Liza McConnell: "Landschaftsbilder"

17. December 2004 - 13. February 2005

Landscape is more than illusion in Liza McConnell's new light installation, on view to February 13, 2005 in the Kunstverein Langenhagen.

The exhibition is the first European solo show for the artist, who was born in 1973 and who lives and works in New York City. Conceived and installed especially for the exhibition space in the Kunstverein Langenhagen, McConnell floods the walls of the long, narrow room with associative and sensuous, imaginative projections. The simplest of materials are utilized old paint cans, motor oil, florescent light bulbs, mouthwash, cotton swabs, small magnifying glasses and electric cables. These are sculpturally formed and installed to create low-tech projectors based on the optical principles, among them the camera obscura. Nothing is concealed from the viewer's sight and all materials and techniques are easily recognizable and identifiable. With the help of the viewer's memory and imagination, the surprising results consist of suggestive forms projected directly in real-time creating the spatial illusion of landscapes similar to those in the American West.

The perception of the reality and the illusion of reality play in central role in McConnell's piece for the Kunstverein Langenhagen. What we see is magnified light that has passed, among others things, through liquid and glass. However, what we also see are stereotypical forms implying nature in a visual language that artists through the centuries also used to pictorially represent sky and mountain ranges. The images remain romantic and mystical although they simultaneously demystify and deromanticize our concept of nature and the representational capabilities of art. By using objects traditionally associated with art and artists, like the old paint cans, McConnell reminds us of earlier means of representing nature, for example, as practiced her artistic predecessors, who also created illusions of reality by means of the image. In this way, the work is also a homage of the creative process.

The exhibition is opened Tuesdays through Fridays from 2 pm to 6 pm and Sundays from 3 pm to 5 pm. 17. Dezember 2004 - 13. Februar 2005

Liza McConnell, Landschaftsbilder, 2004


Archiv	Deutsch Liza McConnell: "Landschaftsbilder" 17. December 2004 - 13. February 2005 Pictures Landscape is more than illusion in Liza McConnell's new light installation, on view to February 13, 2005 in the Kunstverein Langenhagen. The exhibition is the first European solo show for the artist, who was born in 1973 and who lives and works in New York City. Conceived and installed especially for the exhibition space in the Kunstverein Langenhagen, McConnell floods the walls of the long, narrow room with associative and sensuous, imaginative projections. The simplest of materials are utilized old paint cans, motor oil, florescent light bulbs, mouthwash, cotton swabs, small magnifying glasses and electric cables. These are sculpturally formed and installed to create low-tech projectors based on the optical principles, among them the camera obscura. Nothing is concealed from the viewer's sight and all materials and techniques are easily recognizable and identifiable. With the help of the viewer's memory and imagination, the surprising results consist of suggestive forms projected directly in real-time creating the spatial illusion of landscapes similar to those in the American West. The perception of the reality and the illusion of reality play in central role in McConnell's piece for the Kunstverein Langenhagen. What we see is magnified light that has passed, among others things, through liquid and glass. However, what we also see are stereotypical forms implying nature in a visual language that artists through the centuries also used to pictorially represent sky and mountain ranges. The images remain romantic and mystical although they simultaneously demystify and deromanticize our concept of nature and the representational capabilities of art. By using objects traditionally associated with art and artists, like the old paint cans, McConnell reminds us of earlier means of representing nature, for example, as practiced her artistic predecessors, who also created illusions of reality by means of the image. In this way, the work is also a homage of the creative process. The exhibition is opened Tuesdays through Fridays from 2 pm to 6 pm and Sundays from 3 pm to 5 pm. 17. Dezember 2004 - 13. Februar 2005 Liza McConnell, Landschaftsbilder, 2004
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