosperity and confers the public safety that citizens of the developed world have come to expect. Indeed, a state's (or regime's) legitimacy and competence are often measured in large part by the sophistication of its infrastructure..."The list of photographers is chock full of big hitters old and new, such as Andrew Borowiec, Frank Breuer, Tim Davis (images of the desks of Washington's political insiders), Gina LeVay (from her recent book Sandhogs), Martin Parr (from his series Boring Postcards), Daniel Shea, Mark Slankard, and many many more.
Public Works
opening Friday 29 April
5-7pm
Museum of Contemporary Photography
600 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
On a parallel topic, Jen Bekman Gallery in NYC opens an exhibition examining the manufactured consumer landscape, through the paintings of Michelle Muldrow. The solo show, titled Cathedrals of Desire, also opens Friday nite.
(A quick personal aside: I'm very happy for and excited to congratulate Michelle, who is my studio neighbor, on her NYC solo show debut! Kudos, Michelle!!)
In her works, Michelle references forms of traditional landscape painting to create a critical depiction of what I consider to be the new, modern landscape of our time: the phony, contrived landscape of consumerism manifest in ubiquitous big box retail stores that litter the horizon from coast to coast.
Iconacrylic on canvas
© Michelle Muldrow
In Jen Bekman's words:
"Michelle's work is an exploration of the idea that consumerism has replaced religion as a social anchor in contemporary culture. The places and things she is depicting are so mundane that there is no doubt as to what they are as actual things. But, to some extent we've blinded ourselves to the meaning that we've invested in them. By placing manufactured landscapes and their contents in a religious/devotional/ecstatic framework, Michelle makes plain the uncomfortable truths of our consumer culture."Having Michelle as my neighbor and seeing a few of her pieces as they progressed, I know this will be a very special show. The exhibition runs until June 5th, so even if you can't make the opening, be sure to check these out before June. Also, Jen Bekman's 20x200 project just recently released editions of Muldrow's work from this series, so give that a look as well.
Cathedrals of Desire
paintings by Michelle Muldrow
opening Friday 29 April
6-8pm
Jen Bekman Gallery
6 Spring St., NYC
Also in NYC, for this weekend only, Michael Mazzeo Gallery hosts 48 Hours, an exhibition of photographs by Will Steacy in which he examines the struggles of middle class America through the lens of the economic challenges of two Midwestern cities. (In addition to tonite's opening, the gallery will also host an Artist's Talk with Steacy on Saturday 30 April at 3pm).
Shot in a 48-hour period, Steacy spent his first 24 hours in Madison, Wisconsin, photographing in and around the massive, historic protests against Gov. Scott Walker's anti-union legislation. He then spent the following 24 hours in Gary, Indiana, a hard-luck town that, through little choice of its own, has become somewhat of a poster child for the ravaging effects of deindustrialization in America.
I think Steacy's images from Gary are another prime example of the difficulties of photographic portrayal, as I wrote in a previous blog post. We already know that he spent only a very limited amount of time in Gary, and while he's definitely created some very striking images, as a whole group I don't think they can even begin to fully represent the vast complexities of what has happened in that city.
That being said however, I still believe this is important work, particularly in light of the recent political environment that has fostered a perplexing demonization of an entire chunk of the American workforce.
Because of that, I'm very drawn to Steacy's images from Wisconsin and the way in which he has shown us that scene with a set of fresh eyes, from a vantage point that is somewhat slowed down and removed from the intense and frantic nature of the 24-hour-news-cycle coverage we saw from those events.
Shame, Madison, 2011from the series 48 Hours
© Will Steacy
48 Hours
photographs by Will Steacy
opening Thursday 28 April
6-8pm
Michael Mazzeo Gallery
508 W. 26th St., suite 318, NYC
Last but certainly not least, another artist whose work I'm honored to have in the Clampdown exhibition, and who continues to blow me away with both the clarity of his vision and the consistency of his output, is local painter Randall Tiedman. In addition to his inclusion in Clampdown, Tiedman has a solo show opening Friday nite at Bonfoey Gallery in Cleveland.
Promethean Web 5acrylic and oil on paper
© Randall Tiedman
Much of his work is derived from mental mapping (the production of mood-based maps) and Psychogeography, a study of the effects of geographical setting on the emotions and behaviors of an individual.
In, Around & About
new works by Randall Tiedman
opening Friday 29 April
5-7pm
Bonfoey Gallery
1710 Euclid Ave., Cleveland
