John Wieland Gallery Visit

The Wednesday January 28th visit to The Wieland Gallery felt like Dorothy Gale meets Area 51.

There's no place like home, and very few know where it is and what goes on inside.

The central theme of the Wieland's private collection is based around the concept of "house", and is interpreted by dozens of artists through paintings, drawings, sculptures and photographs.

In some of the photographs the house was used as an object, in relationship to the location it resided on or near to. It occasionally presented me with various questions like who occupied the space, what kind of living took place within it, and ultimately what was left behind upon vacating it.

In Mitch Epstein's Amos Power Plant the modest post WW2 home looked almost sacrificial to the monstrously imposing cooling tower in the background. Another photo that comes to mind is the wooden structure constructed in the middle of the Nevada desert for the atomic bomb testing program that "emulated" the size and design of a typical suburban home. It's fate was pre-destined in the name of science and national security.

In other photographs the house seemed implied, or secondary in importance. Abelardo Morell's Lauren and Brady in the Shadow Of Our House and Julie Blackmon's Girl Across the Street had a playful sense of life seen through the eyes of children. The house seemed to be an extension of their personal security zone allowing them freedom to play and socially interact.

And then there is Gregory Crewdson's collection. Beyond the high production value and celebrity participation, I started looking a little more closely at what was going on. I observed emotionally-vacant, sleep walking people occupy a space of "amplified" life. Using the people/person as the center point in the composition, every expanded concentric circle outward provided objects of color and activity that contrasted the expressed emptiness. If I recall, our W.G. hostess said that Crewdson wanted to allow the viewer "to arrive at their own narrative" in what they saw. I saw situational contrast, emotional contrast, and tonal/color contrast. All very deliberately designed and well orchestrated.

Another selection I was enamored with was Martha Rosler's Here and There photo collages, using images from House Beautiful and Life Magazine's coverage of the Vietnam War. Her message was very clear and executed without overt complexity.

Some of the sculptural samples I enjoyed were Brian Tolle's The Forgotton vinyl house that looked like a mini-tent, and Roy Lichtenstein's House using optical illusion to play with perspective.

I was giddy when I came upon Ansel Adams' Moonrise Over Hernandez, but was disappointed by the print quality. I found Jerry Uelsmann's print (quality) to be far superior.

Overall, I found the Wieland Gallery experience rewarding and appreciative. And the idea of home. Not house, but home. Maybe the difference between a house and home is the living that takes place within it.