More info about the exhibition on the Sheldon’s web site (also an MP3 of the artist speaking!)
I have a lot to say about Celaya’s lecture on Tuesday night, but I probably won’t get to that until next Tuesday. In the meantime, here’s my initial thoughts about the exhibition. I need to spend more time in the room, and this may be upaated.
Enrique Martinez Celeya last came to the Sheldon in 2003 to work on “the October Cycle” (see here and here.
(Read Celeya’s Short Bio here)
Celaya’s work often deals with a creative reinterpretation. An installation in a gallery or museum doesn’t mean that a work is done and finished, the work can continue to grow. In the case of “Coming Home” the boy and elk that are the central component to “Coming Home” were originally exhibited in 2001 as part of another installation. Dieter Rosenkranz bought that installation and generously donated the boy and elk to the Sheldon. Since the Sheldon did not have the other pieces (works on paper) that went with the original exhibit, a new installation was created with Celaya.
The effect is quite enveloping. I personally am a big fan of anything that alters the “white box” aesthetic of museums- the new, wrapped room is at once comfortable because if the forest imagery and oddly disconcerting. The pose of the boy is the most telling; he is a little awkward, as if he has not fully realized his place in the world. The confrontation with the elk serves to reinforce this. The elk is massive and dwarfs the boy, making him seem insignificant and fragile. The photographs of the boy in the ocean further illustrate his fragility and isolation.
The pictures of the woman in the room introduce another odd presence, and I am left wondering if this is a mother, a saint, and angel, a sister, a friend, or, perhaps, if there is no connection at all, just a presence that further sets the boy apart. While in a photograph hanging on the wall the woman is fully covered with makeup, the photo of her that is part of the “wallpaper” of the room shows her with no makeup from the neck up. This creates a strange dichotomy- if the woman existed only in the photograph, her presence would remain alien and separate, but having her “mask” removed on the wallpaper humanizes her. This human woman seems at once out of place and at home in this strange environment. As a visitor, I connect with her, and see her as an ally in my experience of the work- she is part of the room, but she stands apart as well.
From the photos I’ve seen of the previous installation of the boy and elk, I much prefer the current installation, which is, as a whole, more encompassing than the previous exhibition. The space at the Sheldon is ideal, in that it is closed, so when one is in this room one can more fully experience it.
As a side note- this is one of those exhibits that greatly benefits from a solo visit. While it’s nice to see the work with other people, it’s also distracting. It’s worth the effort to try and get to the Sheldon at some not too crowded time.
One other note- I’ve been trying to think of an appropriate soundtrack to the exhibition. I’m going to experiment with bringing in different music on my MP3 player. Silence is good, but it seems like there would be some kind of sound that complements the installation as well.