What's on offer at the Henry Gallery these days? Rockets and rocket men, radio waves and flashing lights, photos of America at its best and worst, and a comfortable little gossip chair, among other things. It's a varied assortment of exhibits that will particularly appeal to those who appreciate art as political statement and those who like art that requires language to succeed.
An exhibit that both requires verbal explanation and is political is "Beyond Territory." The work consists of two multimedia installations that hearken back to the 1960s, when pirate radio ships and abandoned World War II fortifications in the English Channel transmitted independent shows and rock music in defiance of international regulations. Created by the collaborative neuroTransmitter, these installations mix sound with sculpture to draw attention to the increasing regulation, commercialization and monopolization of the radio spectrum that the artists and others believe should be more available to diverse voices and points of view.
Next, there's a photography exhibit, the words in whose title suggest that this, too, is art that would benefit from explication: "(We Decided To Let Them Say 'We Are Convinced' Twice. It Was More Convincing This Way.) A Project by Walid Raad." It doesn't quite have the crispness of, say, "Sunflowers." And the meaning is more than a bit obscure, so here's the background that will allow you to understand this exhibit.
Mr. Raad was a 15-year-old with a camera in 1982 when the Israeli army invaded his homeland, Lebanon. He took pictures of the siege, but then tucked the photos away. He came across the negatives again just this year and found they were scratched and moldy. When he printed them in large scale, he discovered that the discolorations and deterioration had added a new dimension and, perhaps, a deeper meaning to the originals. These distressed images might actually better represent distressed times, then and now. It's up to you to decide.
On to the next exhibit, "Take the Cake." This is a survey of the work of The Stranger's Genius Award winners from 2003 to 2006. It's a celebration of Seattle's visual and theater arts, its films, literature and the organizations that give it zest. Here's where you'll find the rocket men as well as the gossip chair. You'll also find videos, paintings, heaps of manuscripts and a number of surprises.
I was particularly taken with one of the exhibit's short films, "Sari's Mother," by James Longley. Sari is a young Iraqi boy who contracted AIDS by way of a blood transfusion. He, his brothers, sisters and parents lead a spare rural life. Sari's mother gathers wood, cares for their animals, cooks and relentlessly works to keep this dying child alive. Military jets scream through the skies over their tranquil farm. The security checkpoints they must pass through are tedious. The waits and treatments in seemingly under-funded medical facilities are agonizing for an ill child.
The film gave me a sense of the tragedy of Iraq as no amount of reading has done. Longley's longer documentary "Iraq in Fragments" has recently been named to the short list of those films considered for Oscar nomination in the documentary features category by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
My favorite among the current exhibits is a multimedia installation, "Floating Plaster/City Motion," by Robert Campbell and Yuki Nakamura. It was created as part of this year's New Works Laboratory, a collaborative program between 911 Media Arts Center and the Henry.
The viewer walks into a dark room to find centered on the floor two islands. Each is composed of white, building-like sculptures separated by road-like spaces. These are cities of the imagination with an austere beauty while they are at rest. But they don't rest for long. At intervals a video lightshow brings them to life, suggesting all the energy, motion, traffic and dynamism that define an urban environment. It's a mesmerizing study of form and motion.
The largest exhibit is "The Biographical Landscape: The Photography of Stephen Shore, 1968-1993." It includes approximately 120 of Shore's color photographs. Many critics laud the manner in which he takes ordinary scenes and transforms them into thoughtful meditations with his attention to color and composition.
Shore was among the earliest fine-art photographers to work almost exclusively in color, and he's had a major influence on a generation of color photographers. He is known for the way he plays with light and captures its intensity. His work is in major museums around the country.
Most of the photos in this show were taken on trips west from his New York base. He groups many of them under the title of "Uncommon Places." A better name might be "My Summer Vacation." If you have ever take a road trip across the United States, you'll recognize his tawdry motel rooms, cheap restaurants, tired street scenes and occasionally majestic landscapes. They are not so uncommon at all.
It is interesting to compare the Shore exhibit with the six works of large-scale color photographs in "Up to Date: Monsen Collects Contemporary." These images highlight the new directions photography has taken in the last decade.
Lots to see at the Henry. Lots to think about.
The Henry Art Gallery
University of Washington
Current exhibitions through December (Genius Awards to Dec. 14)
11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, Thursdays until 8 p.m.
General admission $10, seniors $6, free to students
Phone 543-2281
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