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BY KATE BRAUER
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Fashion designs by DAAP students (including this one
by Jennifer Dunn) will be featured in a show on May 31
at UC's Aronoff Center for Design and Art.
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Recently I was asked to consider whether art should be able to stand on its own, or if the viewer has a responsibility to "educate herself" regarding the art in order to make her experience pleasurable. Contrary to what some might have us think, the pleasure we derive from art should never be dependent upon extensive explanation from artists or gallery owners. Forget the obtuse! This week, get out and experience an appreciation for contemporary art that is accessible, exciting and entirely involving.
... One of the aspects of accessibility in art is that it invites interpretation, intriguing viewers to engage their minds and emotions. Such is the art of Millicent Straub. Straub recently received the Kentucky Foundation for Women 2001 Artist Enrichment Grant, an award given for art that seeks to evoke social change. Straub, who began her career as a printmaker, turned to painting as a mode of self-exploration. Her works depict young girls in snapshot-like poses, faceless. Facelessness, for Straub, is representative of some painful childhood experiences, although she is quick to point out that she leaves her portraits wide open for interpretation. "Without faces, the viewer is forced to wonder why the faces are missing, to attach their own emotional response to them, to maybe ask the person standing next to them what they think." She hopes viewers will take away their own meaning from the experience with her work. "I really want the viewer to feel engaged, whether it's responding to the subject matter, the color or any other aspect of the work that I may have not considered." You can catch Millicent Straub's next exhibit all this June at Semantics. Can't wait another week? Get a glimpse of some of Straub's work at the SSNOVA website, www.ssnova.org. Click on Artists, and select Straub from the extensive archive available. (The site is great to peruse for additional artists as well, but seeing art on the Web is never as good as seeing it in real life.) Straub's exhibition at Semantics (1107 Harrison, Brighton Corner) opens Saturday, June 1. Hours: Saturday noon-4 p.m. Info: 513-651-5460.
... As long as we're talking about exciting, involving contemporary art, let's talk for a moment about the upcoming opening at LINDA SCHWARTZ GALLERY (315 W. Fourth St., Downtown). Schwartz regularly puts on some of the highest-quality gallery exhibits in the city. In fact, if you've got time to spare and you're in the neighborhood, a visit to her gallery won't disappoint. On Friday, stop by for the opening of Serious Play, an exhibition of a giant, colorful new triptych and accompanying works by Cincinnati artist Tarrance Corbin. Inspired by a children's book, The Saga Journey of the Ant Bully is a brightly colored creation consisting of geometric shapes, patterns and forms. Also opening, Exotic Landscapes by alice weston includes 16 light boxes, several photographs and a video in a multimedia exhibit focused on studies of evolving crystal shapes. Opening: Friday, 6-8 p.m. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays. Info: 513-241-4202.
... High fashion creates the ultimate "involving" experience -- not only can we appreciate the artistry of the design, but we actually wrap ourselves in it. That is why this week we are taking a moment to recognize the efforts of the 12 seniors graduating in Fashion Design from The College of Design, Archi-tecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) at the University of Cincinnati. Next week, they present their final fashion show before graduation. For this year's show, DAAP Professor Margaret Voelker-Ferrier encouraged students to use their travel experiences as inspiration. Get an eyeful off the runway at the annual fashion show which is being held, for the first time, in the College's Aronoff Center for Design and Art on the UC campus, and experience an event not common to Cincinnati audiences. You can purchase tickets for a reception before the show, or just see the fashion show itself. $30 in advance, or $35 at the door. Hours: Friday, May 31, 8 p.m. Info: 513-981-7500 or www.design.uc.edu.
E-mail Kate Brauer
Previously in Look Here!
Look Here!
By Kate Brauer
(May 9, 2002)
Look Here! Sprawling: Notes from galleries and exhibitions around town
By Kate Brauer
(April 25, 2002)
Look Here!
By Kate Brauer
(April 11, 2002)
more...
Other articles by Kate Brauer
Naughty Number 9 Caryl Churchill's difficult script provides challenges for Falcon Productions (May 16, 2002)
Crossing Boundaries Midwest Regional Black Theatre Festival reaches across cultural lines (April 4, 2002)
Look Here! (March 28, 2002)
more...
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