New York, 52 Walker Presents “The Big Nude,” Heji Shin’s Practice between the Commercial and Fine Art Realms.. and More
USA_New York
52 Walker Presents “The Big Nude,” Heji Shin’s Practice between the Commercial and Fine Art Realms
52 Walker Gallery presents “THE BIG NUDES,” a solo exhibition by Korean-German photographer Heji Shin (b. 1976), on view through October 8. Shin has garnered international attention for her images that straddle the line between commercial and fine art, challenging conventions of taste and sexuality. Her signature works include sexually provocative fashion photography, a series of birth images of a newborn baby, and x-ray pictures of animals and humans.
For this exhibition, the artist juxtaposed two discrete bodies of work. One features MRI scan images of the artist’s brain. Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) technology from medicine, the brain’s neurons and neural networks are presented as colorful images. In the center of the gallery, a 3D holographic image of the brain scan glows in the air.
Next to the brain images is a series of photographs of pigs. The title of the exhibition, “The Big Nude,” is taken from renowned fashion photographer Helmut Newton’s (1920-2004) representative work. Like the female models in Newton’s photographs, the pigs in Shin’s photographs strike erotic poses.
Both the brain scan image and the pig portraits question our perception of reality on different levels and seek to shift the paradigm of the “physical.”
USA_New York
Deeply Rooted Theatricality of Native Arts Brought to New Light in CCS Bard
Center for Curatorial Studies Bard (CCS Bard) at Bard College in New York City presents “Indian Theater: Native Performance, Art, and Self-Determination since 1969” through November 26.
The exhibition shines new light on the performance and theater as the deep and central roots of Native arts, including Native American, First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and Alaska Native. The exhibition emphasizes the traditionally theatrical nature of Indigenous art, suggesting that its art forms involving movement, sound, masks, storytelling, and communal activity may have new potential in contemporary art.
The exhibition addresses the history of persecution, discrimination, and resistance against Indigenous peoples through works that combine dance, song, and music. It particularly commemorates the 1969 occupation of Alcatraz Island by Indigenous peoples, which marked a milestone in Indigenous political self-determination.
The exhibition features more than 30 Native artists working in various mediums, including performance, video, and sculpture. The oldest participating artist is 96 years old, and the youngest is 29 years old. One of the participants, Jeffrey Gibson (b. 1972), will represent the United States at the Venice Biennale in 2024.
USA_New York
The Seminal Experimental Filmmaker Ken Jacobs in the Front Windows on Broadway Street
New York’s 80 WASHINGTON SQUARE EAST, NYU (80WSE) is a nonprofit gallery founded in 1974. 80WSE comprises two street-level windows on Washington Square and Broadway.
Through November 26, 80WSE’s Broadway window gallery presents “Up the Illusion,” a solo exhibition by experimental filmmaker Ken Jacobs (b. 1933). Each window displays different themes of films and digital videos created by Jacobs over seven decades, from the 1950s to today, and the works on view change three times during the exhibition. The drawings created by Jacobs are on view alongside the videos.
Ken Jacobs is a pioneer of 20th-century American experimental cinema. He was a central figure in the underground film movement of the 1960s and has been at the forefront of experiments with the medium, including modifying film apparatus for use in live performances. In addition to the window display, viewers can watch Jacobs’ video works on the gallery’s website during the show.
