Nature?s forests are inherently beautiful. The lush green landscapes against a sky blue background ? it is truly optical poetry. Certainly, you didn?t need me to tell you that. Instead, let a new art exhibit at the Pyle Center do the job for me.
The exhibit is called Forest Art Wisconsin and features 23 photographs taken by a collection of artists hailing from Argentina, Scotland, Germany and the United States. The vast majority of these photos can be classified as abstract art, consisting of something foreign placed in a forest to represent the relationship between nature and man. The pictures themselves are interesting and quite creative. I admit I am not a big fan of modern and post-modern art, but this show was a real treat to visit. In fact, the biggest problem I have with it is the exhibit placards.
A large portion of the placards read as if they were written by Greenpeace activists. Take ?White Collar Wounds? by Mark Nelson, for example. The piece itself is rather inspired ? it consists of a giant French shirt cuff and its cufflink wrapped around the base of a tree. According to the caption, the picture is meant to ?symbolize an invasive species which also brings jobs and livelihood through tourism.? The caption is also quick to point out that making similar a ?trip to the opera? and a ?trip to the woods? would ?be as absurd as the cuff? on the tree.
Another example is John Hitchcock?s ?Inherited Pedigree.? His picture is of a sign cut into the shape of an animal that is attached to a tree. The caption states the picture is meant to be ?a response to intrusive behavior towards nature by humans.? The caption ends by inquiring, ?Who is the invasive creature??
If you do not have enough guilt yet, there is more to go around. Perhaps the most outlandish placard, unfortunately, goes to one of the best photographs in the exhibit. ?Home Divided? by duo Brenda Baker and Henry Drewal consists of a fence dividing a forest in half, or, as the caption puts it, ?separates and segregates.? It is a stunning, thought-provoking piece that may well be seared into your brain. Then comes the caption, which concludes, ?While the forces of hate, fear and prejudice continue to divide, this work is a plea for peaceful co-existence (sic), generosity, and dialogue.? It could be my mistake, but were we not talking about the forest? If I wanted to hear quasi-sociopolitical psychobabble I would go outside and listen to the weekly protests on campus.
Do not think, though, that all the exhibit?s photographs are impaired by such captions.
My personal favorite photograph, in fact, has a rather uplifting caption beside it. ?Untitled Performance? by Stan Shellabarger is a cosmological concept and contains no humans vs. nature theme whatsoever. Instead, the photograph is of a normal dude who has been, according to the caption, ?inscribing a path in the forest? by walking back and forth in the shape of an ?X.? The caption goes on to describe how time and space are represented by the man?s repetitive yet purposeful action. No guilt trip here.
And, like I said, the captions are my only real complaint. The photographs did not need captions beyond the title and author, really. To assume a piece of art needs a caption seems condescending to me. It is quite presumptuous to believe art has to be plainly explained, lest the viewer miss the message. Additionally, if a piece of art does need to be explained, then the piece is not really doing its job. Art is supposed to speak for itself. Of course, Forest Art simply follows the formula laid out by museums across the world, but the didacticism put this over the top.? Having the meaning just thrown at me takes away the mystery of the piece.
If you do plan on seeing this exhibit, I would strongly recommend you just look at the photos themselves and read only the title and author of the captions so as to preserve the artistry itself. The pieces are fantastic, creative and well worth your time. The captions too can certainly be called creative, but that is beside the point. If you like guilt trips, enjoy those carefully worded captions in the exhibit. Or call your mother-in-law.
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The Forest Art Wisconsin exhibit can been seen at the Pyle Center throughout the month of February.
