Visiting the Albright-Knox Art Gallery

Today I braved the weather to go to the Albright-Knox for an assignment.  It was nice to have a reason to go there - it has been awhile!  It was fun to see pieces of artwork I remembered, and even more interesting to see works that we have been learning about this semester.  It is completely different to see a painting in person than in a textbook; when I saw Frida Kahlo's self portrait with monkey it was amazing to see all the details, such as her green hair and the expression in the monkey's eyes.  These works are a reminder of what a gift it is to have such an important art gallery right here in Buffalo.

Here is a slideshow of the artworks that I will be discussing.

Many of the artworks impacted me for different reasons, so picking just three was difficult! 

Ten Formal Fingers by Jim Dine (1961) is a work that uses wood relief with oil.  This was one of the works that made the biggest impression on me; for some reason, I was disgusted by it.  I'm not sure what it was exactly about it. but the name and looking at it definitely made me uncomfortable.

Caryatid by Paul Pfeiffer was a 2010 digital video loop on a chromed TV/DVD combo that made an impression on me as it took a different angle than many pieces of art; Pfeiffer attempted to juxtapose sports with art.  Caryatid refers to ancient Greek architecture that was supported by sculptures of women's bodies.  Pfeiffer related his edited digital video loop of the Stanley Cup being carried around with the athletes almost invisible by making the connection that hockey players can serve as modern day architectural references to antiquity and that "unwavering faith and worship often manifest in sports fanaticism."

Seamlessly Lost (2009) is an oil on canvas work by Bingyi that takes up almost a whole room.  This artwork personally affected me because of its sheer overwhelmingness with all of the detail and it also seemed to bring out fear because of the sculpture of what was seemingly a person on the ground with roots for limbs.  It seemed reminiscent of either death, depression, or both.

As for the works I most felt a connection with, Wall Drawing #1268 Scribbles: Staircase, the 2010 graphite on three walls work by Sol LeWitt, was very exciting to see since we had learned about it already.  It was amazing to see how much time and effort must have been put into it, and it was incredible to see how the finished piece came together to play with light.

I also was drawn to Child's Blue Wall (1962) by Jim Dine.  This work utilized oil on canvas, as well as wood, metal, and a lightbult.  I consider myself to be young at heart and the awe of seeing the stars never ceases to amaze me, so I definitely had a connection with this piece.

I also had a connection with Piet Mondrian's Composition No. 11, a 1940 oil on canvas.  This painting reminded me of the stained glass often found in houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, who is one of my favorite architects. 

A very mysterious work that I was drawn to was Mirror House (2010) by Kelly Barrie, an archival light jet print.  First of all, trees are a big part of my life for some reason.  I love trees because I grew up (and still live in) the country and love climbing them.  I see them as a sign of life.  This work took this idea to a new level for me when I realized that the artist utilized a photograph of a tree that reflected a historical disaster.  I would love to learn more about what sort of historical disaster this is referring to and the specific methods used to transform the photograph to look like an x-ray.

Another work I'd like to know more about is Untitled (green), a 1966 oil on canvas work by Scott Short.  What was mysterious about this piece is that although I was attracted to the design, I have no idea what it was referencing.  Furthermore, "green" is in the title, but the work seems to be purely black and white.

Finally, my favorite artwork overall in the gallery was Morning War by Matthew Ritchie.  This 2008 painting is oil and marker on linen but also extends onto the surrounding wall and they way the artist used the space to create emotion just amazed me.  I read that this work is an exploration of the edges and limiations of the universe, cosmos, and human consciousness, which I am very interested in, so I am very interested in knowing more about Ritchie's ideas on this.