Section 4 Chicago Tribune, friday, August 4, 1978
Art
German photo exhibit a ‘must-see’
“PHOTOGRAPHY AS Art – Art as Photography” is not exactly an exhibition title that endears itself to those who have struggled to eliminate the dichotomy so loudly proclaimed. But it is, nonetheless, an accurate description of the contents of the large German traveling show that currently occupies the West Hubbard Gallery, 61 W. Hubbard St.Therein, the photographic medium is appropriated to ends that often lie outside its own traditions and history. The camera is used by artists merely as another tool, no better or worse than pencil or paint. The quality and visual achievement of the pictures usually are far less important than the conceptual frameworks in which the images have been put.There are two broad categories that embrace the documentary, fictional, and self-reflexive impulses that characterize photography today. But neither contains many examples of photographs as photographs. Most are instruments in some larger ideational scheme such as Bodyworks, ecological art, color theory, even an installation.A few of the 38 artists shown the exhibition has been edited down from about 50 which are represented in the excellent catalog were previously seen at the Museum of Contemporary Art; it is (especially) good to follow up on Urs Luthi and Arnulf Rainer, even if their contributions do not impress as before. All of the others are new to Chicago, creating work that often is as complex as the political and social histories of the places from which the artists come.So in many ways, this is a “must-see” exhibition, the photographic counterpart to last year’s “Europe in the Seventies” at the Art Institute. Bringing the show here has done us a service of which the gallery’s members may be justly proud. (Through Aug. 18.)

“False Face” (N.A.M.E., 9 W. Hubbard St.): For its third large invitational exhibition in recent months, the folks at N.A.M.E have come up with a theme that is congenial and open-ended: more than 50 artists have been asked to respond with the creation of a mask.As is often the case, the best work turns out to be the most literal, which here means the pieces done by several “Imagists.” Ellen Lanyon s three “Viper Variations” are among the more delicate; the enlarged eye and nose masks by Phil Hanson are genuinely creepy; and Ray Yoshida s simple cardboard creation looks like something out of a film by Sergei Eisenstein.I especially like Sandra Strauss’ idea of having six artists paint what they wanted right on her face. Jane Wenger’s large photograph of a grimacing weightlifter is an auspicious beginning to a new series projected for an upcoming one-person show. The wordplay visible on the gallery s windows is a crafty solution by Nancy Davidson. JoAnne Carson’s miniature maps of the 50 states are thoughtful as well as persuasively painted.A perfect summer exhibition. (Through Aug. 19.)

Barbara Blades, James Krauss (Cicero, 433 N. Clark St.): Nothing much links these two painters beyond the fact that each works out of Evanston and is receiving a first local exhibition of some depth.At first glance, Blades seems a contemporary pattern painter but only at first glance. Her obsessively alternated flat and textured passages are more an attempt to blend optical strategies familiar from the 1960s with a form of anamorphosis. In other words, the wavy ribbonlike patterns that are seen head-on become distinct chevrons or diamonds when viewed at an angle from either side.That is not a particularly interesting achievement; it mainly testifies to precision and patience. But Blades also creates sensuous chocolate-toned surfaces, alternately raked as if cake icing and dusted with fine glitter. Combined with everything else, this handling creates in the paintings a distinctly personal statement that her meticulous but more theoretical drawings lack.Krauss works on a large scale with relatively simple means of expression. Several vertical or horizontal bars are choreographed within an illusionistic space whose surface also has been “marked” with small eruptions and encrustations.Each painting repeatedly is sprayed, creating a look of no mean romance. This is a drawback as well as a source of attraction because one is tempted to read the haze as cosmic space, a temptation that at least twice is encouraged by Krauss’ colors.At his best, the artist achieves the disembodied serenity of certain forms of Oriental art, but such calm is reached only in a single painting. Elsewhere he is skillful without ever prompting superlatives, and his small paintings-on-paper yield little to the large canvases. (Through Aug. 12.)

At the Art Institute: The nominating committee of the board of trustees this week announced that Arthur M. Wood will be the new candidate for chairman at the annual meeting Nov. 20. The chairman will succeed James W. Alsdorf, who has served since 1975.Wood has been a trustee of the institute since 1950, holding the office of vice president from 1957 to 1961. He recently retired as chairman of the board of Sears Roebuck & Co.Preparations for the Aug. 12 opening of “Pompeii AD 79” will force a change in institute hours next week. The museum will be open 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday and 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday. The public will be admitted free of charge both days.
Alan G. Artner