summer 2013Brian Dettmer: Elemental

Stacey Steers: Night Hunter

Contemporary Magic: A Tarot Deck Project

Wade Mickley: Terribly Wonderful

ARTlab | Stacey Steers selected films5 / 3 0 / 1 3 – 8 / 1 8 / 1 3

THE HANGED MANPATRICK McMULLANXII

Brian Dettmer, Tower (Brittanica 58), 2012 | Stacey Steers, Night Hunter, 2011 | Patrick McMullan, The Hanged Man, 2010

IDEAS FOR ENJOYING THE GALLERIESTry this looking guide for the young, and young-at-heart, museum visitor.

START WITH LOOKINGMost works of art do not reveal themselves in just a glance. Try “reading” the work. Find a point that captures your eye and then move your gaze across and around the work. Try looking from different places (near or far, standing vs. sitting). You’ll be surprised by what you can learn just by looking.

Parents: You can help model looking by verbalizing where your eyes are moving to and why.

ENCOURAGE QUESTIONSWhether visiting with a youngster, friend, or by yourself, it’s important to recognize the questions that surface. What are some types of questions you might consider? Try these as you look:

• Is there a story? What is it? • Is there a message or symbolism?

• What feeling does this work project? • Do you get a sense of time or place?

Parents: You can incorporate counting, word choice and the 5 senses into your discussion. Try asking:

• How many ___ do you see? • How would this color taste?

• What 3 words describe what’s • What might this feel like if you could happening? touch it?

MAKING LOOKING ACTIVEImagine you are inside the work of art. Where would you explore? Try standing like something or someone in the piece. You can also make a tiny telescope with your hand (make a circle with your thumb and fingers and look through it). This will help you find details and focus your looking.

Parents: This is a great way to make looking fun. Play “I Spy.“ Choose an artwork with lots of details and describe a section to your child. Have them guess where it is. Reverse roles and enjoy!

WHEN YOU’VE TRIED IT ALL, THEN READResist the urge to start with the wall label, and trust your looking. After you’ve shared your questions and interpretations, compare your ideas to the wall label. Often, there is additional information you may not have gained just by looking - but you’ll be surprised how much learned on your own.

Parents: This is a great opportunity to impart lifelong skills, such as reading and writing. Look for new words, and read together!

BRIAN DETTMER: ElementalLike many of us, you may have a place in your home where obsolete or unwanted books are put out to pasture. Encyclopedia sets, textbooks, and volumes of outdated scientific research sit moldering and neglected never to be read again. As digital media like tablets, smart phones, laptops and e-readers become more prevalent in our lives, that stack of unwanted books grows. Once upon a time, to own a book was a sign of wealth. It signified access to information and, as Sir Francis Bacon once said, “Knowledge is power.” But, knowledge is a fluid thing and its relevance changes as time passes. Today, contemporary society provides easy and ready access to almost any type of information at any time

desired. More and more often, electronic devices, instead of books, are our preferred source for that information.

Brian Dettmer is a sculptor who questions the importance of the book and what it means as our collective knowledge transitions from the page to cyberspace. He creates sculptures from books that would otherwise be headed to basements, storage units, recycling centers and landfills. They are given a new life as intricate and exquisite works of art that take shape in a vast array of shapes, sizes, and iterations.

Dettmer is certainly not the first artist to work with discarded materials. Artists from as far back as the turn of the last century regarded trash as a source of inspiration and material in art making. The Dadaists, who were prevalent during World War I and slightly beyond, were among the first to do so. Of note, an artist named Hannah Höch (1889-1978), clipped apart discarded newspapers and raised the collage to a high art form. This began an important trend in art that is still in use today. However, Dettmer’s approach is somewhat different than many contemporary artists who work with found materials, and even other sculptors who use books as their medium. He examines the nature of the book itself, and what it means when the information it contains is considered obsolete.

Writers and critics have used different words in describing Dettmer’s work. He is sometimes referred to as a book surgeon or an artist who performs autopsies on dead books. This seems a bit inaccurate to his process. When the artist creates

Brian Dettmer, The Emergence of Society, 2012

a sculpture, he seals the edges of the book(s) and then painstakingly excavates the layers with tweezers and X-acto knives. Not unlike someone who is reading, he does not know what expect as he makes his way to the next page. At the end of the process, Dettmer has uncovered and breathed new life into the essential beauty of his material. New understanding is gained from obsolete knowledge contained in the text and images. In this sense Dettmer might be regarded as an archeologist rather than a coroner. We gaze at Brian Dettmer’s sculptures and wonder in the beauty of these formerly unwanted books. They remind us that perhaps it is time to consider what it means as the printed word fades from popularity.

