September 13, 2017 - 23:34
As I looked through all the selected pieces I found some to be more interesting than others. It was much easier to understand the meaning of the work when it came as part of a collection. For instance, Nina Berman and Laura Swansons works resonated much more clearly with me than did the single piece by Riva Lehrer. However, the collectinos by Doug Auld and Beverly McIver did not exactly pique my interest either. Doug Auld's work simply did not speak to me because I do not understand it. The title "State of Grace" does not seem to exactly reflect the paintings. In fact several of the subjects appear to be in some sort of discomfort. I can understand however that the way they are portrayed is quite graceful. I did not connect with Beverly McIver's collection because it seemed very ordinary to me. Perhaps that is because of the art I grew up seeing or the medium she used. It could be any number of things that prevent me from fully appreciating the collection but it held no power in my eyes. On the other hand Nina Berman's work was incredibly powerful to me. More than anything, her collection spoke to me about loneliness. Even in the picture of a veteran receiving a hug he still seemd lonely. That isolation that must come with becoming disabled is absolutely harrowing and it really made me think about the extent to which soldiers' sacrifices go. This collection shows that the physical destruction soldiers undergo in war may not even be the worst injury they sustain. On a lighter note, my favorite collection was the Anti-Self Portrait collection by Laura Swanson. I was interested in Swanson's work so I looked at another collection and found it very interesting that in Swanson's self portait series, she does well to conceal information regarding gender, age, and many aspects of her physical identity. There is a great mystery to her work and she has the utmost creativity in finding ways to manipulate and conceal her true physical appearance.