Political and Religious Tensions at MOCA

Julian Stanczak Recent Work

Perception is most definitely not reality. A series of ten square black panels line the wall, they each have a repetition of thin white lines on them that bend up and over ridges that emerge from the surface of each black square panel, in an abstract but geometric way. Simple enough. But wait! Looking closer, putting your head against the wall next to the panels, viewing them from this angle, you can see that the panels are flat! What you perceive is so much more than what is really there. The white lines are distorted to give the illusion of there being a form beneath them. Who knew that putting lines on a surface can be so much more than lines on a surface, causing you to question your visual logic?

In the next room, each of the three walls has one large rectangular piece on it, each piece is made up of a large grid of flat squares. In the middle is Parade of Reds. This arrangement of squares conveys a geometric display as it concisely folds and intersects translucent planes in hot shades of red, purple and orange, on each panel.

What is more interesting are the other pieces in this room; Continuous Line + White and Continuous Line + Black (pictured) return to the simple enough lines on a square concept mentioned above, this time the lines are in color. Not only do the lines give that same illusion of bending up and over those phantom ridges and shapes, but the vivid intensity of the colors gives the viewer the false hope of movement, and you actually perceive colors that are not really there (I think!). For instance, the squares with orange lines on white seem to have yellows vibrating in the white spaces, between the orange lines. The grouping of these simple, flat squares with lines on them virtually throb and pulsate so that you need to look away to rest your eye. But the intrigue of the illusion is so captivating, that you must look again.

Julian Stanczak has had a sixty year carrier painting abstract contemporary works and a nearly forty year carrier teaching at CIA. Most notably in his carrier was an exhibit of his in 1964 entitled Optical Art, which shortened to Op Art, to define an entire art movement that uses these visual tricks in their works to bend the perception of the viewer. As if bending our perception yet again, this world-class, pioneering artist is a resident of our own Seven Hills, right on our backyard!

Hugging & Wrestling, Contemporary Israeli Photography and Video

I grappled about going to see this exhibit. My preconception was that there would be many images depicting the conflict being dealt with daily in Israel by its citizens, like clashes between a life of defending your family and land and living a peaceful family life, or tensions created by adherents of three major religions regarding this place as their holy land and living side by side in it.

I did encounter many works demonstrating these frictions. Most notably, Rina Castelnuovo's photographs quite literally juxtapose individuals trying to go about life with a back drop of war, like her Alumim, Gaza Border, in which a delicate bride in a white gown and a brilliant orange bouquet traverses right in front of a military tank, across a dry landscape, void of any vegetation. The bride's expression is hopeful and she seems oblivious to her surroundings. Also, Natan Dvir's Belief series, which are three large photographs, each depicting a crowded gathering of people from each of the three religions, demonstrating an observance of their faith. A video piece that appears to be more satire than anything else, is entitled Pippi Longstocking 2006 – The Strongest Girl in the World! which is (you guessed it!) Pippi herself hugging and wrestling the concrete wall that separates the West Bank and Israel. While this scenario is outrageous at first glance, the point so obviously demonstrated is one of hope in spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Michal Rovner's works in motion were the most surprising, least expected pieces in the room. Framed in LCD panels, side by side, shaped in what could be two tablets, are Mathematics and Script. Tiny human-esque shapes, each one representing a hebrew letter or number, bob and curl as they are lined up in their word-like places. This intriguing arrangement, may demonstrate giving voice to a people in conflict. Each minute figure is like a segment on the line of hidden code. Her haunting video, More (pictured), shows simplified, rounded black figures, which appear to be trudging through a white field of snow, in a circle, never really getting anywhere, every so often a number of the figures trek away from the group, but the size of the rotating crowd never seems to diminish. This evokes a more despairing view, as if nothing changes, in spite of the efforts of the individuals.

Whether hopeful or despairing, what is apparent is that these artists, who are aware of the political and religious tensions and conflicting social climate in their home, are reflecting their creative reaction to the world around them.

Julian Stanczak Recent Work and Hugging & Wrestling, Contemporary Israeli Photography and Video are on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, 8501 Carenegie Avenue, through January 10, 2010. http://www.MOCAcleveland.org

PHOTO CREDITS: Julian Stanczak, Continuous Line + Black (detail), 2005. Installation view at Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland. Acrylic on board; 28 panels, each 16x16 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Danese gallery, New York, New York. Photograph by Tim Safranek Photographics. Michal Rovner. More, 2003. Video Installation. Dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist and PaceWildenstein, New York.

Carol Drummond has been a professional designer for 25 years. Prior to starting her award-winning graphic design studio 15 years ago, Drummond Design, she graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, worked at a graphic design studio, a video production company, and a consumer products company. She has been an art docent for Mayfield City Schools and currently serves on the COSE Arts Network Advisory Committee. http://www.DrummonDesign.com