Yesterday was the closing day for the SFSU Fine Arts Gallery show titled Depth of Surface. I was pleasantly refreshed with the memory of the exhibition when I stumbled upon a video on Facebook made by SFSU Creative Arts students. You can see that video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nQtE0J1wfs&feature=player_embedded.
Mad props to Mark Johnson, Sharon Bliss and Victor De La Rosa for this show. My absolute favorite pieces were the hanging scrolls by artist Julie Chang. Chang’s scrolls, if you have never had the pleasure of encountering one yet, are absolutely worth seeking out on your next art venture. I am head over heels for these babies! They hang high from the ceiling and are printed on both sides. Each side has a different design involving images extracted from our current culture — such as six shooters, the thank you from a chinese take out bag or the silhouettes of oil pumps — and recontextualized in patterns that far surpass the expectations of the consumerist masses. The extracted images are either quickly recognized or incorporated so well as design that one must unlock them from the whole as if it were a puzzle. Oh what I would give right now to own such a piece.
Though all of the work in the show is worthy of praise, I can only highlight a few at the moment, especially since I saw it way back on opening day. My mind is a bit foggy on details. Apologies, apologies. However, I encourage you, reader, to meander through all the artists’ links provided at the end of this post.
I can’t not mention the whimsical installation titled Interstellar Media Stars by Ernest Jolly — pinwheels with a glow from behind. The first my attention was brought to this piece occurred when a slight breeze touched my skin…
…accompanied by a soundtrack of subtle tit-tit-tit-tit-tits. A rotating fan, hidden from our view, passed behind the pinwheels, giving each a turn of spinning delight as the glow from behind sucked me in like a moth to a flame.