2008 Woodie Awards
Sage against the dying of the light
Maggie Anderson - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 1/25/07 Section: 80 Hours
- Page 1 of 1
"We flee not from death itself, but from the manner of death; for the goal of our highest desires is death."
This statement, engraved on a tomb in a print by German Symbolist Max Klinger, encapsulates the message of the UI Museum of Art's latest exhibition, Dark Matters: Max Klinger's Print Cycle On Death and Other Ruminations, on display through April 15. The show, which includes approximately 30 pieces from the museum's works on paper collection, is intended to showcase not just the morose but the way in which death and darkness define and validate life and light.
And it succeeds. For the exhibition, the museum brought in J. Sage Elwell, a doctoral candidate in the UI religious-studies department, as a guest curator. The goal, he said, was to use Klinger's print cycle On Death as the focal point. The artist is most famous for another print series, Paraphrases about the Finding of a Glove, in which a found glove becomes a symbol of Klinger's romantic yearnings. But in this 10-print collection, Klinger tackled a more macabre topic.
"He was trying to capture the moment of death [in the central frame], and in the surrounding frames he was trying to make an ethereal commentary," Elwell said.
The series begins with an image that illustrates its purpose: A man, probably Klinger himself, meditates on a moth, a symbol of transience and fragility, that flutters around a white lily, the Christian symbol of Easter and eternal life. Next, Klinger has imagined various scenarios of death, ranging from historic ones - such as Judean King Herod's fabled worm infection - to those that pass without notice, such as the death of a poor farmer. These central panels interact with fantastical borders in which writhing bodies, skeletal spirits, and smoky ghosts make frequent appearances. Together, all these scenes serve to illustrate Klinger's message: No human can predict her or his death, no matter her or his station in life, and no one can stave off this dark-robed specter.
But Klinger's final image presents a more uplifting conclusion. Titled "Death As Savior," it depicts one man lying prostrate at the feet of a figure of death while several others flee. Klinger seems to urge us to look at death as this singular figure does - not as a meaningless terminal point but as a corroboration of the value of our lives.
With this image, Klinger's series easily exemplifies the exhibition's thesis. The other works could have been mere filler for the feature piece, but instead they have been carefully chosen to provide context and deepen our historical understanding of how artists have wrestled with such heavy themes. In particular, the 20th-century pieces grapple effectively with questions of meaning of self (Susan Rothenberg's ambiguously shaped charcoal and pencil mass of scribbles, Untitled, 1983), struggles of everyday existence (Paul Klee's dynamic Tightrope Walker, 1923), and the existence of God (Theodore Roszak's chaotic Cosmic Landscape, 1955).
Taken as a whole, the exhibition is also quite aesthetically pleasing. Shows of works on paper are frequently difficult for the viewer by default. As opposed to splashy, in-your-face oil paintings, drawings and prints are often smaller, more detail-oriented, and monochromatic, and an entire grouping of them can appear rather repetitive. But this installation, despite Klinger's 10 prints being the same size and most of the images being dark in color, avoids that monotony and creates a pleasing balance by including several larger works and occasional splashes of color.
If there is one instance in which the show dances close to a misstep, it is in the occasionally apologetic tone of the accompanying text. "I didn't want to present something that was overly morose," Elwell said when I talked to him. Understandable - death can be scary, and the museum wants to drum up visitors, not scare them off. But these artists are dealing with what are certainly legitimate issues, if not the most important and pertinent issues of every person's existence. Every once in a while, it's all right to meditate on the darkness, just as long as we don't become consumed by it.
E-mail DI reporter Maggie Anderson at:
margaret-anderson@uiowa.edu
susan-elgin@uiowa.edu
Want to exercise your curiosity in a rewarding setting? Write for The Daily Iowan Arts & Culture section. The editors are currently accepting applications for reporting positions. You need a cover letter, a resume, a letter of recommendation - and some samples of your best writing. If you're interested, get all the details and download your application here
Want to know more?
