ART REVIEW: "A Century of Self-Expression: Modern Art in the Collection of John and Joanne Payson"-Canaday Library, Bryn Mawr College
Recently, I made the (moderately) long journey to Bryn Mawr
College to view A Century of Self-Expression: Modern American Art in the
Collection of John and Joanne Payson, a student-curated exhibit on display
in the Class of 1912 Rare Book Room in Canaday Library. While Swarthmore
and Haverford have clearly defined and differentiated art gallery spaces, this
exhibit is a "pop-up show" of sorts: the room is not usually
configured like an art gallery and the walls are temporary installations.
Yet it contains an impressive array of American modern art from the
collection of a Bryn Mawr alumna and her husband, including works by James
Abbott McNeill Whistler, Louise Nevelson, and more.
A Century of Self-Expression is the culmination of a year of collaborative work and study
among a group of Bryn Mawr students, Professor of the History of Art Steven Z.
Levine, and Curator of Arts and Artifacts Brian Wallace. Known as a 360°
cluster, this year-long set of courses titled "Exhibiting the Modern"
required students to study the development modern art and the 1913 Armory Show
in New York in the fall of 2013 with Professor Levine. The Armory Show,
which is currently celebrating its centennial year, was a landmark exhibition
for art and art history that brought American and European modern art to the
forefront and established New York as the next capital of the art world. This
spring, they worked with Brian Wallace to organize and curate A Century of
Self-Expression, including writing the wall text and promoting the exhibit.
Paul Cadmus
Have Fun, Drive Carefully, 1991
Crayons on Canson paper
On loan courtesy of John W. Payson.
The show divides its excellent collection of paintings,
drawings, prints and sculpture into several categories: "The
Backdrop," "The Modern City," "The Nude,"
"Leisure Time," and "Reflections." The artists
on display span from the turn of the 20th century to as recently as 2002, and
it's quite exciting to see how American art has changed during this time
period.
While I came into this exhibit knowing and enjoying the
works of Whistler, who is represented in this show by his lovely pastel
rendering of Venice, the best part of this show was discovering works by an
artist I was not previously familiar with. A Century of
Self-Expression has on display several works by Paul Cadmus dating from
1991 and drawn in black and white crayon on gray-toned paper. Cadmus'
technique is wonderfully loose and sketchy, with sure movement imbued into
every stroke of the crayon. Have Fun, Drive Carefully, designated
in the “Reflections” section, depicts a sweet moment between the artist
and his lover as the former gets ready to go for a drive, cleverly using the
device of the car side mirror to present a divided double portrait.
Cadmus’ lover looks both at us, by extension, at Cadmus himself, who is
visible in the mirror, bringing us not only into this work but into the
intimacy and playfulness of this relationship. Reclining Nude,
also by Cadmus, is masterfully rendered, with the titular nude's right leg and
arm seeming to break out of the paper.
Walt Kuhn
Clown with White Tie, 1946
Oil on canvas
On loan courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. John W. and Joanne D. Payson
Other highlights of the exhibit include the affecting Clown
with White Tie (located in “Reflections”) by Walt Kuhn and Yvonne
Jacquette's enchanting George Washington Bridge at Night (designated in
“The Modern City”). The former is a 1946 oil on canvas of a
man in white face paint, shrouded in darkness, glowering at the viewer,
creating a dichotomy between the man's profession (being happy and cheerful for
money) and his true feelings about the nature of his work. The sadness in
his red-rimmed eyes and the grim resignation of his mouth provokes a sense of
sympathy for all those who are unhappy, who feel that they must put on a happy
face despite the pain that they suffer and work jobs that they don’t want in
order to survive.
The latter is a pastel work that captures the shifting
pattern of bright lights on the George Washington bridge with short colorful strokes,
creating a sense of joy and wonder in something as banal as the evening
commute. The swirling forms stir up excitement and anticipation,
demonstrating what must be the artist’s appreciation for the city that never
sleeps.
Walt Kuhn
Clown with White Tie, 1946
Oil on canvas
On loan courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. John W. and Joanne D. Payson
The amount of work that has gone into this show is a marvel to behold. Each work has a dedicated wall blurb with well-written and researched text. However, the organization of the works, while well-intentioned, is slightly murky and at times seemingly arbitrary. For example, several of the works that have been allotted to the "Backdrop" section seem like they would belong just as well in the section dedicated to the nude. Arthur B. Davies' Untitled (Nudes in the Woods), dating from c. 1910, seems equally dedicated to both the form of the frolicking women and the lush greenery they are set in. Conversely, Rockwell Kent's 1926 Moonlit Landscape, which has been placed in the nude section, seems like it would be a better fit in the landscape section: the sleeping nude form is compositionally subjugated by the blue-purple mountains and bright white moonlight of his setting.
Had the curators of the exhibit chosen to highlight on this aspect as a purposeful comment on the mixing of genres, it would have been more successful. Instead, the choice to limit "The Backdrop" to works specifically from the 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art results in a wishy-washy curatorial classification overall.
A Century of Self-Expression runs until June 1, 2014. The gallery is open from 12-4:30 PM Monday-Sunday, and is open until 7 PM on Wednesday when classes are in session.
(This piece was a part of Fresh Paint Magazine's third print issue!)
Comments
Post a Comment