Carmen Bethencourt

 

 

 

The concept behind
the current Berliner KunstProjekt exhibition, “BiNo-ScApEs”, is the importance
of different perspectives. The curator, David Adamo, invited around eighty
artists to create miniature paintings in mixed media formats which were then
arranged at the far wall of the gallery to be viewed through the binoculars
dangling from the ceiling. The purpose of this setup was to confront the
disorientation that occurs when one is about to look closer and
style="mso-spacerun: yes">  examine the distant subject matter. The
audience is compelled to view the pieces from this angle thus creating a space
between the artwork and the viewer in terms of physical distance and subject
matter. The experience is such that the viewer focuses on one piece and then
another: focus again and again, catch sight of one only to lose it in the mix.
Such is true with Mark Lepson’s digital photo titled Upstate Highway
style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>. From afar it is simply a photograph of a
semi-truck; once viewed through the lens of the binocular, one sees the
manipulation of color pixels which resemble color drenched snowflakes.


 


The second part the gallery contained David Adamo’s solo show entitled Relatives
and Relativity. One space was dedicated to roving mechanical
Weaselballs; each are painted to represent country flags and collide with one
another. The counterweight circular motion sends each one spinning into
clusters thus creating a random interaction.


 


The adjoining room exhibited a simple outline of a circle on the wall.
Upon closer inspection, a centered yet chaotic scheme is revealed through
country flags constructed from sewing pins and paper stickers. The United States
flag was purposely set upside-down to symbolize an emergency distress call. In
a tribute to 9/11, the light of a single low-hung lamp is centered on a solid
formed circle. The immediate impression is that of broken concrete; from this
single concentration are pieces which give the impression of a constellation as
they are scattered outward on the floor of the space. The audience is then
invited to interact with the piece; to walk through the space; and from this
interaction it becomes clear that each piece of concrete is truly a tiny shoe
cast in plaster.


 


These exhibitions represent objects that require the time to look at the
details. However, it is not only the details but the composition of a piece
which transforms into something else once examined. Viewed from a certain
point, it is the distance at which one places themselves which engages the
experience whereby the audience is able to notice the small stuff again.