How Can We Think of Art at a Time Like This? is an online exhibition co-curated by Barbara Pollack and Anne Verhallen featuring eighty artists’ interpretations of crisis. The exhibit seeks to promote a dialogue and sense of community in a time of socially-distancing. Suffer: From the Liz Taylor Series by Kathe Burkhart takes new meaning in light of today’s coronavirus pandemic in its 60 by 40 inch depiction in acrylic and marbled paper of a woman with a gas mask glued to her face and “Sucker” written across the bottom. Originally a response to the HIV crisis, the work intimates the victimhood of the multitude infected with COVID-19. A Distorted Reality is Now a Necessity to be Free by Amir H. Fallah speaks to the desire to hide. The 84 x 108 inch acrylic painting on stretched canvas portrays two figures holding hands while facing opposite directions with covered faces. Though surrounded by familiar cultural items, of both sentiment and oppression, they are shrouded. The show is presented using an image-based interface reminiscent of Instagram. The number of works and varied interpretations invites a response from a wide audience. However, the amount of images can overwhelm viewers by creating a conversation with too many voices rather than a clear statement.
The response to the piece creates a setting from which one would want to see the entire collection. Comparing our current circumstances with art and how to articulate it is really important and well done.
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