Originally from Chicago, IL, Brian Dettmer is an internationally known sculptor. He has exhibited his work throughout the United States and Europe. His work is held in collections throughout the world. The artist currently lives and works in Atlanta, GA. (www.briandettmer.com) Organized by the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. Curated by Heather Hakimzadeh. MOCA would like to thank Brian Dettmer for his help in realizing this exhibition.

STACEY STEERS: Night Hunter Animated film Night Hunter and installation Night Hunter House project a haunting, free-floating narrative that compels viewers to peer ever closer. A Victorian house serves as both the backdrop and a supporting character for the protagonist, silent-era film star, Lillian Gish. Steers lifted Gish from some of her most famous movies. She may be a wife or a mother, who seems to be plodding through the daily grind of running a household in the film Night Hunter. Slowly, bizarre elements creep into her domestic setting. Eggs, insects and snakes insinuate themselves into spaces that Stacey Steers, Night Hunter, 2011.

Brian Dettmer, Tower (Brittanica 58), 2012

are usually considered a refuge from danger. Eventually, Gish realizes that these profound changes are occurring to her as well and she is slowing transforming into a bird. The stifling house can no longer contain her; she escapes into the night.

Steers employs symbolic elements in her work as metaphors to illustrate the profound personal changes that are a part of human life. A shift in viewpoint can transform what was once comfortable and safe into something strange and oppressive. For example, simply growing older can shake core beliefs, call into question the paths we have taken and the decisions we have made. Night Hunter challenges us to consider whether to feel empathy for the heroine or regard her as living a nightmare of her own making. In Maurice Sendak’s popular children’s book Where the Wild Things Are, the hero Max eventually chose the sanctity of his home to the wild jungle. Steers cites Sendak as an influence on her work, but her heroine makes a very different choice than little Max.

Night Hunter shares common roots with other forms of literature as well. The setting and illustrations used to make the film imply a relationship to Victorian literature. The desperately wild characters described in Emily and Charlotte Brontë’s novels would be right at home in the Night Hunter House. Yet, Steer’s film feels true to contemporary life as well. Pioneering filmmakers like the Brothers Quay and popular culture icon Tim Burton have created cinematic masterpieces that mesh with the moody and melancholy setting of Night Hunter.

The result is a film that is both disturbing and yet familiar. As we watch the bizarre events unfold around the open and innocent Lillian Gish, we are led to a certain amount of introspection. The artist uses iconography that is accessible and yet holds different meanings for all of us. Who are we, how did we get there and is this where we really want to be?

Stacey Steers holds an Advanced Animation Certificate from the Zagreb Film Studio in Croatia, a BFA in Fine Arts and Film from the University of Colorado, Boulder where she currently lives and teaches Animation and Film Production. She has created six animated short-films some of which have premiered at Present Music, 2012 and Sundance Film Festival, Park City, UT. (www.staceysteers.com)

Organized by the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. Curated by Heather Hakimzadeh. MOCA would like to thank Stacey Steers for her help in realizing this exhibition.

Stacey Steers, Night Hunter, 2011.

CONTEMPORARY MAGIC: A Tarot Deck Project This summer, MOCA welcomes the opportunity to highlight some of the most celebrated contemporary artists and designers of our time. For the exhibition, Contemporary Magic: A Tarot Deck Project, each card of a traditional Tarot deck was assigned to an artist or designer. The artists then reimagined their allotted card to incorporate personal symbols and create an original work of art.

There are many different theories regarding the history of Tarot cards. The most popular asserts that Tarot cards made their appearance in 15th century Europe where they were used in a card game called Triumph. This game was similar to the modern day version of Whist and was common throughout the European continent. It was not until about the 18th century that those interested in the occult associated deeper significance with Tarot. It attracted fortunetellers, who still use Tarot as a means of divination today.

Most tarot decks have a similar structure. There are 78 cards in total, separated into one major and four minor “arcanas.” Arcana is the Latin word for secrets, or mysteries. The minor arcanas are 4 suits of 14 cards: Coins, Cups, Wands and Swords. The major arcana has 22 cards with symbols that represent different facets of human life.

