Naked Night

As part of class, we had to go to the MFA thesis show called "Naked Night". This show took up all 3 rooms in Tyler's small gallery. The name of the show itself is enough to give someone a certain expectation of what they would find on the inside but all expectations will be let down, in a good way, by what's actually going on. From outside the gallery, the rooms all appear to be empty. But upon walking in you find very little in the first room and since the second room is blocked off, it leaves you hoping to be bombarded with some answers in the next. There was a scattering of items on the floor such as shoes, an ash tray, jars, vases, records, and grapes. To the one side items were placed on black yoga mats and cider blocks on the other. The items on the black yoga mat were completely covered in what I'm assuming is black paint. Each item was evenly spaced and given it's own spot on the mat; nothing was on top of each other or sharing a spot with another item. The items ranged from being unrecognizable to being the actual object without being modified. On the other side, items were placed on cinder blocks. There were little wooden sticks on the cinder blocks (which was in a semi-circle) that, if I remember correctly, were the colors of the rainbow. There was also the bristles of the broom and another black object. Placed away from this semi-circle of cinder blocks was a small stack of cinder blocks that had what almost looked like crushed charcoal spread over it. In the center of the room was a peace sign made out of rope. In the center of the dividing wall was metal rods that spelled out "I <3 U 4E" which one can only assume means I love you forever.

The second room you walk into with hopes of getting some answers as to what the first meant, only to find even less in this room than the first. There's a poorly made table that is holding up a marble slab with some sort of crater-like thing in the center of it that I really can't give a name to. There is a piece of paper that is torn a little on the table and I'm not really sure whether it wasn't supposed to be there or if it was intentionally put there. I looked around and there was nothing but a few spot lights on this poor excuse for a table. I didn't really notice until I came out of the third room that there was a black flag hanging on the dividing wall between rooms 1 and 2. The flag is held from a single point making it almost impossible to see the ying and yang symbols on the flag. 

The third room is dark and lonely. A single wall is lit up with a blurry looking projection. It's really slowed down. There's a new overwhelming sound in the room. But in reality, it's always been there but now it isn't just a background. You can tell they're supposed to be words. There's a somewhat meditative quality to the words that are slowed down so much it's impossible to comprehend. There is a white and black woman and what I think is an Asian man. There is a lot of tension between the two women. The black woman is doing a dance. The Asian man pops up and turns his head, his mouth going along with the slowed down words. At the end, the women have a passionate kiss and the white woman looks at the screen as if to challenge the audience. 

There are links between all the rooms but they are somewhat easy to overlook. For one thing, the sound is heard throughout all the rooms. The less stuff in the room, the louder the sound is. There is a similarity in a photograph on the wall in the first room of the mixed race couple in the video in the third room. The black from the first room is found in the second room on the ying yang flag. The marble on the table in the second room resembles a photograph in the first room that one could easily claim was marble. The ying yang symbols on the flag go with peace just like the peace sign, perhaps even the yoga mats. The yoga mats go along with the meditative feel you get in the third room. These parallels are small things. Things one might easily overlook and think nothing about if they missed a part.

Everything just feels very empty and solemn. But is that because there isn't much in the gallery? Is that because galleries always feel that way to me? Or is this the feeling she created? How am I actually supposed to feel about it all? How am I supposed to read it? There are so many things one could draw from this exhibition. I think everyone can draw that it has to do with a lesbian relationship, but that's only if you look very very closely and think about it. Is this a statement for or against a homosexual relationship? The black and lack of color could be interpreted as sinful or as mournful. The blurriness and slow-motion of the video could be interpreted as our blurred views in society or it could be viewed as craziness as if people were on drugs to consider this type of relationship. I don't really know which side to fall on.

Good art doesn't always need to have a clear message, but it at least needs to be able to communicate to it's audience. I'm sure there were handfuls of people that left feeling moved and inspired. I will be perfectly honest, I'm not entirely sure what was going on in there. Maybe it's because I'm narrow-minded. Or because I don't think everything should be considered art. I don't really know the answer. But as I walked around that gallery I was confused. It's taken me days to even come up with this because I've dwelled on the title and it's really not even a reaction with much substance; I'm rambling. There were many parts that were just utterly confusing to me. The piece of paper on the marble counter top, the difference in the items on the mat, and what the table was supposed to be. There is a very strong message here; I know there is. But it's just in some foreign language.