A Painter of Space

MCA Artist Map

The Midway Contemporary Art artists' map displays different states and/or countries from where the artist(s) are based, as well as the materials he/she uses. All of the artists were linked through to the MCA with string. It was an interesting concept to gain insight into where most of the artists that show at the MCA arrive from (and the kinds of materials they use), but as far as readability, the map was very confusing. The strings created a sort of web, a mesh of lines that when placed on top of another, made difficult to follow. I'm sure if all of the strings began at the MCA and branched out towards the places of origin the map would have been more clear. Or, possibly, instead of placing the states and countries in correct geography in relation to Minnesota, the origins could have been arranged according to material type, or even by numbers (example: 15 artists from New York, 12 from Italy, 10 from California, 5 from Great Britain - and each cut-out would be placed in order of the number of artists based in each place around Minnesota). The map as it is, though, is still of interest to view - if only because you become aware of the wide variety of artists that are involved in the Minneapolis art scene that truly make the MCA global.

Graphic Design by Simon Page

Strange Maps

strangemaps.wordpress.com

Andy Warhol - "16 Jackies"

Andy Warhol - 16 Jackies

The piece that I reacted to most positively at the Walker was Andy Warhol's "16 Jackies." A screen print of four different photographs of Jackie Kennedy taken at various moments before and after the assassination of President John Kennedy. The hue of the two of the rows is blue, which made me feel a bit melancholy due to the subject matter, and two are white. I am sure if the prints were shaded a different color, like say green, or red, the mood of the pictures relating to the color's implied meaning would alter the intention of the print entirely.

In "16 Jackies" Warhol is breaking up time and exploring the image of a public figure, the physicality of her emotions - in her face: the eyes, her smile turning to shock and disbelief, and to grief. Warhol has imitated this type of repetitious printing with Seven Decades of Janis.

While not as repetitious as "16 Jackies" - the concept is the same. The time is expanded upon for a much longer period: an entire life.

The specific order in which the photos of Jackie Kennedy are placed could also hold some significance: the first row is her arriving in Dallas, the second row is on the Air Force One as LBJ is being sworn in as President, the third row is at Kennedy's funeral, and the fourth is seconds before the shooting. From a design perspective, the two grieving/shocking moments are squished together and sandwiched in between the two joyful photos. As for the choice of color, it would seem that since not only are the two shocked/grieving photos not the same color (to give the same, wanted affect for each), that the placement of color for each photo row is simply a part of the overall design.

I appreciate this piece because of the kinds of emotions it pulled out of me, and the process by which Warhol made "16 Jackies": cutting out photos from LIFE magazine of the event and appropriating them into colored screen prints. [1]

1. http://collections.walkerart.org/item/object/422

Photos:

http://www.walkerart.org/walker_images/e_images/01/wac_735e.jpg

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=80706

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