Water

"Water is essential to life on earth. It is at the core of human civilization".  These words begin to introduce the current exhibit at the Zimmerli Art Museum.  Going into the exhibit I was unsure what to expect. I just had water in my mind as this word for a basic element and was only thinking in the simplest terms. Walking through I quickly realized just how much deeper the theme ran.  One thing that stood out to me in listening to Donna Gustafson talk about her curatorial process and in reading the various statements, was how water could "cross boundaries" how it in fact was the bridge between two places, and could bridge between past and present as well. It could have such a far greater reach than is perhaps considered on a daily basis. 

The theme immediately hits the viewer as they come down the staircase.  The walls of the gallery are painted in cool shades of blue and the installation by Ross Cisneros entitled Ice and Ark, brings water into the gallery literally with plastic bottles of water suspended in a fishing net from the ceiling, commenting on ownership of water and the use of such a natural resource in today’s society.  Beyond this installation each room took the theme a little bit further.  Literal representations of rain, of rivers, of clouds, of H20 in all its forms lead you through the first room and each room there after takes another twist. 

For me the room entitled “Women in Waves, Men in Boats” had pairings that were very successful and intriguing.  There was a very interesting interpretation of the theme much beyond the literal.  I felt that the images placed on opposing walls of the different encounters with water between the sexes were very interesting.  It was in this room where the question of artist’s intent versus curators imposed vision came up.  How would the artist feel about the examination of gender roles and water in their images? How far does it reach past the original intent?  While there may be some discrepancy between the two, I think that it is important when addressing the theme of a show to bring in works through a different lens.  The entire show rests on pairings of images and requires that the curator juxtapose them in such a way that maybe allows the viewer to see more than they would have if the image had been on its own.  I think this only enhances the work being that the viewer often brings a work to completion.  It is an area that the artist essentially can’t control. 

(some of the images from "Women in Waves, Men in Boats"- I really feel that they do well to represent the variety of types of works found in this room and the exhibit as a whole.  time and time again and in various medias the theme of water and gender has cropped up)