Friday, June 1, 2012
Arts / Visual Art Cauleen Smith's Sun Ra-inspired "A Star Is a Seed" at the MCA
Posted by Elly Fishman on 06.01.12 at 12:57 PM
- Courtesy of the artist
- "A Star Is a Seed"
"A Star Is a Seed" begins with The Ark After the Flood, a series of images, filtered through a fish tank, that vaguely represent a pastoral scene. It's accompanied by a recording of "Over the Rainbow" by Sun Ra, Mary Lou Williams, Art Tatum, and Keith Jarrett. While Smith plays with projected images in The Ark After the Flood, in The Infinity Vortex she abstracts the viewer's reflection through a maze of mirrors. At certain points I looked toward a mirrored wall and couldn't see my face; instead I found reflections of my profile and back. The title is an homage to Sun Ra, whose practice was imbued with science fiction language.
The main body of "A Star Is a Seed" is a series of video installations. One video depicts a rainy Chicago day in Chinatown. A strip mall comprising Chinese restaurants and businesses is mostly empty; only a few people crowd under awnings and staircases. The camera shakily pans toward an incoming line of musicians from the South Rich High School marching band. The group, clad in costumes, plays a few songs in the main courtyard as onlookers huddle around the perimeter. Unlike many of the other videos, there are no direct quotes or suggestions of Afro-Futurist language. Instead the band sings the Sun Ra tune "Space Is the Place" to their ad hoc audience. Despite many poignant moments in Smith's videos, they are a bit long-winded, and I found my attention wavering. However, once I emerged from the screening room and made my way home, I realized Smith had given me an entirely new perspective of the city I call home.
Tue 10 AM-8 PM, Wed-Sun 10 AM-5 PM, Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago, 312-280-2660, mcachicago.org, $7-$12, free for children 12 and under and military members. Free on Tuesdays.
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Related Locations
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Museum of Contemporary Art
- 220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago Gold Coast/Mag Mile/Streeterville IL 60611
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312-280-2660
- mcachicago.org
- (based on 6 user reviews)
