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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

The Bellevue Landscape

posted by on January 30 at 12:25 PM

by Nancy Stoaks

While three panels from the famous “Gates of Paradise” are on view at SAM, the exhibition Material Terrain: A Sculptural Exploration of Landscape and Place (through May 4 at the Bellevue Arts Museum) may remind you of another set of celebrated gates: Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s 7,503 saffron-colored fabric panels that reframed NYC’s Central Park for 16 days in February 2005.

In the exhibition catalogue for Material Terrain, Glenn Harper (editor of Sculpture magazine) writes that The Gates were remarkable for their element of “aesthetic surprise”—prompting awareness of what normally remains unseen. Material Terrain is based on a similar premise. It brings together 11 artists who, through various means, make us look more closely at our surroundings.

There’s a reason why the exhibition title sounds ambiguous. Curator Carla Hanzal, from the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC, would like the works to bridge diverse issues, among them the tension between what is natural and artificial, the allure/possible folly of genetic engineering, cycles of cultivation and consumption, and a nostalgia for landscapes that no longer exist. Roxy Paine’s scientifically precise depictions of dry rot and fungi meet, for example, Dennis Oppenheim’s reindeer with flaming antlers.

Ursula von Rydingsvard and Kendall Buster provide some of the most evocative works in the show. Like Joseph Beuys, von Rydingsvard uses a medium replete with symbolic associations. Her cedar constructions—minimal in form, based on the simple structure of a column or a set of stairs—boldly feature cracks and roughly textured surfaces, challenging the rationality and perfection that we like to create in built environments. By contrast, Buster’s steel armature aspires to that rationality and perfection, yet remains unsettling. Hovering in air and familiar only in its resemblance to the molecules we studied in high school science classes, her model for an architectural space could be meant to protect or to control.

Ursula%20von%20Rydingsvard%2C%20Hej-Duk%2C%202003.jpg
Ursula von Rydingsvard’s Hej-Duk, cedar, 9.9 by 8.9 by 11.8 feet, 2003

Kendall%20Buster%2C%20Parabiosis%20III%2C%202004.jpg
Kendall Buster’s Parabiosis III, steel, electrical cable fasteners, shadecloth, 2.5 by 3 by 6.7 feet, 2004

Material Terrain was designed to expand beyond the museum into the landscape surrounding it: more than half the works in the exhibition are suitable for installation outdoors. In this regard, I regretted seeing BAM’s presentation of Material Terrain largely confined to gallery spaces. Of course, the museum’s location in the heart of downtown Bellevue prevented them from doing much else, but I have to wonder what the impact of works like those above or Donald Lipski’s cast-resin logs (“believable” in every way except for their improbable shapes) would be outside the walls of the gallery.

Still, Material Terrain represents a step in the right direction for a museum that is still in the process of inventing itself. While BAM’s tagline advertises art, craft, and design, the latter two disciplines have been dominant since the museum’s reopening in 2005. Maybe this exhibition signals a healthier balance between all three.

RSS icon Comments

1

They have a whole bunch of really awesome sculptures just like this one down at Home Depot. And Dunn Lumber -- oh, my God! Sadly, Dunn Lumber charges a steep admission.

Posted by Fnarf | January 30, 2008 1:06 PM
2

I love Jen's posts!

Posted by Poster Girl | January 30, 2008 1:29 PM
3

Too bad Rydingsvard doesn't use a chain saw to sculpt some real sculpture out of her wood pilings. You know, something recognizable, like people, animals or landscapes. Then we could see some art!

Posted by I fucking love minimalism | January 30, 2008 1:29 PM
4

Its great to see the BAM get some actual art, though. Great post, Nancy, now I actually have a reason to walk inside rather than around.

Posted by Marcel Duchump | January 30, 2008 1:55 PM
5

Christo should be nothing but a historic footnote, filed under "weird things that remained popular until the 1970's". But unlike mimes, the guy's (and his partner) been a pompous hack for the better part of 40 years now.

Sorry, had to let that out.

Posted by Dougsf | January 30, 2008 3:57 PM
6

Gee, it looks like somebody likes Maya Lin...

Posted by Mark M | January 31, 2008 4:37 AM
7

I'm very excited that BAM has this exhibition-- von Rydingsvard is a genius and it's nice to see her work get to this corner of the world.

Also, the Gates were the most amazing large scale installation I've seen up close.

Posted by sharon | January 31, 2008 10:08 AM

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