Review of a Review-Demetrius Oliver: Jupiter by Joshua Mack

          Photo: Jason Mandella. Courtesy Friends of the High Line, New York

  After searching through a multitude of the blogs found on drawnxfoun.blogspot.com I stumbled upon the review of the new work from Demetrius Oliver by Joshua Mack. Mr. Mack successfully pieced together a review of Oliver’s new work Jupiter, which was just recently set up to view along the High Line on West 18^th street. While not a review of the artist per say, the article is a review of Oliver’s Jupiter and his progress as an artist that show through his recent work. Mack has definitely done research, and is kind and insightful enough to provide a link to Oliver’s blog. After reading the article I visited the blog, and was able to understand the context of Oliver’s better after seeing what the man is about. I can pretty safely say that without that link I probably wouldn’t have looked for Oliver’s blog and become more familiar and understanding of what the work is about. Mack also gives the reader a pleasant amount of background information concerning Oliver, his inspirations, and even the location of his new instillation. By familiarizing the reader with the High Line and Chelsea area, Jupiter has much more context than a two dimensional picture of a three dimensional space. I am able to place myself on the High Line, walking past a monumental billboard gazing at the images at eye-level. It is an interesting experience without really experiencing anything at all.

            What Mack says about Jupiter and Oliver’s vision as an artist when it comes to his most recent work is also very insightful. Mack delves past Oliver’s fascination with the universe and astronomy to the meanings and intentions of Jupiter. Jupiter is a series of fish-eye photographs intended to be snapshots of refracted light. The shots are all off of a teapot reflection, which mimics how we view the moon and planets through the reflected light of the sun.

            I find myself agreeing with everything that Mack has to say about Jupiter and Oliver’s progress as an artist. Without Mack’s insights into Oliver’s fascination with astronomy and the intent of Jupiter, I would not have been able to discern any of the intended meaning from the image. I find that without informative context, the images lose all of the planned meaning and become simply a series of five semi-interesting images. While there is provocation simply from the size and scale and placement of the images compared to where it’s viewed, I derive little meaning from them. I don’t feel I can comment on Oliver’s addition of a musical component to the instillation without experiencing it for myself, but from what Mack writes, it seems to fail in combining with the photographs and message of the piece. I also agree with Mack that some of Oliver’s compositions and inclusions seemed forced. The inclusion of the violins as a reference to his love of Coltrane seems childish and silly. Why put that there other than to say; I like John Coltrane. It adds nothing to the image and is a little disappointing to see. Mack sums up Oliver’s condition with this quote from the article, “his ability to create complex and evocative connections between images and performative media has yet to catch up with his fascination and search for meaning.” Oliver fails to establish any connection between his photographs and the deep intellectual process behind them. After reading Mack’s review, I know what Jupiter, and Oliver as an artist is about, but if I were to have to simply walked by it on my way down the High Line the five images would mean almost nothing. The message is lost in translation, and not everyone is able to get inside Oliver’s mind to find it. Not to bash Oliver too heavily though, as the scale, technique and composition of the instillation is impressive enough to cause a pause and a flow of thought. In my mind, that is success, maybe not on the level intended, but success nonetheless.

            As an aside, it is very comforting to see even more established artists struggling to master the same things that trouble some of my work. I often fail to make the connection between the image and the message and it is nice to see more experienced artists doing the same thing. 

            To read Joshua Mack's review:http://www.artreview.com/forum/topics/demetrius-oliver-jupiter

First Memory

Other than vague recollections, my early childhood seems locked in the mist in the back of my brain. I can't  explain why, but I have lost the memories from that time, as if my first couple of years were lived in secret. Oh well. I do remember playing with a toy brontosaurus in the bathtub when I was no more than three. The bathtub was the same as it is now in my dad's apartment. Old white streaked with age. The water was pleasantly warm, and one of my parents, I'm pretty sure my dad, was with me. And that's all I remember. The faintest nugget I've been able to hold on to. I have heard stories though, which is always a fascinating experience. I feel like I'm hearing about a completely different person, surely it couldn't be me as i don't remember one detail. My father says I was a cheeky kid, one time bringing in one of those nose, mustache and glasses combo to daycare and mocking my instructor Mark. (His face looked just like the disguise, I've heard.) Anyways, that's about it. As I said, I really don't have much recollection of my early childhood. I feel I'm missing something.