[ back ]
SLAM for the holidays
(by Dickson Beall - December 23, 2009)
Over the holidays, the St. Louis Art Museum provides a festive experience for everyone — young and old, residents and out-of-towners.
The museum’s most recent exhibition, which opened Dec. 18, offers a veritable treasure trove. In a presentation titled Mother and Father Worked Hard So I Can Play, curator Tricia Y. Paik has cleverly placed the London-based artist (of Nigerian descent) Yinka Shonibare’s sculptures throughout the period rooms on the lower level of the museum.
Seven figures of mischievous children play in several of the museum’s period rooms. These mannequin-like figures, clad in bright colors, are rich in pattern and color. They do just what the artist seems to intend — stir imagination about African identity and European colonialism.
The delight is finding, in these sometimes-stuffy Victorian rooms, figures that are playful in gesture yet blend right into the setting. This exhibit is a treasure hunt, fun for both children and adults.
Shonibare, paralyzed and identifying himself as “physically disabled,” works in various media — sculpture, painting, photography and installation art — and in collaboration with other creative artists. He engaged theatrical costume designers to help him create this work, which presents children at the apex of health and exuberance—a girl skipping rope, a young boy doing a back flip. The mannequins are dressed in Victorian costume, made from Dutch wax fabric known as “African print.” Curator Paik strategically places the children in the usually sedate interiors, and it is a perfect context of contrast, playfully enlivening these popular period rooms.
After the treasure hunt with Shonibare’s enchanting children on the lower level, visitors can head up to the second floor and view Ream, an animated film by Tom Friedman.
Friedman, a St. Louis artist now living in Massachusetts, is well known for his use of everyday materials and humorous works. He took 500 sheets of paper, drew figures on the letter-sized sheets, creating 500 unique drawings, which he then animated into a 500-frame film sequence. The result is accessible entertainment, a joyful expression that reminds me of The New Yorker.
Friedman’s light cartoon tone carries the viewer quickly — like fleeting thoughts or elusive dreams — through drawings that morph over time. The film can’t be longer than a minute, but it’s looped and, after seeing it through several times, I had to tear myself away.
Friedman’s animation scores another victory for SLAM’s New Media Series, which features installations by living artists whose works utilize digital media. Charlotte Eyerman, former curator of modern and contemporary art at the museum, curated this showstopper between the galleries. The film grabs the viewer with imaginative use of simple materials and digital technology, forming an innovative work of art.
Also keep in mind that the holidays offer a last chance to view the museum’s major show on the main floor, Five Centuries of Japanese Screens: Masterpieces from the St. Louis Art Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago. This exhibition presents rarely seen masterpieces from the permanent collections of these two museums.
The Japanese screens, though creative artistic expressions, are also utilitarian objects. These exquisite examples of a traditional art form evoke feelings of tranquility and peace. The screens are large and eye grabbing, sometimes measuring 5 feet by 10 feet and made of beautiful materials, such as silk and rice paper, layered with silver and gold. Large as they are, they present a sweeping vision of daily life and Japanese culture. A couple dozen of the most important screens from the St. Louis Art Museum and the Art Institute’s collection are on display, and they exemplify the museum’s “don’t miss” holiday offerings.
The several special exhibits now on display at SLAM are of wonder and beauty, and they offer an important corrective, which all art venues might consider: art is a gift for everyone.
Throughout the holidays, every museum visitor is welcomed into the magnificent open space of Sculpture Hall by a celebratory Neptune, trident in hand, rising from gold-sprayed twigs and the gold, silver and red ribbons and balls hanging from evergreen boughs.
The place has never looked so festive or so appropriate as a holiday destination. No wonder a seasonal visit to the St. Louis Art Museum is a time-honored tradition for so many.
• Yinka Shonibare: Mother and Father Worked Hard So I Can Play continues through March 14; Ream continues through Jan. 31; and Five Centuries of Japanese Screens continues through Jan. 3 at the St. Louis Art Museum.
[ back ]
