The Summer 2019 ArtCenter Grad Show opening (Photo – Garrett Rowlan)
The Summer 2019 ArtCenter Grad Show at the Pasadena Conventional Center: balanced on a seesaw, the past and future poised in a precarious fulcrum.
By Garrett Rowlan
Each of the eight sections into which the rectangular-shaped hall is divided seems to have some scintilla of the past—a poster, a painting, even a print in black listing the members the first Black Flag band (by Jermiah Snider)—to act as a counterbalance against the show’s tidal pull toward the future.
And the future is there. The entire section of Environment Design features miniatures of houses and other structures, all lit in intimate ways with pull-out shelves containing the artists’ wares. The overall effect was cinematic, angular, even antiseptic.
In another part of the exhibit, Andrew Zhou’s car of the future resembles a printer, but one designed for the year 2045, when 7G technology will be in its glory. The car has space for the inhabitants to ride standing up and, if the need for road snacks arises—maybe during a colossal traffic jam in 25 years’ time—then a hovering drone can deliver the grub in, it is to be hoped, some environmentally friendly package for consumption.
Nina Shahriaree’s graphic designs address an Anthropocene viewpoint of world affairs and makes reference to Professor Donna Haraway’s “new narratives of resilience.”
The impression of a disorienting future is so strong that a miniature poodle—gamboling on a table—at first seems like an AI creation.
Details from altered Mona Lisa (Photo – Garrett Rowlan)
Overall, one’s impression is that the future will be hands-on, seen through a screen or viewfinder, and with an overall feminine presence as reflected by the high number of female presenters. Maggie Michella presents a Warhol-like print of a grid of Mona Lisa prints only with eyes from various Asian countries inserted in the orbs of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, perhaps an intimation of a growing cultural and artistic strength.
In the middle of the show there was a hint of a dystopian future as word spread of a possible active shooter at the nearby Sheraton Hotel. The announcement initiated a brief lock-down of the building. The situation was quickly resolved as being a sighting of someone with a gun, but the incident provided added context to the presentations inside the building. A line had formed at the bar while possible danger lurked outside.
Leaving the building, one had a vague sense of unease—police cars were still parked outside the Sheraton—and a sense that the future was fast approaching.
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