Exhibition: Michael Krondl “Fall”
Categories: Environmental Art Activism Archive
Michael Krondl – Fall
Black and White Gallery, Chelsea
February 16 – March 17, 2007
Czech-born New York-based artist Michael Krondl is recognized for a practice that embraces installations which become visual experiences. Krondl places personal observations of natural phenomena into the terrain of formal aesthetics, resulting in witty and poetic work that challenges how we perceive the world around us.
In his precise articulation of nature, its beauty and danger, Krondl examines and decodes human interaction with nature, working with limited materials and situations that take on symbolic meanings.
In Krondl’s own words, “Fall†is a Frankenstein-like stepchild of the Hudson River School. Thomas Cole and his companions used to hike the Catskills with sketchbook in hand returning home to assemble landscapes of the sublime. Krondl lugged a backpack full of expensive technology and fashioned a large and threatening behemoth out of fragments of their beloved waterfalls. Sure, it bears only the faintest family resemblance to their splendent pictures. But the relationship is there.
There is another connection to the Hudson here as well, for if the virtual water falling down the gallery wall were real, it would flow out of the white box into the street and then course into the river just across the road. It would sweep any viewers right into the sea. Does it bear repeating that the natural world is lovely to look at, but also deadly? That our finely tuned neurons are encased in a carapace of mortal flesh? That our waterfront may soon be under treat from the rising waters of the Hudson estuary?
This exhibition is presented in conjunction with “Prince: Pre-Fame†by Robert Whitman. The exhibition seeks to create a dialogue between the two artists, working with different visual cues that imply sound – both natural and man-made.
Image:
Michael Krondl, Fall, digital print on vinyl, 9.5 x 66 feet
Courtesy of Black & White Gallery, Chelsea // Williamsburg
The Chelsea Terminal Warehouse // 636 West 28th Street, Ground Floor // New York, NY 10001 // t: 212 244 3007
f: 212 244 3312 // HOURS: Tuesday – Saturday, 11 AM – 6 PM and by Appointment // info@blackandwhiteartgallery.com
March 14th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
Currently on view at the Black and White Gallery is an installation by the Czech-born artist Michael Krondl, in which Krondl has taken an awe inspiring image of a gushing waterfall and installed it into the gallery space. Like visiting Niagara Falls, rarely does an individual have the ability to encounter the planet like this. On the other hand though, this image is an extremely zoomed in digital print on vinyl. Maybe this is where the phrase “Frankenstein-like stepchild of the Hudson River School†has come from in the press release. But I think also I’m too unfamiliar with this artist to know if his choice of materials are in any way a subversion on his subject matter and or part of an intelligent design. The press release also refers to the deadliness of nature, the possibility that if the waterfall were real it would exit the gallery and join the Hudson, ironic being from the Hudson, and also that the water table is rising and threatening to drown Manhattan. I know global warming has seemed to have grown into the buzz word as of late, but as environmentally conscious as society is, I didn’t really gain the impression that this as being of anyone of such things or with environmental awareness as the founding intention. Any picturesque imagery of nature spawns the interest at heart to keep such imagery available, but isn’t it the mediated imagery and our already strained ties with nature that got us here in the first place? I feel as though we need to redefine our situation with nature and therefore must also seek other means of intervention in society to bring about this message.
March 17th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
It seems that my trek to Chelsea always takes place on the most miserable of days, ones that are windy, rainy, and dark. The winds from the Hudson whip around the corners reminding me of sublime nature of weather and nature itself, yet as I was confronted by the Krondl’s large canvas upon entering the gallery I felt no similar feeling. Despite its massive size and reference to mighty gushing waterfalls, it lacked power itself. The image was flat and was more reminiscent of an Ikea poster. Perhaps the artist wanted to create this sensation; however, most are already aware that a mere photographic representation of nature robs one of any transcendent experience. There is no sound, no wind, no natural light. Overall, I feel the press release image was misleading. Before going I was actually excited; the waterfall looked amazing and appeared life-like. When looking at the smaller image, I was reminded of actual water with mist and rushing noises. It made me think about Niagra Falls, but in the gallery setting my mind suddenly forget this imagery. While the press release says that the two artists were “working with different visual cues to imply sound†my mind mainly played music due to the Prince photographs. I left the room with “Raspberry Beret†stuck in my head, which definitely speaks to strength of song and manmade sound.
April 28th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
With stores and Chelsea Galleries I always find myself feeling oddly ashamed when i get disinterested and leave after a short amount of time, when visiting “fall” i felt the same sort of embarassment, but i couldn’t help myself, how long can you look at a digital waterfall?
Well about as long as you can look at a video of a fireplace and feel transported to some kind of idealistic rustic home. I’m constantly kicking myself about having such a finite understanding of technology, as I wonder if better skills in it would change my art for the better. However if this is what the technology can do to the Hudson River School, I’m less interested in incoporating it into my own art. In New York we seem to constantly try to reproduce nature that we can experience indoors or in the confines of the city, so much money is spent doing so, when its so unnecessary. Nature is close enough, just a train ride away. Perhaps less. We’re at the point where environmental art should change nature not simply mimic.