Crocker Art Museum 3/26/17

Crocker Art Museum: "The Forbidden Fruit" and "Japan-America: Points of Contact"

It had been a while since I had last visited the Crocker Museum, and I was so thrilled I had gone!

(Above and right) Me looking at Mark Bauer's Though I Walk Through the Valley of Reason (2016, acrylic on canvas). This was one of the first pieces that really caught my attention right as I got to the second floor of the Crocker. I liked the surrealism that seemed to be portrayed through Bauer's work. It had an almost psychedelic feel to the work as well, so I thought. 

"The Forbidden Fruit" - Chris Anetman of Meissen

One of the exhibitions was porcelain work by Chris Anetmann, an American born artist who had gone to work at Meissen Porcelain Manufacturing Company in Germany. Her work is meant to revive and reinvent the tradition of porcelain making. Anetmann had collaborated with several other porcelain artisans in Germany in order to create her series of figures. 

This series of work is inspired by the Rococo period and artists like Watteau and Fragonard. Anetmann treats much of her figures with a sense of eroticism, which allows it's viewer to fantasize about the subject matter upon which they submerge themselves into a world which during the 18th century was truly "forbidden." 

Much of the figures in the series are also inspired by theatrical characters from Commedia dell'arte, having been very popular during the 18th century in Europe. As mentioned before, the figurines are depicted in a very erotic matter. While viewing this exhibit, Fragonard's painting The Swing had come to mind. Just as Fragonard depicts the "peeping" young boy staring up into the young girl's dress, Anetmann does so with her characters only in a much more bold sense. Which I have to admire her for. When looking at the figurines, one is also able to see men having erections as they are in the company of very fair maidens who tease them with delight. The series brings the Rococo period into a new light. One of which is far more deep in desire and lust. 

"Japan-America: Points of Contact"

One of the other main exhibitions featured at the Crocker Art Museum when I had gone was the "Japan-America" exhibit. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take pictures, though I tried and that didn't go over so well (there was one sign in the corner that no one could see- in my defense!). The featured works were those by both American and Japanese artists. Much of the works were prints, paintings, panel screens, pottery and even some furniture. I've always loved Asian art, so this exhibit was really appealing to me! I liked the contrast of how Americans depicted Japanese versus how the Japanese were depicting Americans and their culture. I've always found art of Asia to be so exotic- which I understand can be seen as politically incorrect, being that the word "exotic" is so often seen as depicting that which is both strange and unfamiliar. However, I choose to use it nonetheless, not as a means to belittle or demean the cultures, but in a sense to describe it in terms of both wonder and beauty. 

Of the many works featured in "Japan-America" there was one which in particular I was really excited to have seen. (Above) There was an original print of Hiroshige's View of Mount Fuji from his series of 36 prints titled Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji. These were woodblock prints by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Ando Hiroshige who had done a series in 1852 and 1858. I had first learned about these prints while taking Art3B (Asian Art) with Professor Chirapravati. The course truly allowed me develop such a deep appreciation and love for Asian art and continues to be one of my favorite art history classes I have ever taken.

(Above) This work really reminded me of Edward Hopper's 1942 painting Nighthawk (oil on canvas).

The work is arguably very similar to Hopper's iconic American masterpiece, which perhaps inspired the artist.

(Left) Tip Toland  
Wallflower  2011
Stoneware, with paint, pastel, and synthetic hair, wood and wallpaper.

Toland's piece is one of which seems to startle it's viewer upon first glance. The work is a sculpture that could also be considered somewhat of an installation piece as well. The girl in the work appears so lifelike to the point where it is almost disturbing. While the piece exhibits a fascinating aesthetic, it also saddens and is able to attain sympathy from its viewer. The unnamed girl holds a donut while she stands awkwardly with her knees locked, head cocked and cheeks very flushed as though timid.

(Above) Judy Chicago Test Plate for Hatshepsut, Great Pharaoh of Egypt in 18th Dynasty 

1977-78 Ceramic. 

Upon seeing this work, I almost instantly knew this had to be the work of none other than Judy Chicago. It is a purely feminist work, as Chicago herself is regard as a feminist artist. Having been a ceramic plate it really made me recall her Dinner Party installation work which had been so controversial during its release in the late 1970's. The work, clearly symbolic of a woman's vagina, is made to commemorate the great woman Pharaoh Hatshepsut, who is regarded as being on the first great women in recorded history "whom we are informed." 

 (Above) I have to consider this work to be one of my favorites in the Crocker Museum. The work is titled Celebration and was painted  by Irving Norman using oil on canvas. The Lithuanian-born American artist painted the work in 1953 and is supposed to represent clone like people who have been caught up in rush hour and are constricted by small urban spaces and modern technology. The painting also has to do with poverty and war, themes which resonate within the doom and gloom that the work portrays. Norman wanted the work to point out the shortcomings of human behavior and felt that by doing this people may be more aware and considerate of their own actions. The piece also reminded me of the very surreal and imaginative works of Heironymus Bosch, the great Dutch Renaissance artist.