my make believe collection :: 8 :: Rivane Neuenschwander

Contributor post by Lisa Solomon

it was 2005 NY MOMA - my first experience in the NEW BUILDING !! i was wandering around. saying hello to some of my favorite pieces, soaking in the sites and thinking that it sure felt a lot like disneyland with all the tourists and the photo taking.

and then i spied the row of works above.

and i had to take a picture of the plaque that went with them because there was no way i was going to remember how to spell her name. nope. never.

a version of I wish your wish, Silkscreen on fabric ribbons, dimensions variable.

in googling rivane neuenshwander - you don't actually find very much. she doesn't have her own website. she's had plenty of shows in plenty of museums [here's a link to a retrospective at the new museum] - done some cool installations and some videos. i like how she plays with color and materials. it seems like anything and everything is fair game to her as an art material. she's also literally playful. which is nice. sometimes art takes itself too seriously, don't you think?

After the Storm, 2010. Acrylic paint on road maps, wood, 31 1⁄2 x 26 inches

there's a conceptual edge to her work that i admire - she deals with personal and political topics in a poignant way. she also likes to create participatory environments where viewers help to complete the work.

OK. that's all good. i'm not sure i would recognize a room full of her work as all hers. and i don't think that's important or what her work is about. i'm inherently interested in how she melds literary references and deals with "big topics" [life, death, desire] in such a colorful and eye catching way.

2004. Synthetic polymer paint and ink on printed paper, Each sheet: 7 1/2 x 5 1/4"

but really. what i want, what i still wish i had in my house to own and look at on a daily basis are the paintings i saw at MOMA that day.

oh my goodness. this was a I WISH I HAD THOUGHT OF THAT MOMENT ! i love these. i seriously contemplated trying to take one off the wall and home with me. [ok semi-seriously]. one step beyond pop. the use of color is perfect. the erasure of the action, but utilizing the colors that were with-in the pane to do it. and to remove all the text. how iconic are those thought bubbles? how ingrained are they into our psyches? how much can we interpret from these with the very small amount of information left for us to view? i'd say a lot. and they become universal, right? because almost everyone in the 21st century has had some exposure to a comic book. and nostalgic at the same time because this style of comic book reads "childhood".

there is almost no way to just own one of these. you got to have at least 2 to mimic the physical book. and so i'd choose these two. i like the variation of bubbles... i like the rhythm of the color. and i ADORE that small last black pane with the little bubble. sort of sad and hopeful at the same time.

the whole MOMA set of drawings is here
till next time...follow my collection on pinterest

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lisa solomon is a mixed media artist who lives in oakland, CA with her husband, young daughter, a one eyed pit bull, a french bulldog, a cross-eyed cat, a 3 legged cat, and many many spools of thread. she moonlights as a college professor, a graphic designer, and is a partner in MODify/d a crafty biz that up/cycles and re/purposes discards from the fashion industry.