NEWS

Unexpected materials, techniques, approaches to abound in Ackland’s contemporary art show

CHAPEL HILL -- Tseng Kwong Chi bought a Mao suit at a thrift shop in Canada. He wears it in his photographic self-portraits, posing as a Chinese ambassador to the United States in the most unexpected places, as in "Cotton Field, Tennessee." His goal: to explore cultural stereotyping.

The late Tseng is one of 33 artists whose work will be displayed in "Eye in the Sky: Visions of Contemporary Art from the Ackland Collection," an exhibition opening June 9 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Ackland Art Museum.

On view through Sept. 15, the exhibition will feature more than 30 works of sculpture, painting, photography, drawings and a video installation, highlighting trends in contemporary art from the 1950s through 2002.

"During this period, artists have looked to styles from the past as well as to popular culture for inspiration," said Alisa Petti, the Ackland’s assistant curator of exhibitions. "They have extended the boundaries that define art through innovative materials, techniques and approaches. ‘Eye in the Sky,’ designed to encourage multiple interpretations, examines aspects of abstraction, self-portraiture and identity, social consciousness, popular culture, and the city as a state of mind."

Free public talks about the exhibition will be given by Petti at 12:15 p.m. June 12 and by the Ackland’s Curator of Exhibitions Barbara Matilsky at 12:15 p.m. Sept. 4. "Eye in the Sky" was made possible by the William Hayes Ackland Trust.

Since the early 20th century, many artists have departed from representational subject matter in favor of abstraction, often laden with unconscious thoughts and emotions, Petti said. Abstraction remains a prevalent trend. Consider New York artist Elizabeth Murray’s "Open Book Drawing," a pastel work created near the time of her daughter’s birth. Its womb-like association suggests Murray’s subconscious reflections on the female body, sexuality and motherhood, Petti said.

Also in the show is an untitled work by Belgian Vik Muniz, who transforms photographic reproductions of familiar images into what he terms "photographic delusions." He alters the reproductions by applying unconventional, often edible materials, such as sugar, dirt, thread and chocolate syrup, then re-photographs them.

His work in the Ackland show is a photograph of Caravaggio’s 1590 painting "Medusa," enhanced with pasta sauce, re-photographed and printed on a porcelain plate. A mythological figure from the ancient Mediterranean world, Medusa possessed a frightening demeanor symbolizing both repulsion and protection. Here, Muniz extracts a powerful image rooted in mythology and art history in such a way as to displace meaning and stimulate new interpretations, Petti said.

From Bruce Wall of New York, the Ackland presents the cartoon-like painting "Metro Freako #32," in which a mutant monster wildly devours New York City inhabitants and skyscrapers that explode into fractures of color.

"Wall builds up a canvas with Styrofoam, then carves and undercuts it before applying bright, clashing acrylic paint," Petti said. "The resulting construction produces the startling effect of New York’s hilarity and fun gone awry, consumed now by urban angst."

Tony Oursler’s "Eye in the Sky" uses video projection and sound to simulate the toxic effects of watching television, she said. A single eye compulsively watches rapidly changing channels on a television screen that is reflected in its iris. Invoking an altered state of mind, Oursler, of New York, presents the disembodied eye as metaphor for the human condition in a media-saturated age, she said.

"Although this is by no means a comprehensive exhibition, it conveys the diversity of contemporary art and lets viewers experience the work and ideas of 20^th-century artists in response to the culture of our time," Petti said.

The Ackland, on South Columbia Street near Franklin Street, opens from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 1-5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free. For more information, call 919-406-9837 (recorded information), 919-966-5736 (museum office) or 919-962-0837 (TTY), or visit the World Wide Web site www.ackland.org.

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