Who: Alix Pearlstein
What: Artist Lecture
When: January 28th, 2009
Where: VCU Student Commons Theater
Why?
Define:art
the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the sense or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music and literature. The meaning of art is explored in a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics.
This lecture, or rather "art", had nothing to do with the above definition.
Coming into this lecture I had thought the work to be highly profound and professional after stumbling across her film stills. Far did I know that her videos themselves would look underdeveloped and childish when viewed on the big screen. Her opening sentence was a quote on art being glamorous. I found the glamor to be invisible in her own work. Presenting her first video, Two Women, Pearlstein brought her viewers sexual intimacy between the sexes. Like others I questioned about this lecture, I felt rather uncomfortable viewing this video, not knowing if it were the lack in quality or the idea behind the image. Moving through her videos, we do see some minor improvements. Her strongest work, After the Fall, produces a connection between the actors and the audience. The eye connection and failure between solid obstacles is a relative conflict in everyday life. The use of the black box theater produces a stronger image and depth in her work. As we finish the lecture with an unflattering clip entitled Goldrush, all I imagined was those stupid Truth commercials that questions why people smoke. "Hey. I look stupid fighting over all this matter board, what's your reason?"
As Pearlstein's work has improved over the course of her career, I do not believe this artist is someone worth seeing.
This lecture, or rather "art", had nothing to do with the above definition.
Coming into this lecture I had thought the work to be highly profound and professional after stumbling across her film stills. Far did I know that her videos themselves would look underdeveloped and childish when viewed on the big screen. Her opening sentence was a quote on art being glamorous. I found the glamor to be invisible in her own work. Presenting her first video, Two Women, Pearlstein brought her viewers sexual intimacy between the sexes. Like others I questioned about this lecture, I felt rather uncomfortable viewing this video, not knowing if it were the lack in quality or the idea behind the image. Moving through her videos, we do see some minor improvements. Her strongest work, After the Fall, produces a connection between the actors and the audience. The eye connection and failure between solid obstacles is a relative conflict in everyday life. The use of the black box theater produces a stronger image and depth in her work. As we finish the lecture with an unflattering clip entitled Goldrush, all I imagined was those stupid Truth commercials that questions why people smoke. "Hey. I look stupid fighting over all this matter board, what's your reason?"
As Pearlstein's work has improved over the course of her career, I do not believe this artist is someone worth seeing.
