Kerry James Marshall

Mastry by contemporary artist Kerry James Marshall was an outstanding solo exhibition that closed at the end of September. Marshall is a masterful and interesting painter and artist. He offers commentary on the privilege and history of formal museum exhibitions and gallery hangings. In a water-downed nutshell, he is described as reinterpreting western art history using African-American figures in traditional painting styles and position. However, his signature iconographic markers extend his art historical references into an artistic voice of his own. Some of Marshall's techniques include linear halos that evoke medieval saints and virgins, distorting illusion using trompe l'oeil, the positions of figures in specific foreground placement, as well as other techniques. Overall, I thought the exhibition was breathtaking and remarkable. I, of course, loved his use of glitter to hyperbolize certain emotions and ideas. Marshall is gaining more and more attention and due credit for his wonderful career and I hope he will continue to have a successful reception in the future.

National Gallery

Have you ever wondered what it's like to go inside a museum to understand how it works? Have you considered the meetings, the conversations, and sometimes mundane specifics of such environments, including the installation and preservation of paintings, and the conservation and education efforts in presenting art? Frederick Wiseman's film National Gallery tours one of Britain's top museums and accesses a professional community that displays common industry obligations--budgets, programming, exhibition display, etc.

In the theater, I felt like I was returning to safe place of paintings, docents, and art history. I was the first person sitting in my seat, several people joined me, and unfortunately, I was the last person to remain. The three hour film put me in a museum ecstasy, but it also unintentionally confronted the fundamental problem that all museums face--it's hard to capture the attention of modern audiences. Where I see contemplative refuge, others see stagnant images with echoes of footsteps. The film had no narration, no plot, no explanation. It's one thing to 'lift the veil' of such institutions, but it's completely different and more interesting to analyze how and why museums continue to be captivating.  

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