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| Photo By Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Libson, Portugal |
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Joao Paulo Feliciano's "The Blues Quartet" is a meld of colors, light and music.
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It'd be interesting to hear what the old Blues masters would have to say about Joao Paulo Feliciano's first United States exhibition,
The Blues Quartet, at the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC). In some ways, the show is a concert in itself, consisting of four music-oriented installations in the Kaplan Hall lobby. From the street, people look in and see a wall covered with Blues posters, some strange lights flashing and transparent blue Perspex, a glass substitute. Once inside, though, the show comes alive.
The titular work, "The Blues Quartet," is a conversation between a quartet of light bulbs. Feliciano arranged the bulbs in a square and separated each by blue, semitransparent, semi-reflective Perspex. They individually light up in harmony with a wide variety of songs, everything from Ella Fitzgerald to Lil' Kim.
Feliciano invited artists and musicians from all over to contribute a playlist of songs for "The Blues Quartet"; viewers are welcome to choose any one of the 505 songs available on the connected iPod. The songs are otherwise played randomly, which makes the piece unpredictable. That unpredictability mimics the way in which a true concert pulls in the listener: We're intrigued to hear what song the band will play next.
The set-up of "The Blues Quartet" is like a four-square game. A bulb sits atop a tripod in the middle of each square; the Perspex separates the squares.
My favorite part about this piece is that the reflection of one bulb melds together with another bulb seen through the Perspex. This effect happens with all of the bulbs, because they're all at equal heights. It relates again to a live band: Though each member is different, they're all equal parts working for the same cause. That understanding of unity is essential for any musician. It's something Feliciano, a musician himself, knows very well. (A little fun fact: Feliciano and his band once opened for Sonic Youth.)
Another of Feliciano's works is the "Kaleidoscopic Blues Machine." Perhaps the most interesting piece, it uses "low-tech means to achieve high-tech results," according to the CAC press materials. It's a monitor surrounded by the same blue Perspex pieces, connecting this work with "The Blues Quartet."
The monitor shows silent black-and-white video footage from old Blues concerts. Feliciano has modified the footage to show close-ups of the musician's hands and instruments. The Perspex's reflective surface creates a kaleidoscopic effect from the monitor. At times, the music looming above from "The Blues Quartet" seems to match up with the instrument being played in the footage, adding to the random harmony of the entire exhibition.
The viewer sees nine panels of footage (like The Brady Bunch opening) reflecting in mirrored patterns. Feliciano cropped the recording to make interesting patterns. There's a sense of creepiness, because the viewer can also see his or her own reflection staring back.
"The Blues Quartet Poster Series" is the weakest piece. This work is the most noticeable from the street, because it takes up the entire main wall of Kaplan Hall. Feliciano has arranged Blues posters to try to capture a "guerilla-style street marketing campaign," according to the CAC. He's trying to make the whole exhibition tie together as being a concert event. This is the advertising section. The style in which the posters are hung remind me of someone decorating her refrigerator with photos. "The Blues Quartet Poster Series" is not entirely uninteresting -- it's fun to look at the manipulated posters -- but it becomes monotonous after viewing about half of the series.
"Blues For Christmas," the final work in the exhibition, consists of 15 framed photo collages featuring The Blues Quartet. Each piece has the title of a song by a different musician. Visually it is a pleasing piece and a nice use of the space, but it can go easily unnoticed -- it lacks the punch of Feliciano's multimedia works.
Feliciano also has a piece on the sixth floor of the CAC, entitled "Discussion Brings Enlightenment," an interesting conversation between two lamps. Grade: A-
JO195O PAULO FELICIANO: THE BLUES QUARTET continues at the Contemporary Arts Center through Sept. 17.
