Sara Levine
Editor-in-Chief
As I mindlessly flipped through a men’s magazine, I came across a clay skeleton lounging on a white couch. The title read, “Urs Fischer Conquers the Art World.” Cool. Then I flipped the page and came across a picture that sparked my memory: a two story, yellow teddy bear in front of a New York City office building.
Though I don’t remember where I was going when I first experienced this sight, I definitely remember the bear. It was one of those experiences that is just ingrained in your memory without reason. It intrigued me in those few seconds, but then I kept walking without looking back.
Why is it that the second time, seeing it in the magazine, the image of the bear could not leave my mind? I searched the artist, Urs Fischer, and learned that the piece is called Untitled (Lamp/Bear,) a 23 foot, yellow teddy bear in Seagram Plaza. For me, Fischer’s kind of art is completely his own and at the same time, accessible for those trying to understand what it means.
Art experts label his work as ‘contemporary.’ His exhibition, “Beds & Problem Paintings” ranges from life-size, human candles to publicity stills of Rita Hayworth and Jimmy Stewart with fruit photoshopped on their faces. I may not be an artist, but when I look at Fischer’s work, it inspires me to see from a new perspective, it makes me think.
The theory of art has evolved just as humankind has evolved as a species. What started as church decor turned into an expression of cultural renaissance, which transformed into an extravagant display of power by monarchs. Without my trying to simplify thousands of years of art history, we can all agree that current art is not the same as what it was centuries ago.
I recently took a trip back to the Met to see the exhibit “Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity.” It was for school, and before I left, I mentally prepared myself for the nauseating headaches that were bound to come after staring at walls for a few hours. I definitely need to take back that statement. The Impressionist exhibit made me appreciate art, but not in the way that Fischer did. The exhibit had famous paintings, nineteenth century Parisian magazines and the actual dresses featured in a few of the paintings. Walking through those rooms, I got the chance to time travel back to the nineteenth century cultural capital, and it was awesome.
I wish I had the power to force you to see what I see when I look at certain pieces of art, but I guess each person rightfully has their own perspective. Artists may use different modes of expression to spark different levels of interest, but that doesn’t mean one is right and one is wrong. You don’t have to hate one to love the other because different kinds of art are all meant to inspire.
The concept of art has evolved, but its purpose stays true. According to Urs Fischer, “[Art] is the same. It’s the way you make something. Take a relief. You draw it, you carve it out. Later you build it up from a flat surface. There is no other way to do a sculpture-you either add or you subtract. There are only two choices, and it’s the same today.”
