Eddie Rice
ART 1030-130742
Art Review
3/15/2016

Time, Space & Matter: Five Installations Exploring Natural Phenomena

The following is a review of Jane McFadden’s critique of Time, Space & Matter: Five Installations Exploring Natural Phenomena, written on March 26, 2015. McFadden is currently chair of the humanities and sciences department at the Art Center College of Design. The exhibit is currently on display at the Pasadena Museum of California Art and is curated by Betty Ann Brown.
McFadden does make a grand generalization about the exhibit. McFadden begins her critique with the opinion that the exhibit as a whole fails to meet its claim that “re-situating, commenting on, and giving new form to environmental processes and the various histories of human interaction with them.” The main theme of this exhibit is the relationship between man, nature, and where this relationship falls in the grand scheme of existence. Upon further review of the works included in the exhibit, I concluded that I lean towards agreeing with McFadden’s generalization that the exhibit misses the target it was aiming for. McFadden’s explanation of her opinion is very sensible and I find that its accuracy is apparent to the audience. I wouldn’t change much at all about the author’s critique simply because I feel like it was written in a way that’s easy to understand and allows the audience to form a similar opinion.
McFadden states that the exhibit has a “the exhibition as a whole, and some of the works within it, is the limited understanding of “natural phenomena” it puts forth.” I find this statement to be the main reasoning behind the author’s generalization of the exhibit. Suvan Geer’s "A Space with Two Movements" was a large focal point of McFadden’s critique. McFadden effectively lays out many plausible opinions supporting the notion that the exhibit fails to meet is goal. She states, “Is a rock prone to gravity in isolation any affect of nature that matters? The question becomes: what is at risk when materials and processes act in a seemingly singular manner?” The aforementioned quote is in reference to "A Space with Two Movements" and very accurately describes how the work misses the mark. Part of the reason I believe the exhibit doesn’t click with audiences is that the comprised works are difficult to grasp and analyze. The pieces that make the exhibit really reach to represent the relationship between man, nature, time and space. After reading the critique, I found myself agreeing more and more with McFadden’s opinion that this exhibit contains an “overly broad focus.”
McFadden is very convincing that the works in the exhibit “finds a more negotiable entry point in essential natural processes of decay and renewal that fuel organic life.” I feel as if this critiques vantage point could be applied to many of the exhibits studied in this course, at least from my point of view. Many exhibits and works are difficult to grasp and analyze for the average student with a limited exposure to art. Overall, I enjoyed McFadden’s critique and give it an excellent rating.

Sources
McFadden, Jane. "Time, Space & Matter: Five Installations Exploring Natural Phenomena." Time, Space & Matter: Five Installations Exploring Natural Phenomena. College Art Association, 26 Mar. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

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