Upon entering the Allen Memorial Art Museum, the visitor is confronted with Morris Louis' large color-field titled “Feh, 1958.” The presence of this painting, achieved more by its shear magnitude than anything else, effectively sets the tone for the exhibition to come.
Over Winter Term the Allen Memorial Art Museum opened an exhibit titled From Modernism To The Contemporary, 1958-1999 in the Ellen Johnson Gallery of Modern Art. This show is an honorable attempt to use the museum’s permanent collection to represent the many facets of art in the second half of the last century. The works included are by and large mixed media works; explore a wide array of approaches to abstraction. While the show seems to be somewhat limited in scope, the works on display are not only historically important but also truly awe-inspiring.
Unfortunately, the new exhibition only covers a small percentage of the vast variety of artistic activity since 1958. Not only did this exhibition fail to acknowledge our culture’s drastic adaptation to the computer age, but photography, and all other sorts of stylistic genres were overlooked entirely.
While it was intended to address the dilemma of the abstract, the absence of news media seems to negate the existence of any sort of departure from Modernism at all.
While browsing through the somewhat awkwardly arranged gallery, a series of oppositions begin to emerge amidst the scattered sculptures. The almost blindingly bright colors of Frank Stella’s “Agbatana III,” 1968, is offset by the subtle shimmering glass beads of Claudia Matzkoís “Untitled, 1994.” The conceptual and hard-edged minimalist works of Donald Judd and Carl Andre are contrasted sharply by more introspective works about the body including Kiki Smith’s “Untitled IV (Shield),” 1990, and Peter Shelten’s remarkable fiberglass and metal “Bulge Bone,” 1993.
These striking oppositions are eased slightly with the more material and process oriented post minimalist works such as “Eva Hessa’s Laocoon,” 1966, and most notably with Chakaia Booker’s “Blue Bell,” 1998. A new sight at the AMAM that also references both minimalism and abstract expressionism, is the massive diptych by Leonardo Drew that employs an assortment of found objects embedded with wood, cotton and other such materials. No doubt, this exhibition represents the museum's impressive collection and an extraordinary number of noteworthy artists.
Thankfully, From Modernism to the Contemporary, 1958-1999 is not expected to stand alone. A number of works located in the Sculpture Court and in the John N. Stern Gallery, complement the new exhibition quite nicely. Alexander Calder's impressively beautiful mobile, “Yellow Among Reds,” 1964, was again brought out of the museum's storage. The movement of Calder's precarious sculpture is answered in Auguste Rodin's bronze figure, “The Prodigal Son,” c. 1915-16.
Also not to be missed are George Segal's two sculptures in the corner of the Sculpture Court. “Helen Against Door,” 1988, and “Black Girl, Black Doorframe,” 1978, are exquisite, quite striking examples of Segal's work. The museum is also exhibiting a recent acquisition by Chinese artist Huang Hancheng, titled “Suffused with the News Series: Boys on the Town,” 1997. Huang Hancheng’s depiction of urban youth in modern China is a refreshing addition to the East Asian collection.
With the opening of this exhibit, the AMAM once again demonstrates its extensive and impressive collection. The number of provocative works on display is remarkable. For those who don’t find themselves on that side of campus often, the current exhibits do indeed merit the long, cold walk across Tappan Square.