Wednesday, November 12, 2014

The Drawing Center, Anne Wilson's To Cross(Walking New York)


         

          Anne Wilson’s To Cross(Walking New York), 2014 at the Drawing Center is a durational and site-specific performance that weaved five different colored threads around the main gallery’s four columns. Her piece shows the stripe patterns through repetitive movements in the weaving process. It consists of black, white, sky-blue and small hints of pink in the beginning section. After those colors, bright neon yellow occupies the whole body of section with a little empty space. Four participants carry a spool of thread and construct the warp threads in order by walking across a 12-foot distance by layering from the bottom toward the top.
            The thread lines crossing at the center points create a one-sided continuous surface. The optical illusion of intersections of the plane seems to be a Mobius strip by showing endless lines. The never-ending 12-foot long surface with harmonious color schemes fascinates my eyes as I look into the structural beauty and curiosity.
            Contrary to her previous walking series that used metallic bars or wooden bars, she chooses the physical structure of the gallery space as a loom in this show. In her methodological aspect to use architectural elements in the gallery, this work convinces me that her actions are a site-specific performance in New York. The accumulation of neon colored threads creates blurry outlines of viewers when they walk across the gallery’s space. It reminds me of the bustling activity of passengers on a busy street.





2 comments:

  1. This is an impressive piece and you described its appearance, the process of making it, and the importance of its site specificity. Maybe it would enhanced your review if you would have discussed the experience of looking through the piece. That was one aspect of To Cross (Walking New York) that i enjoyed very much. The scale and transparency of the piece and the way it breaks up the gallery space without completely blocking off or isolating one side of the gallery from the other. Overall I think it is a good straight forward review of this piece, and your choice of photographs are great.

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  2. Seo, I think this is an excellent presentation of the work. I like how you are writing is well organized, starting with detailed descriptions of her current works, and then comparing them with her previous works. It would be more strengthened, if you were able to provide in depth information about the ideas behind the show. Overall though, this is an excellent review.

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