But onward...The building looks so big on the outside, yet feels pretty claustrophobic on the inside. I went to the "hub" fist and didn't get it. I kind of felt like I was intruding on the two guys sitting on the little couches up there. I put my ear up to the headphones on the wall and listened to the voices for a bit and then hurried on my way.
I went to the next floor down and saw the David Goldblatt photographs. I moved pretty quickly though this exhibit as I don't spend much time on work that doesn't interest me. I literally walked past 80% of his photographs wondering why artists insist on taking digital photographs and presenting them poorly. They flourescent light look in the photos made me cringe. On top of that, they were crappy loose paper pinned to a wall. When work is displayed cheaply it looks cheap and disposable. Luckily I wandered into the room housing his older work, and I'm glad I did. I found his black and white work infinitely more interesting and moving. It was more personal, more about people and their lives. His color work look so much more detached, more about things. I'm glad I took time to read the text on the walls and was able to learn that his work documented life in South Africa, and you can see changes in the country over time in the photographs. I still much prefer his older work, though. Seeing people in their everyday life with little captions from the photograph on the wall made me feel more connected to those people and feel like I was looking in on their life.
Making my way down the stairs, I got to see the little jail cell. It was cute. I enjoyed laying down and looking down the hallway leading to the future. I'm guessing its supposed to make you feel like you're waiting to get out of jail and the end seems so far away? I just like when artists make environments so this made me happy (especially since it was like a little secret in the stairs).
Moving on, I saw the Emory Douglas exhibit. I have to say I really enjoyed his line quality and use of so few colors to make a really rich image. I found his prints really beautiful in the simplicity of line and color scheme. He created so so many portraits of the struggle people who needed change and were willing to risk their lives for it. The images were powerful, and the captions accompanying them enforced the message wonderfully. There were masses of posters and magazine covers showing how much work he did for the Black Panthers throughout the years promoting their ideals and sending out their message.
I made my way down to the ground floor and almost missed the Dorothy Iannone show. I read the wall text and looked at her book on the wall. What a wonderful little thing! I loved the type and the illustrations. I would love to have a copy to read though. Her images of men and women with exposed testicals and penises were...interesting. I enjoyed her illustrative style and vibrant use of color. It made her strange, comical images very beautiful while still being pretty damn strange. I couldn't watch the video of her orgasming. I tried but I got really embarrassed and nervous. I really wanted to watch it because I didn't want to let it embarrass me.
So all and all...some good, some not so good. Overall, I'd go back again but I wish they had more than three artists at a time showing.
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