Slow Dialogues: Time, Space, and Scale

Slow Dialogues: Time, Space, and Scale is an exhibition at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) in San Francisco.  The show is open from April 22 - July 10, 2016.  The exhibition was curated by Slow Research Lab (an interdisciplinary research and curatorial group based in the Netherlands) and features the work of three artists, Jorge Oteros-Pailos, Megumi Matsubara, and Maria Blaisse.

 Show title.

All of the artists' work is located on the top floor of the YBCA, but the show is organized in a way where the artworks were in and created their own space.  Although I felt the partitioned layout of Slow Dialogues somewhat diminished the cohesion of the artworks, it also seemed strategic in that the three artists covered different subject matter.

Beginning with Jorge Oteros-Pailos's The Ethics of Dust: Old United States Mint, San Francisco, viewers are confronted with a fact of modern society: pollution.  In a stark and haunting portrayal of human-made detritus and debris, Oteros-Pailos created several floating sheets that manifest as half-formed brick buildings.  The two "buildings" are really cast sheets of latex that picked up the pollutants and dust from two chimneys of the Old United States Mint, which originated during the Gold Rush era.  Upon entering the room that houses Oteros-Pailos's artwork, one is also confronted by the caustic smell of the materials.  This seemed intentional by the artist to further emphasize the theme of pollution and to create a multi-dimensional viewer experience.  The Ethics of Dust as an entire series not only addresses pollution but also many concepts related to it and to Oteros-Pailos's art.  For example, his art prompts discussion on industrialization, urban development, decay, and redevelopment, global capitalism, and preservation.  The preservation component of Oteros-Pailos's work is particularly complex because through his process of laying latex sheets on old, pollutant-laden building walls, he is preserving both the walls, by cleaning them of dirt and grime, and the actual pollutants because they are now stuck on his latex sheets.  The artist notes how they are "time-stains" that show the history of the building.  Although Oteros-Pailos's work may seem like a critique of pollutants in human society, he notes that his art is more ambiguous because "pollutants are part of our cultural heritage."  Overall, his work intertwines time, space, and scale with the multi-faceted histories and implications of pollution.

 Oteros-Pailos cleans a wall at the Alumix Factory in Bolzano, Italty (2008).  By laying latex sheets over dirt-covered walls, he can create a cast of the wall that is also laden in dirt.

 Photographs taken from Oteros-Pailos's exhibition, The Ethics of Dust: Doge's Palace, Venice, 2009.  The left scene shows the original palace wall, while the right shows the latex casting.

 Oteros-Pailos, The Ethics of Dust: Old United States Mint, San Francisco, 2008 - 2016, latex, pollution.

Another view of the latex "architecture."

Outside of the gallery room with The Ethics of Dust are Megumi Matsubara's artworks that address the concept of a garden and what factors into its presence, such as the upkeep and maintenance, the climate, and social elements.  Matsubara also chose the garden theme due to the YBCA's proximity to the Yerba Buena  Gardens.  Her collection of work, titled It Is a Garden, is a mysterious representation of the garden and its culture.  In various corners of the gallery and a corridor, Matsubara uses various media, such as archival prints, film, and mirrors to create a complex yet open dialogue on gardens and what part they play in society.  Like Oteros-Pailos's work and the theme of the exhibition, Matsubara clearly engages with space, both in the gallery and in a metaphorical garden.

Example of Matsubara's work, The Blind Dream, 2014.

The last artist of the group show is Maria Blaisse.  Like the other two artists, Blaisse also plays upon the thematic elements of time, space, and scale.  In her series, Traveling Geometry, Blaisse showcases latticed structures of bamboo (held together by silicone rubber joints) as a multi-purpose medium.  For example, two of the bamboo forms are presented as stationary sculptures; however, a video playing behind the two shows how those same sculptures can be taken apart and reconstructed into different forms in different contexts.  For example, the bamboo might be a net-like nest that encases the dancer, a "partner" that accompanies the dancer, or even a skirt.  Blaisse seems to emphasize how the bamboo structures can change over time, how they can change shape and size, and how they can change and create their own space through transformation.

 Blaisse, Traveling Geometry, 2008 - 2016, bamboo, silicone rubber, arduino.

 Video showing a dancer with one of Blaisse's "moving meshes."

Video that shows a dancer using one of Blaisse's meshes.

Slow Dialogues was a very interesting exhibition with its wide range of subject matter and media.  However, their work was united by the themes of time, space, and scale.  These themes were important focal points of each artist and their work, and they also offered an entry dialogue into the various societal, environmental, and cultural factors relate to the "worlds" created by the three artists.