Once again, the McDonough Museum of Art, Youngstown Ohio, brings to our community another outstanding exhibition by an internationally recognized, award winning artist. Entitled "Cinder", this show of work by Susanne Slavick is contemporary, cutting edge and profound. Dealing with issues of War, History and the clashes between East and West, Slavick's work presents complex and controversial issues with a sense of beauty and poetry through the combined use of digital photography and hand painted images.
This is a very large show, filling 2 entire floors of the museum. The sizes range from the small and intimate to the extremely large and overwhelming. The largest work (approximately 6 foot by 9 foot) is a multi-panel image depicting a life size vehicle that is blast and bullet ridden.
The curatorial staff did a fine job of presenting this show. Having worked as a museum curator, I can attest that a show of this size and scope offers many challenges, and the staff certainly rose to the occasion. Despite the sometime harsh imagery and complex messages, I was able to digest all that was being offered without feeling confused or imposed upon.
I give the McDonough Museum a tremendous amount of credit for remaining a credible and relevant voice for the Contemporary Arts in our community. It is an asset that becomes even more valuable as our city receives international recognition. I would venture to say that no other art institution in our region is willing to take the risks that the McDonough has taken to promote the Contemporary Arts!
Click here to access the McDonough Museum website. When there click on "Exhibitions" to access further information on the Slavick show, including the Artist Statement and her website.
4 comments:
Thanx for the info!
I'll have to check that out.
Dear Jason,
Thank you for your thoughts and comments on my show and especially for the your praise of the McDonough museum and staff who I thoroughly enjoyed working with. I did want to clarify one point, however. The images I draw from are illustrations and illuminations for the epic literature of Persia.
The Shāhnāmeh (and Firdawsī's poetic version of it) is the national epic of Persian people and of the Iranian World. It is the history of the Persian world BEFORE the Arab conquest. It is not a holy Arabic text. Likewise, Nizami is considered the greatest romantic epic poet of Persia and many of the images I look at are illustrations to his and Firdawsī' work. Neither Firdawsī' nor Nizâmi wrote holy Arab texts. There is a distinction between Arab and Persian and Islamic as there is a distinction between sacred and secular, though Persia (now Iran) did eventually become part of the Islamic Empire.
Part of my motivation is to lead us to better understand peoples and places often regarded and treated as our "enemy," so I hope this clarification contributes to that understanding.
Thanks again,
Susanne
Dear Jason,
Thank you for your thoughts and comments on my show and especially for the your praise of the McDonough museum and staff who I thoroughly enjoyed working with. I did want to clarify one point, however. The images I draw from are illustrations and illuminations for the epic literature of Persia.
The Shāhnāmeh (and Firdawsī's poetic version of it) is the national epic of Persian people and of the Iranian World. It is the history of the Persian world BEFORE the Arab conquest. It is not a holy Arabic text. Likewise, Nizami is considered the greatest romantic epic poet of Persia and many of the images I look at are illustrations to his and Firdawsī' work. Neither Firdawsī' nor Nizâmi wrote holy Arab texts. There is a distinction between Arab and Persian and Islamic as there is a distinction between sacred and secular, though Persia (now Iran) did eventually become part of the Islamic Empire.
Part of my motivation is to lead us to better understand peoples and places often regarded and treated as our "enemy," so I hope this clarification contributes to that understanding.
Thanks again,
Susanne
This is a really intense piece of art!
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