The UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA)

Berkeley Art Museum, 2155 Center Street, Berkeley

Architecture of Life

January 31–May 29, 2016

On this nice overcast day, I finally found it to be the appropriate time to visit a museum in the Bay Area. To my dismay, it just so happened that the BAMPFA exhibition on the Architecture of Life happened to have migrated to a new location. This resulted in some haphazard panicking as I arrived at the address presented on Professor O’Brien’s syllabus to a closed museum. With a bit of recomposing and a quick search on the lovely internet, I learned of the museum’s new location. I was then overjoyed for it allowed me to take a nice long walk through the Berkeley campus as I made my way to the new destination. I would like to say that the campus is truly a spectacular place and anyone attending it is truly deserving of respect. After a few minutes of walking, I finally arrived at my desired location.

                           

From the outside, the museum looked quite inviting. It had a simple yet fresh design that I appreciated.  After crossing the street and paying for my pass, I was finally allowed proper entrance. The interior itself was fairly simple, sporting a mostly white color with the exception of connecting corridors and stairs being a bright orange. Most of the building was dedicated to lecture halls and social gathering areas with the actual gallery taking up a very small portion. Just before the gallery is this massive work on the wall that seems to be a backdrop for what appears to be a little amphitheater. It was so massive in fact that I was unsure if it was titled. I spent a good minute looking around and part of me wants to believe the piece has no information, but another part believes that I just missed it. Regardless, it’s a map that parodies a region of Northern California. Most of it is dedicated to culture and nature.

 

Nipam Patel, Radiolorian Confocals 1x-10x, 2015

Entering the exhibition itself, I found some stunning works. I took the liberty of taking all the pictures that was allowed by security, but made sure to focus on the ones that people were viewing most. The piece above is one such. Many spectators flocked to this video of raiolorians under magnification.It was an ever changing a video of how radiolorians constantly took different shapes. Nipam Patel is one of the professors in UC Berkeley, and he took these videos to show these particularly small protozoa. What is most impressive are the shapes that the take as they continuously move. Though not quite perfect polygons, there is a near perfect geometry that is quite enthralling. If I had not read the title of this work, I would have never known that the object on the screen was not an object and actually a living organism.

Avery Preesman, Within S.W.S., 2008-9

A few steps to the left is this sculpture made by Avery Preesman. It is a mix of cement and other materials on carved wood. Preesman took many inspirations, and what started out as a simple carving became this intricate wall mount. There isn’t much about the hidden meaning of this piece other than what Preesman was thinking. It was the culmination of ideas banding and joining together to form this end result. One could say that this is a work that started out in several places and joined together in a terminus that gave it life. In other words it is a metaphor on evolution and it’s ultimate goal to make a species capable of adapting and surviving in its natural environment.

Jay Nelson, The Goodbye Ranch, 2007-9

Then we have this sketch by Jay Nelson. Nelson is a well known artist in San Francisco who has consistently submitted her works to the local museums. Specifically, she is known for helping and taking in people from all backgrounds to help them fight against drug use and abuse. With her help, many have been able to move on from their past addictions and have started new lives. This work is similar to what she does for these individuals. The ranch is representative of a place where animals are tended to and taken care of. It is very much like an asylum for those in need of a fresh start or reprieve from the many atrocities and chaos of life. Nelson can then be said to be using this ranch as a metaphor for her actions in life with regards to these people that she helps.

Will Yackulic, Trait Family A, 2015

 Hyun-Sook Song, 21 Brushstrokes, 2007

 Finally, these two piece had quite the crowd around them. Starting with the sculpture done by Will Yackulic, there was quite the group arguing whether it was rightfully art or not. Many were disturbed that such a small sculpture could be called art, and it resulted in a few exchange of words between spectators. Some who were less shy to voice their opinions could be seen whispering to their companions. A quick glance at the description and its size quickly became clear to me. Will Yuckalic apparently made these sculptures a part of a set. Each one is supposed to represent an individual. Knowing this, it would make perfect sense why they are so small. If each is an interpretation of a person, it might be small due to the intimate nature of said person being interpreted. Since it is part of a series interpreting many individuals, it could also just be a small piece of a much larger whole similar to one individual when compared to a large number of people. Together, the pieces itself might form a nexus that appears more cohesive.

The second and last piece that was heavily spectated was done by Hyun-Sook song. This artist has an interesting way of naming her pieces after a little bit of research upon reading the title. Song often names her pieces by the amount of brush strokes present. The one above is done in the number presented by the title and represents a symbolic practice in her culture. The brush strokes looks similar to wrapping, which is a process often preformed on the dead in Korea. Secondly, the painting itself forms what appears to be a simple gate or passage. This is representative of how the dead exit one world and enter another. This piece was heavily viewed and had very little criticism. I can even vouch and say that I heard none on my visit.

At the end of the day, I spent well over an hour viewing everything in the museum and can honestly say that I was very impressed. Many of the works were very well made and seeing some of the reactions on people were priceless. It truly fit the bill that contemporary art often shocks. For those who have not visited this exhibition, I highly suggest you do.