Upon an Ether Sea: Water and Ship Imagery from the MCA Collection
26 May - 09 Sep 2007
© Lynn Davis, Icebergs, (Disko Bay, Greenland), 1988
Gelatin silver print
28 x 28 in. (71.1 x 71.1 cm)
Collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago,
Gift of Lannan Foundation
Photo by Susan Einstein
Gelatin silver print
28 x 28 in. (71.1 x 71.1 cm)
Collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago,
Gift of Lannan Foundation
Photo by Susan Einstein
UPON AN ETHER SEA: WATER AND SHIP IMAGERY FROM THE MCA COLLECTION
May 26 - September 9, 2007
A sloop of amber slips away
Upon an ether sea,
And wrecks in peace a purple tar,
The son of ecstasy.
-Emily Dickinson
While by definition contemporary art is new and experimental, traditional themes and imagery are at the same time very common. One theme that is particularly attractive to today's artists is that of water; another is the vessels that ply the oceans and lakes. In this exhibition, drawn primarily from the MCA's Collection, the various ways vessels and water are utilized as subject matter and depicted in contemporary art are explored.
Leading contemporary artist and cultural provocateur Jeff Koons is featured with his ‘bronze-plated' Lifeboat, a commentary on form and material as well as on human folly. The Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist is represented with her haunting video installation Sip My Ocean, which explores the siren call of the sea through mesmerizing sound and languid imagery. Photography is well represented with American Lynn Davis's stunning series of icebergs adrift on chilly waters; Brett Weston's more abstracted view of ice and water; and Toshio Shibata's breathtaking portrayals of U.S. dams.
Other artists include Roy Lichtenstein, who employed plastics to refer to a seascape; one of H.C. Westermann's extraordinary "Death Ships;" and Rafael Ferrer, who is featured with two works, including his corrugated steel Kayak #2:Norte (1973).
The exhibition is featured on the third floor where a selection of artists' books on the themes will be available. The exhibition is curated by MCA Curator Lynne Warren
May 26 - September 9, 2007
A sloop of amber slips away
Upon an ether sea,
And wrecks in peace a purple tar,
The son of ecstasy.
-Emily Dickinson
While by definition contemporary art is new and experimental, traditional themes and imagery are at the same time very common. One theme that is particularly attractive to today's artists is that of water; another is the vessels that ply the oceans and lakes. In this exhibition, drawn primarily from the MCA's Collection, the various ways vessels and water are utilized as subject matter and depicted in contemporary art are explored.
Leading contemporary artist and cultural provocateur Jeff Koons is featured with his ‘bronze-plated' Lifeboat, a commentary on form and material as well as on human folly. The Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist is represented with her haunting video installation Sip My Ocean, which explores the siren call of the sea through mesmerizing sound and languid imagery. Photography is well represented with American Lynn Davis's stunning series of icebergs adrift on chilly waters; Brett Weston's more abstracted view of ice and water; and Toshio Shibata's breathtaking portrayals of U.S. dams.
Other artists include Roy Lichtenstein, who employed plastics to refer to a seascape; one of H.C. Westermann's extraordinary "Death Ships;" and Rafael Ferrer, who is featured with two works, including his corrugated steel Kayak #2:Norte (1973).
The exhibition is featured on the third floor where a selection of artists' books on the themes will be available. The exhibition is curated by MCA Curator Lynne Warren