Tag: Installation Art

Bryan Zanisnik – Emily GD – Drawing 2

Bryan Zanisnik was born in 1979 in Union, New Jersey. Today, he lives travelling between New York and Stockholm, Sweden. His art discusses autobiographical and social subject matter through the use of videos, performances, installations, and photographs. His pieces include whimsical but strange and sometimes dreary elements as he explores the dynamic between performer and audience. I was drawn to this artist because he creates work that I normally don’t, and lately I’ve enjoyed learning more about conceptual and performance art. My favorite piece that he created was the Meadowlands Picaresque, which was a site-specific installation that was inspired by the Meadowlands swamps near his birthplace of Northern New Jersey. In this piece, he was interested in finding the ‘blank spots on the map’ and exploring them to discover what forgotten things they might hold. He wanted the viewers of this installation to be able to play and explore as if they were experiencing what he did when he got the inspiration for the piece.

 “And maybe that’s also what really drew me: That it’s so much of the same thing again and again and again. It’s kind of monumental in its nothingness.”


– Bryan Zanisnik

In the 1900’s Zanisnik’s great grandfather supposedly wrestled a wolf in Ukraine. In 2007 he himself traveled to Ukraine and researched this story about his family and found out it was true. His piece titled, He is Not a Man is a live performance inspired by these events. Zanisnik invited a childhood bully to dress as the wolf and box him. The boxing match was real and Zanisnik lost in three rounds.

“I kind of think of building one of my installations as if I’m constructing a stream of consciousness sentence. That not every word leads into the next, but there’s an overall mood or feeling being constructed.”

-Bryan Zanisnik

In 2012 Zanisnik got a cease & desist letter from the author Philip Roth’s legal counsel for holding one of his novels during a performance piece. The utter ridiculousness of this legal battle inspired Zanisnik to create the Philip Roth Presidential Library, a series of giant sculptures made of drywall and wood that each held hundreds of Philip Roth novels inside. The installation both showcases Roth’s genius while also criticizing him and his big ego.

I, E & S – T. Simmons

Orozco01.jpg

Gabriel Orozco’s.  A Citroën sliced lengthwise into three long pieces, then reassembled without the middle part (La D.S., 1993, on exhibit at the Beaubourg in Paris).

<i>Wave Field </i> University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1995.

Maya Lin. Wave Field University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1995.

Doris Salcedo.

IT’S 10:53. THE NIGHT BEFORE THE ASSIGNMENT DUE DATE. I’M KINDA TIRED, BEEN SCHOOLING, BEEN WORKING, BEEN GOLFING, BEN CHILLIN. I DECIDED TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS JUST BE ANNOYING. IN THE NEW BOOK, THE 1ST SECTION GOES FROM PG 588-600. I LOOKED AT IT AND THOUGHT … CRAP THAT’S A LOT OF READING ARTIST BIOS., SO … (Okay, I’m done typing in all caps, it’s starting to annoy me) … I decided to google images of all 30 something of the artist’s work.  I put check marks by the artist’s names whose work  reached out and grabbed my attention. I marked three that, at least on a computer, seemed to me as the most creative. Again … I am looking at a computer screen. They were Maya Lin, Gabriel Orozco, and Doris Salcedo. I think what strikes me the most is the unexpected twist of reality that these works invoke. I remember when I was at PS1 in New York. I had not been overly impressed with any of the work I had seen. One exhibit featured some Max Headroom looking 3-d animated head, talking about pubic hair.  Then on the third floor, I saw a single door swing open. It resembled a high school door from a 1950’s horror film. On the frosted glass were 1 inch black letters that read James Turrell “Meeting”. As the door swung open, I noticed there was a small square room with a bench that went 360 (except for the door) and there were a bunch of people in the room. They were all looking up. I entered the room with no expectations. There was a square opening to the sky in a small square room. I stayed in there for over 20 minutes looking at clouds go by. The room was the frame, the work was the sky itself. Every once in a while a large black crow would break the edge of the frame and float across the sea of sky blue and puffy white then disappear into the frame somewhere else. The path of the crow created an imaginary  line that seemed to remain for a time, like the filaments of a light bulb stay etched on your retinas when flung into darkness. It was a memorable and exceptional experience. I like these works. I like the way they trick the brain. The school will be pleased to note that there was no nudity in any of these artist’s works. Crap – It’s 11:46 – I have a History exam in the morning. BLOG OVER!

James Turrell “Meeting” MoMA PS1, NYC