"Art in America" (October 2009)

It appears that the more recent issues of Art in America are already in use tonight because the most up-to-date issue I could find was for October of this year. So tonight's journal entry will be about this issue. At first glance, the cover of the issue makes it look like one of those home and garden magazines. There's a kitchen table with a fruit basket on top of it and three chairs. However, that assumption quickly disappears when one notices the large and strange spiderweb to the right of the kitchen table (this, I learn later, is a zoomed in picture of a work of art by Janine Antoni). I'm interested to see what this issue has in store.

The "focus" of this issue is Nature and Culture, and the "tagline" is "Where art meets the land, and the environment stays in the picture." This issue also contains several feature articles, including features about Janine Antoni, James Ensor, Conceptualism, Paul Outerbridge, and John Baldessari, and various exhibit reviews. In looking through the table of contents, I realize that I've never heard of any of these artists, so I'm going to look at some of the exhibit reviews which are at the end of the magazine. Yesterday, I went to the Martin Zet exhibit at the Station Museum in Houston, and because I will be writing my exhibition review about this exhibit, I need to begin learning how art critics write concise, yet informative reviews.

Just for fun, I've chosen to read the two reviews of exhibits in Paris, the exhibits of artists Sergio Vega and Nalini Malani. Hopefully by examining these two reviews, I will come to a better understanding of what key ideas, principles, or techniques I should apply when writing my exhibition review.

The review of Vega's exhibit (at the Karsten Greve) is five paragraphs long, and the first paragraph reveals the title of the exhibit ("Parrot Theory") and what Vega examined in the art shown in this exhibit ("their [parrots'] complicated roles as figures of myth, metaphysics and scientific study"). The second paragraph describes the main components of the exhibit: a large green chalkboard outlining the history of parrots' symbolic representations, and a 2009 video of Vega lecturing on this outline. The third paragraph then goes into detail about the various other aspects of the exhibit that support the two main components (drawings, a parrot-shaped lamp, a 1963 advertisement for a Ford Thunderbird, etc.). The fourth paragraph highlights the importance of another room in the gallery, which includes a second video whose dialogue uses words from the Bible to say that parrots are "the quintessential witnesses of Paradise", and that in the Garden of Eden, animals spoke the universal language that God, Adam, and Eve spoke. The fifth and final paragraph refers back to the video lecture first mentioned in the second paragraph, and informs the reader why Vega first became interested in parrots with a quote from Vega himself. The main point of his quote is his interest in the large similarities between parrots and humans in the action of talking even when there is nothing to say. The writer of this review then concludes with two humorous sentences in response to Vega's quote.

Sergio Vega, Parrot Color Chart #6, 2008

The review of Malani's exhibit (at the Lelong) is four paragraphs long (or short), and in the first sentence, the author reveals three important facts: the title of the exhibit ("Cassandra"), the fact that this is Malani's first solo show in France, and that this exhibit marks the return of Malani to her roots of drawing and painting. This introduction already provides the reader with more information in the first sentence than in the first paragraph of Vega's exhibit review. The rest of the first paragraph of Malani's exhibit review contains a quote from the artist herself and a bit of biographical information on the artist, which may allow us to understand more fully her art and this review of her art. The second paragraph informs the reader that the majority of the works included in "Cassandra", are "reverse paintings" and explains what this ancient technique is, Malani's experience with it, and what effect it has on the viewer. The third paragraph specifies the influences on Malani's art, and the range of these influences from classic to contemporary, from Greek tragedies to modern theater and current events. The fourth and final paragraph describes in detail a few of the works in the exhibition and their unique characteristics. This final paragraph finishes with a description of the 30-panel centerpiece of the exhibit, which shares its name with the name of the exhibit. In the final two sentences of the review, the author compares Malani to other artists, such as Kiki Smith and Nancy Spero, and makes one final commentary on the effect that Malani's art has on its audience.

Nalini Malani, Cassandra, 2009

Through examining these two reviews, I do feel that I have gained a better understanding of what writing an exhibit review requires. Because of the excitement I felt during, and for the rest of the day following, the Martin Zet exhibit, I am eager to get started on my review.

Princenthal, Nancy. "Sergio Vega." Art in America 9 (2009): 178, 180.

Franklin, Paul B. "Nalini Malani." Art in America 9 (2009): 179.