By Isabella Mendez
Thursday, October 23
'Sixties Surreal' at the Whitney
The exhibition explores the profound cultural changes of the sixties in America through a surrealist style. The diverse array of artists offers many perspectives on topics like the Civil Rights Movement, space exploration, war, and feminist sexual revolutions.
Each section of the exhibition echoes the "unreal" feeling that surrealism promotes: first, three large camels greet you at the entrance; then, a dark room filled with psychosexual work that explores the normalization of female and male anatomy; next, more structural work; followed by political and feminist work. The floor plan and layout of the exhibition can feel disorienting, and the deep purple and vibrant orange chosen for some walls add to the "unreal" feeling. However, I did appreciate the exhibition's approach in showing parts of history in a way that shows what has brought artists together as they face different issues.
Works featured by Luchita Hurtado, Martha Rosler, and Barbra Hammer explore the feminist movement through dynamic painting, photography, and even film. Works by Kay Brown, Shawn Walker, and Romare Bearden explore the Civil Rights movement through captivating photography and collage. Sculptures by Robert Arneson explore the psychosexual with a play on words in his sculptures, "Klick" and "Call Me Lover."
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The article successfully introduces the essential themes of the gallery, dividing the categories of surrealism as commentaries of the Civil Rights Movement, space exploration, war, and feminist sexual revolutions. In addition, the reflection of Luchita Hurtado's work is thorough and well-written, however I feel that it takes up writing space that could be dedicated to critiquing other important areas of the gallery. I wish the article expanded further on the way museum curators chose to unite such a diverse scope of projects. The Whitney's design choices play a major role in sorting and presenting the collection of work, so referencing more about the gallery experience would strengthen the critique.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your description of the gallery, and how the exhibition walls and general arrangement compliments or compares to the themes of the show. I think your take on Luchita Hurtado's painting is unique and really specific, however, I agree that it could be a bit shorter, given the amount of space it takes up in your review. It would also be interesting to mention other relevant artist's displayed in the show, which have pieces that strongly show the categories you reference (ie. surrealism, civil rights movement, space exploration, etc). This would give the reader a more holistic experience of the exhibition.
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