Big may be better in certain circumstances, but I want to argue that small is mighty. Exhibit A is Manifest Gallerys Magnitude 7.8 show. All entries in the juried exhibition must be seven inches or smaller.
The eighth edition offers 37 works by 28 artists whittled down from 432 works submitted by 183 artists.
I like small work. I like the experience of getting up close and personal with a piece of art. Glimpsing a big painting from the gallery door may be enough for me, but small works force me to come in to really look.
For Magnitude 7.8 I came armed with an arsenal of synonyms for small: little, miniscule, miniature, diminutive, intimate, wee, petite, dainty, dinky, tiny, teeny, teeny-weeny, itsy-bitsy.
What I didnt come with was an expectation that a group show held together by something as artificial as size would point out any trends in art. But maybe the trends were only a particular partiality of the judges.
Whatever, as they say, realism was the predominant style. This trend was also evident in the Rites of Passage 8 exhibition of works by current or recent undergraduates installed in Manifests Main Gallery, also worth a look.
Another trend was about a formal element: presentation. Again, it could just be the judges bias since it clearly wasnt because these artists know each other. They come from 16 different states and two Canadian provinces plus Latvia and Argentina. It cant be in the water, but its definitely in the air.
Several artists used devices to make their pieces stand out literally project from the wall by using thick blocks of wood as the support.
In Ben Hosacs really teeny beach scene San O (2006), the block is one-inch thick and the oil painting only two-inches wide. Coming up close to see the work the presumably Pacific Ocean beach since hes from Orange, California, sandy beach, and a limitless sky makes me feel that Ive shrunk like Alice in Wonderland.
Going a step further, the support isnt seen at all. The artwork floats off the wall and into our space.
Eileen MacArthurs does this with #4, 50 Paintings of Photographs (2009). And you stand where the photographer stood when the shot was taken: up against the girder of a bridge. In the distance is a causeway with blurred images of vehicles. Even though the painting is very small, just 4 x 6, I felt that my nose was almost touching the steel.
Miniaturizing something can be dangerous. Whats more adorable than OshKosh Bgosh coveralls on a three-month old or Converse high tops on a toddler? But teensy can easily become too cute by half.
Petite doesnt mean a work always feels diminutive. Theres the matter of scale. Think about something you might have only seen in a photograph. It looks big, monumental, but when you see it, it could be quite dinky. That happens here, too.
Seeing Bethany DeVries six-inch-square Clementine on the Manifest website and ignoring the shows theme, the peeled orange looks enormous. Shes positioned it in the foreground so you are inches away. In reality, it is about life size, but with a punch beyond its size.
Source: communitypress.cincinnati.com
Broadwalk Centre unveils children's artwork (From Harrow Times) - Harrow Times
Broadwalk Centre in Edgware unveils children's artwork
7:30am Sunday 10th June 2012 in News By Emma Phippen
The Broadwalk Centre in Edgware has unveiled a display of artwork created by schoolchildren.
On Tuesday the centre revealed the exhibit to celebrate the six decades of the Queen’s reign.
Children from six schools each created a piece representing a different decade of the reign and these were then mounted onto a huge banner which was unveiled by a Henry VIII look-a-like.
Dina Mistry, marketing manager at the Broadwalk Centre, said: “We are thrilled at the way this celebratory artwork has turned out.
“It is still on display in the shopping centre for all our visitors to view. We would like to once again thank all the schools, teachers and pupils involved as without their involvement we would not have been unable to run this event.”
The schools involved were Edgware Primary School, Rosh Pinah Primary School in Edgware, Aylward School in Stanmore, Deansbrook Junior School in Mill Hill, Frith Manor School in Mill Hill and Orion Primary in Colindale.
Source: www.harrowtimes.co.uk
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