The hair exhibit was a little strange. Admittedly, the explanation was really cool (the artists were making a statement about how hair is viewed as attractive on people and really gross once fallen off the scalp—so true), but I still couldn't get over the shocked-and-in-disgust factor in seeing hair on tiles, portrayed as art no less. I guess a lot of contemporary art is like that though. There are some pieces you look at with your eyebrows scrunched together and wonder, "how is this art?" Sometimes the title or explanatory summaries help clarify the artist's intentions... but when there are no summaries and the title is "Untitled," contemporary art can be a bit frustrating.
There were some very interesting pieces at the space though. My favorite of the night were the bookmarks. There was a whole wall dedicated to a line of bookmarks, posted on top of an ink-stamped page of a book to give it the illusion that the bookmarks are resting in-between an open page spread. Some of the bookmarks were real bookmarks but most of them were random pieces of paper. People apparently use a variety of unusual things as bookmarks: grocery lists, child-drawn pictures, notes from history class...etc. The most memorable of the ones on display was the financial bucket list. Things like "create a beautiful home" and "travel to Europe and China" were included among other personal benchmarks of financial success. It's amazing how much you can learn about someone from their bookmark.
In my humble opinion, I think the best kinds of contemporary art are those that makes statements about people and their lives. The best ones usually fall into one of two categories: things that are seemingly obvious/boring or things that are taboo. Contemporary art is the perfect place for both. (Like post secret! If you haven't heard of it, please check out www.postsecret.com, a perfect example of contemporary art.)
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the Urban Arts Space. Please feel free to comment about your favorite and least favorite pieces if you would like.
Thanks and sorry for the lengthy post!
I agree that some of the art seemed unusual, but once I understood the message behind it I ended up liking most of the pieces. I think the most memorable work I saw at the Urban Arts Space was the video of the man digging himself into a hole on the beach...I couldn't look away. I also enjoyed the exhibit about the passage of time, especially the piece where you could see your silhouette projected onto the screen with the leaves during each of the seasons. Overall, I enjoyed the tour and am glad I was able to experience the artwork there!
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