For my third event I visited the Hammer Museum. I have wanted to visit for a while and I appreciated that this assignment gave me an excuse to go. They are currently hosting an exhibit called "Made in LA" featuring only LA based artists. One piece that I felt connected with what we have been learning in class was Candice Lin's
La Charada China. Because of her work with flowers in her art, it reminded me of Edward Steichen and George Gessert. I would have loved to see Steichens Delphinium visit in person, so this particular exhibit really caught my attention.
La Charada China was a room containing a raised earthen platform with a hole in the center in the shape of a man. Inside the hole, seeds of opium poppy, sugarcane, and a few poisonous plants were spread. This exhibit was fairly new to the museum, but overtime, using grow lights and an irrigation system, the hollow should fill with plant life. Lin was hoping to portray the history of oppression of Chinese people through the types of seeds she planted. The Opium wars were represented by the poppies, working side by side with slaves was represented with the sugarcane, and slave and worker uprisings were represented by the poisonous plants. Lin's goal was to bring to light past oppression and present a way that this history could be understood in the face of the current immigration crisis, human trafficking, and labor conditions. I thought it was a beautiful idea and it was unfortunate that I arrived before anything had bloomed. I look forward to seeing the piece develops over time.
For my third event I visited the Hammer Museum. I have wanted to visit for a while and I appreciated that this assignment gave me an excuse to go. They are currently hosting an exhibit called "Made in LA" featuring only LA based artists. One piece that I felt connected with what we have been learning in class was Candice Lin's La Charada China. Because of her work with flowers in her art, it reminded me of Edward Steichen and George Gessert. I would have loved to see Steichens Delphinium visit in person, so this particular exhibit really caught my attention.
La Charada China was a room containing a raised earthen platform with a hole in the center in the shape of a man. Inside the hole, seeds of opium poppy, sugarcane, and a few poisonous plants were spread. This exhibit was fairly new to the museum, but overtime, using grow lights and an irrigation system, the hollow should fill with plant life. Lin was hoping to portray the history of oppression of Chinese people through the types of seeds she planted. The Opium wars were represented by the poppies, working side by side with slaves was represented with the sugarcane, and slave and worker uprisings were represented by the poisonous plants. Lin's goal was to bring to light past oppression and present a way that this history could be understood in the face of the current immigration crisis, human trafficking, and labor conditions. I thought it was a beautiful idea and it was unfortunate that I arrived before anything had bloomed. I look forward to seeing the piece develops over time.
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