Wow. I hadn't seen an exhibit so well put together in a long while. If you are reading this in Knoxville or close by to Knoxville then you should stop reading and head on over to the
KMA right away.
Devorah Sperber's Threads of Perception is truly impressive. You know, sometimes I go to an exhibit, read an artist's statement and it just seems like a bunch of artsy
mumbo-jumbo but her
statement actually filled in some gaps, strengthened the exhibit, and intrigued me to go back and look at the art again. Her idea of perception isn't all that unique-artists are always thinking about the way things are seen from the viewer's perspective and some think about how the brain reacts and what conclusions the viewer's brain has upon seeing a piece of art. But
Sperber's thoughts about the viewer went a bit further. She thought about how the brain sees a masterpiece and knows what it is right away. (Just like we do upon looking at any object we are familiar with) After recognizing something, the viewer doesn't look at the work in the same dissecting way as it might the first time it sees the work....for what it is-the way the paint strokes the canvas, the observations of chiaroscuro, perspective, etc. She then took this concept and thought of a way to dissect a masterpiece and allow the viewer to really think about art, to re-examine what we thought we saw and are seeing.
She re-created masterpieces by Dali, Vermeer, and
DaVinci and re-created The Last Supper with over 20,000 spools of thread. Each work was distorted upon first glance but using the tools she provided like plastic spheres (used like a camera
obscura) and convex mirrors the viewer could see a reflection of a perfect recreation. She used pipe cleaners, beads, and spools of thread to make the pieces. Reading about how she mapped out the work was also really interesting. I recommend the show. I can't remember the last time I saw a show this impressive.
Wow. I hadn't seen an exhibit so well put together in a long while. If you are reading this in Knoxville or close by to Knoxville then you should stop reading and head on over to the KMA right away. Devorah Sperber's Threads of Perception is truly impressive. You know, sometimes I go to an exhibit, read an artist's statement and it just seems like a bunch of artsy mumbo-jumbo but her statement actually filled in some gaps, strengthened the exhibit, and intrigued me to go back and look at the art again. Her idea of perception isn't all that unique-artists are always thinking about the way things are seen from the viewer's perspective and some think about how the brain reacts and what conclusions the viewer's brain has upon seeing a piece of art. But Sperber's thoughts about the viewer went a bit further. She thought about how the brain sees a masterpiece and knows what it is right away. (Just like we do upon looking at any object we are familiar with) After recognizing something, the viewer doesn't look at the work in the same dissecting way as it might the first time it sees the work....for what it is-the way the paint strokes the canvas, the observations of chiaroscuro, perspective, etc. She then took this concept and thought of a way to dissect a masterpiece and allow the viewer to really think about art, to re-examine what we thought we saw and are seeing. 
She re-created masterpieces by Dali, Vermeer, and DaVinci and re-created The Last Supper with over 20,000 spools of thread. Each work was distorted upon first glance but using the tools she provided like plastic spheres (used like a camera obscura) and convex mirrors the viewer could see a reflection of a perfect recreation. She used pipe cleaners, beads, and spools of thread to make the pieces. Reading about how she mapped out the work was also really interesting. I recommend the show. I can't remember the last time I saw a show this impressive.
