Impression Impressions

One of my friends is an artist, and today I went to the Bronx Museum of the Arts to look at her art work, as she is participating in their Biennial:
http://www.bronxmuseum.org/exhibitions/bronx-calling-the-fourth-aim-biennial

Her name is Lulu Meng, and she works in installation art, sculpture, and photography.

Earlier I saw pictures and heard about the piece but I wanted to see in person. I think the idea is brilliant. Here is the work from a few steps back, titled “Impression”:

At a quick glance, one might think, “Wow, I can hang articles of clothing on a wall and call that art.” Except, those aren’t really clothes, and there is significance behind the arrangement.

About the piece and a little more about the artist:

There seems to be a lot unsaid about the piece in the description, and I recall in my conversations with her that she was personally attached to the clothing that these four pieces are based on. They are cast from the real clothes of her own and of a few people that were close to her. The wrinkles in the fabric are an impression from a particular moment in time, and are unique to the individual. She said that she thinks of the wrinkles like her drawing, used to represent her emotions. It evokes memories of each person and in one case, the moment where one has left, never to be seen again. Here it is closer:

The casting process preserved much of the detail. Zooming in you can see the fibers of the wool coat, and really tricks the eye into believing they are shirts. A slight breeze in the room does not allow it to move as fabric would-- each piece is cast in resin, and really it is a frozen moment in time. The way it was created was with a silicone molding. Casting the wool coat was a little tricky due to all the clumps of wool that stuck. Lulu tells me also that the backing is completely flat, and originally had thought it would be more interesting to arrange them on a rack so that is plainly visible.

Here is another moment in time:

But yeah, I think this piece is very interesting, even if I don’t really understand the underlying message. What is it about this that demonstrates “the shifting equilibrium between individuality and conformity”? Well, I am guessing that in my naive mind this work is of four individuals, and cast in the same white resin sculptures. Conformity! Okay, maybe not. Maybe something deeper. I will ask her sometime.

And at the end, of course, I have to take an obligatory selfie with the artist!

Also, I convinced her to try out Steemit, so hopefully you’ll see some great content from her soon! All of the reward generated from this post (that go to me), I will directly send to her when she joins (You’ll see her confirm that).

Thanks for reading! Have a great day! If you are in the area, the Bronx museum has a lot of other interesting pieces as well. Performance pieces with interesting ceramic pieces, a sculpture made with metal that was melted down from a rifle, an LED cube with programmed display, sculptures made with an artist’s hair…. Well, I didn’t take any pictures so you’ll have to see for yourself! (or possibly somewhere online).