I kept looking at that painting above and thought those were colorful insects. Finally, I read the exhibition statement on the gallery website and it turns out they're explosive suicide vests decorated in different Western-style fashions! The whole exhibit seems to take a look at controversies surrounding military technology and the global arms race; and it seems Hostetter mostly uses abstract patterns to fuel each message.
It's insightful to see how the artist communicates his message, and shows that confusing the audience or making them stop to look again leaves for more of an impact. I'm glad I finally read the statement over, too because it was driving me crazy trying to remember why the exhibition name "Clusterfubar" sounded familiar to me. It was the military acronym "fubar" that I was recognizing.
Anyways, these paintings are really interesting and this seems like a very convenient gallery to check out. If I don't check it out for my exhibition review, I'd still like to see it before it ends. Thanks.
Romtin you are right that there are many layers of meaning in these pieces which hopefully makes the viewer pause and spend some time with the work. I went to the opening this weekend and they are definitely worth going to see.
Wow, as I was looking at it, it did kind of look like insects or something similar, but suicide vests never came to mind. The message the artist is trying to portray was really interesting and had me looking at the piece for quite some time.
I have to admit i was intrigued and kept looking at it until i was stumped and read the exhibition statement, this would seem like a must see and hopefully I can before it ends. This was really cool and I hope I can see the other pieces he made. Thanks for the find :)
I kept looking at that painting above and thought those were colorful insects. Finally, I read the exhibition statement on the gallery website and it turns out they're explosive suicide vests decorated in different Western-style fashions! The whole exhibit seems to take a look at controversies surrounding military technology and the global arms race; and it seems Hostetter mostly uses abstract patterns to fuel each message.
ReplyDeleteIt's insightful to see how the artist communicates his message, and shows that confusing the audience or making them stop to look again leaves for more of an impact. I'm glad I finally read the statement over, too because it was driving me crazy trying to remember why the exhibition name "Clusterfubar" sounded familiar to me. It was the military acronym "fubar" that I was recognizing.
Anyways, these paintings are really interesting and this seems like a very convenient gallery to check out. If I don't check it out for my exhibition review, I'd still like to see it before it ends. Thanks.
Romtin
Romtin you are right that there are many layers of meaning in these pieces which hopefully makes the viewer pause and spend some time with the work. I went to the opening this weekend and they are definitely worth going to see.
ReplyDeleteWow, as I was looking at it, it did kind of look like insects or something similar, but suicide vests never came to mind. The message the artist is trying to portray was really interesting and had me looking at the piece for quite some time.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit i was intrigued and kept looking at it until i was stumped and read the exhibition statement, this would seem like a must see and hopefully I can before it ends. This was really cool and I hope I can see the other pieces he made. Thanks for the find :)
-Trenton