This exhibition continues a long artistic history of interest and engagement with mystical signs and symbols. Throughout time, humanity has continued to strive for an understanding of the mysteries of the universe. Many Renaissance scholars and philosophers believed special, secret knowledge was lost with the ancient Greeks. From this belief, the philosophical tradition called Alchemy was born. Alchemists hoped to discover chemical formulas that would turn lead to gold and extend human life indefinitely. Famous artists like Caravaggio and Pieter Brueghel, who lived in the 16th century, sometimes represented alchemical symbols in their paintings.

QUEEN OF COINSJOSEPHINE MECKSEPER

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Josephine Meckseper, Queen of Coins, 2010.

Patrick McMullan, The Hanged Man, 2010.

Christian Louboutin, Nine of Cups, 2010.

Cao Fei, Three of Wands, 2010.

Many Twentieth century artists also investigated mystical symbols and systems of belief. Georgia O’Keefe, of the famed flower paintings, was an occultist who believed otherworldly forces influenced her art.

Surrealist artist Salvador Dali became interested in Tarot cards through the influence of his wife, Gala. He created a set of Tarot cards that were used in the James Bond movie, Live and Let Die. Artist, Nikki de St Phalle created a mosaic Tarot garden in Southern Tuscany which you can visit today. More recently, contemporary artist Francesco Clemente also created his own Tarot deck. He used many of his friends and figures famous in the art world as figures in the deck, casting himself as The Fool.

In many ways the symbols of Tarot are deeply rooted in our visual language. Most of us can conjure our own images and meanings when we hear words like “Sun,” “Fool,” “Justice” and “Death.”

The artists who participated in this exhibition have taken many different approaches to the creation of their card. Every card is a reflection of a unique personal iconography, process and approach to making art. These cards reflect a long and important history of Tarot, but also recognize that many of the symbols have very different meanings for us today. As you explore the works that are grouped along the walls according to suit, feel free to connect with the images that have meaning for your life.

– Heather Hakimzadeh, Curator

Contemporary Magic: A Tarot Deck Art Project. Curated by Stacy Engman.Traveling Show Made Possible by: KLÜP Foundation.

WADE MICKLEY: TERRIBLY WONDERFULWade Mickley takes on many different roles as an artist. He is a sculptor; creating works that use bold colors, graphic imagery and a broad range of materials. He is a free-lance illustrator who is a favorite with companies that feature outdoor adventure or market to children. Finally, he is a graphic and multimedia designer for NASA. It is easy to imagine that filling so many roles as an artist would mean that Mickley’s body of work would seem disconnected and jumbled. Instead, Mickley’s created a unified, signature body of work that holds broad appeal. Wade Mickley, Mr. Fatty, 2011.

The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art is funded in part by the citizens of Virginia Beach through a grant from the City of Virginia Beach Arts & Humanities Commission, and by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Business Consortium for Arts Support and Hampton Roads Community Foundation.

THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS IN THE ARTS: Howard Rodman | Walter and Valerie Neff | John and Beth Overton BCF - Boom Your Brand | UBS/The Duckworth Group - J. Rodney Duckworth

2200 Parks Ave | Virginia Beachwww.VirginiaMOCA.org | 757.425.0000

As an artist, Mickley draws inspiration from a variety of sources, including comics, books, magazines, the internet, the news and friendships with other artists. Many of the works shown here are called “assemblage,” which is a 3-D composition constructed from found or gathered objects. Mickley continues a long line of artists who used assemblage as part of their work, including Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, Robert Rauschenberg and Louise Nevelson.

Mickley’s sculptures reference folk or “outsider” art and feature materials that have a rough or weathered look. In addition to shaped and painted wood, there are broken roof tiles, vinyl records, rusted bits of metal, and signs.

Newport News artist Wade Mickley holds a BFA in Communication Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University and studied sculpture at Old Dominion University. Mickley has had numerous shows and won best in show at the Charles H. Taylor Member’s Show in 2012. (www.wamickley.com)

Organized by the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. Curated by Heather Hakimzadeh. MOCA would like to thank Stacey Steers for her help in realizing this exhibition.

ARTLABExplore our interactive gallery, complete with hands-on activities, reading materials, and videos for connecting with art. Learn more about artists featured in our current exhibitions or become an artist yourself!

STACEY STEERS SELECTED FILMSExplore three of Steers’ early films that play in a continuous loop in our Price Auditorium including Phantom Canyon (2006), Totem (1999) and Watunna (1990).