I went to the List Visual Arts Center at MIT yesterday to check out Michael Joo's solo exhibition. I vaguely remembered that he had done a video piece for Creative Time's program in the Anchorage (before they stopped doing shows there for fear of terrorism) - something about it had caught my memory, and I was interested in what he's done since then.
I had mixed reactions to the show. Some of the works where he's dealing with identity and the stereotype of "Asian-ness" seem to go for the obvious and illustrative, such as the towers of salt consumed by various famous figures in Asian history. It seems to be coming from a very cold, scientific point of view - perhaps a little too thought out. It was like Joo was thinking, "I want people to react exactly this way when they see it". Which, as an artist, you can't ever assume. You can aim for something to resonate a certain way, but you can't force it - then it just seems too contrived.
Other pieces were really wonderful, inspired even - and a testament to the fact that you can successfully mix the themes of scientific inquiry and identity. The noose piece was one of them - Joo had somehow coaxed a layer of quartz crystals to grow on the noose, right at the knot. It was a striking visual piece that brought a host of emotions and evoked subtle meanings all by itself. I didn't need to read a label that explained the scientifc background behind it all.
I'm usually not a big fan of video art, but he (mostly) manages to evoke a sense of wonder and mystery in "Salt Transfer Cycle". Basically, he swims through 2000 lbs. of MSG, then crawls through the salt flats of Utah, and then ends up covered in salt, in a meadow with some elk. "Circannual Rhythm (pibloktok)" (2003), Joo's newest video, gives a sense of decay and decline, through his on-foot journey through the Alaskan wilderness, and the filming of a caribou carcass in a field. However, the second part of the video I wasn't too excited about - a man is in the arctic tundra and has an epileptic fit. Suddenly there's a monochromatic 3-d model of the man spinning around with scientific diagrams flying all over the place. Then texture and color appear too on the 3-d model!! ooh! Joo should stick to video until he's mastered Maya more completely, or at least figure out how to incorporate his animations more convincingly.
All in all, it was an inspiring show for me. I can appreciate his solutions in working with the theme of identity, because I can see where he could have improved, and where he hit home. I wish that I could have gone to the artist's talk back in November - it would have been interesting to hear more about his process and how "Cicannual Rhythm (pibloktok)" came about in the first place. It's definitely a show worth seeing, if you can manage to go before January 4th. Now I'm looking forward to checking out the Rembrandt show at the MFA (although NOT looking forward to shelling out $22). Plus I'm setting aside a day to check out some of the galleries in the South End, sometime in January. More then!
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