Read about current and upcoming exhibitions at the UI Museum of Art on its website
Or write the man a Wikipedia page
This statement, engraved on a tomb in a print by German Symbolist Max Klinger, encapsulates the message of the UI Museum of Art's latest exhibition, Dark Matters: Max Klinger's Print Cycle On Death and Other Ruminations, on display through April 15. The show, which includes approximately 30 pieces from the museum's works on paper collection, is intended to showcase not just the morose but the way in which death and darkness define and validate life and light.
And it succeeds. For the exhibition, the museum brought in J. Sage Elwell, a doctoral candidate in the UI religious-studies department, as a guest curator. The goal, he said, was to use Klinger's print cycle On Death as the focal point. The artist is most famous for another print series, Paraphrases about the Finding of a Glove, in which a found glove becomes a symbol of Klinger's romantic yearnings. But in this 10-print collection, Klinger tackled a more macabre topic.
"He was trying to capture the moment of death [in the central frame], and in the surrounding frames he was trying to make an ethereal commentary," Elwell said.
The series begins with an image that illustrates its purpose: A man, probably Klinger himself, meditates on a moth, a symbol of transience and fragility, that flutters around a white lily, the Christian symbol of Easter and eternal life. Next, Klinger has imagined various scenarios of death, ranging from historic ones - such as Judean King Herod's fabled worm infection - to those that pass without notice, such as the death of a poor farmer. These central panels interact with fantastical borders in which writhing bodies, skeletal spirits, and smoky ghosts make frequent appearances. Together, all these scenes serve to illustrate Klinger's message: No human can predict her or his death, no matter her or his station in life, and no one can stave off this dark-robed specter.
But Klinger's final image presents a more uplifting conclusion. Titled "Death As Savior," it depicts one man lying prostrate at the feet of a figure of death while several others flee. Klinger seems to urge us to look at death as this singular figure does - not as a meaningless terminal point but as a corroboration of the value of our lives.
With this image, Klinger's series easily exemplifies the exhibition's thesis. The other works could have been mere filler for the feature piece, but instead they have been carefully chosen to provide context and deepen our historical understanding of how artists have wrestled with such heavy themes. In particular, the 20th-century pieces grapple effectively with questions of meaning of self (Susan Rothenberg's ambiguously shaped charcoal and pencil mass of scribbles, Untitled, 1983), struggles of everyday existence (Paul Klee's dynamic Tightrope Walker, 1923), and the existence of God (Theodore Roszak's chaotic Cosmic Landscape, 1955).
Taken as a whole, the exhibition is also quite aesthetically pleasing. Shows of works on paper are frequently difficult for the viewer by default. As opposed to splashy, in-your-face oil paintings, drawings and prints are often smaller, more detail-oriented, and monochromatic, and an entire grouping of them can appear rather repetitive. But this installation, despite Klinger's 10 prints being the same size and most of the images being dark in color, avoids that monotony and creates a pleasing balance by including several larger works and occasional splashes of color.
If there is one instance in which the show dances close to a misstep, it is in the occasionally apologetic tone of the accompanying text. "I didn't want to present something that was overly morose," Elwell said when I talked to him. Understandable - death can be scary, and the museum wants to drum up visitors, not scare them off. But these artists are dealing with what are certainly legitimate issues, if not the most important and pertinent issues of every person's existence. Every once in a while, it's all right to meditate on the darkness, just as long as we don't become consumed by it.
E-mail DI reporter Maggie Anderson at:
margaret-anderson@uiowa.edu
susan-elgin@uiowa.edu
Want to exercise your curiosity in a rewarding setting? Write for The Daily Iowan Arts & Culture section. The editors are currently accepting applications for reporting positions. You need a cover letter, a resume, a letter of recommendation - and some samples of your best writing. If you're interested, get all the details and download your application here
Want to know more?
Read about current and upcoming exhibitions at the UI Museum of Art on its website
Or write the man a Wikipedia page
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