Landscape is a term that has possessed a variety of related definitions in the past. At Sculpture Center’s group exhibition, Degrees of Remove: Landscape and Affect, landscape is “as an interpreted notion of space.” The exhibit questions how perceptions of landscape have changed since technology has made it possible to engage in landscapes far removed from our physical locations– or if we can really engage in them at all. Curated by Sarina Basta and Fionn Meade, the exhibition will run until the end of this month and has a corresponding film series at Anthology Film Archives.
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Left to right: L.A. Painting (starter) and L.A. Painting (a month in L.A.), Marie Jager
Located in the basement floor of the Sculpture Center, the exhibit is experienced through four separated hallways that allows visitors to contemplate pieces in a sort of dis-jointed sequence. Through a variety of media, each artist tells his own narrative and point of view.
In Cyprien Gaillard’s Colour Like No Other, three perspectives of the same building demolition proves how different interpretations can be possible for one action. In a Sony ad campaign, the building is a stage for a theatrical show where bursts of paint shoot out of the building while dramatic music plays. However, a framed press release with a single, static image and a black-and-white film that features the building in its urban context offer two more sobering views on the building’s demolition. The clip of the Sony campaign can be viewed here.
Marie Jager offers two pieces that offers some insight into Los Angeles’ car culture. L.A. Painting (starter) seems simple enough: a white canvas marked only by the exhaust created by starting a car engine. Can this loosely be considered a landscape painting? It shows no physical space, but rather is the record of a specific region’s culture.
An examination on how we perceive both landscapes of the past and the present, Degrees of Remove asks how we perceive landscapes near and afar in the face of ever-increasing technology.
+ Sculpture Center, Long Island City
+ Anthology Film Archives
Photos by Jason Mandella
