Bill Brady Gallery and the Plug Project

For our field trip, we visited the Plug Project in the West Bottoms. Even though the Gallery had just been taken down, we were able to hear about the Plug Project's mission from Misha and Cory. We learned about how ideas are gathered and produced through a certain process in order to create the vision that the Plug Project has for their space. A mood board full of different pieces of work from various artists that may not be particularly famous cover a wall, but they all fall under one theme. Each new gallery has a different theme.

Then we went on to visit the Bill Brady Gallery. The space was amazing! Very contemporary: high ceilings, concrete floors, white walls, skylight windows. Our focus at the Bill Brady gallery was to be able to write about the art: describe, analyze, interpret, and judgement.

The name of the artist whose gallery was showing was Michael Manning, who expressed his work through a variety of digital and print media. TV's were hung from the ceiling vertically and horizontally, of all different screen sizes, along with banners and canvases of print media. It was a contemporary feel with exposed fishing wire and television cables. I also noticed a fan with a light-colored wooden chime hanging through the middle, and flowers floating in water. Manning used 3D looking textures and natural and organic shapes to create a calm mood, with a flowing and earthy vibe. The pieces that I found most interesting were the hanging ecosystems made by Manning's "salty" friend, Jeff Baij. These tiny, clear globes were also hung from the ceiling. They were filled with a layer of salt/sand on the bottom, and placed on top were a variety of organic objects: flowers, cactuses, plants, things I had never even seen before. The color and simplicity of these globes really appealed to me.

This gallery was able to create both the illusion of texture, as well as actual texture. The illusion of texture can be seen in Manning's print and digital media. Overlapping brush strokes and movement of water on the digital screen develop a cool effect. Actual texture can be seen with his clear coat of paint he slapped over his print media, as well as the rocks, flowers, stands, fan, wooden chimes, and hanging ecosystems that were displayed. All of Manning's pieces were full of light; the light of the digital screens, the water color print media, white surroundings, and even backlight screens. I like the way his use of light portrayed the organic and simplistic theme of this gallery.

I've never been the type of person to analyze the deeper meaning of artwork, but I like the way this gallery made me feel. When I first walked in, so many thoughts and questions arose in my head. What is the purpose? How are all of these elements tied together? What is the message this artist is trying to get across? Some of his pieces were such a complex combination of colors-- tints and shades and lines-- but others were so simple. It still confuses me of what is considered to be art these days. Laying rocks on the ground? I feel like anyone could do that. Scribble some brush strokes on a computer screen, then have it printed? I could do that too. But what made the trip all worth it for me was the screens with the flowing water and how it distorted the image of what was behind it. But maybe if I could figure out the message and underlying meaning, I would have greater respect for it.

Afterwards, we ate at the Peanut. I split a turkey sandwich with Emily and it was really delicious. It was an interesting environment, a little hole-in-the-wall type place that was a nice way to end our day.