Artist: David Deutsch (American, b. 1943) Title: Rotunda Audio: Date: 2002 Dimensions: 64″ x 71″ Location in Library: First floor Media: Oil on linen Owner: The Brooklyn College Library Collection. Purchased with Dormitory Authority of New York Art Acquisition Funds. © David Deutsch Description: By painting scores of miniature, indecipherable, framed portraits in a tightly formed grid, the artist creates the illusion that the portraits are installed along the curve of a vast, architectural rotunda. The painting engages the viewer in a search for the details of each tiny portrait while simultaneously giving the impression of standing in the grandeur of a dome such as the Pantheon. His use of sepia tones further enhances this sense of antiquity. Deutsch has said, “I’m attracted to shadows, to the psychological presence cast by the face.” Related Website David Deutsch’s website
2002
Artist: Slava Polishchuk Title: Wall Audio: Date: 2002 Dimensions: 90″ x 448″ Location in Library: Second floor Media: Oil and paper on canvas Owner: The Brooklyn College Library Collection. Gift of Slava Polishchuk. © Slava Polishchuk Description: Human suffering and its inevitability has long been a theme in Polishchuk’s work. Inspired by Jeremiah’s Lament in the Bible, this work has a box-within-a-box motif that echoes the rhythmic and repetitive phrasing of Jeremiah’s text. Polishchuk states: “Repetition is similar to the idea of memory, which is essentially an endless repetition of something that once happened . . . all we have in our struggle against time is memory.” An arresting canvas, this mural-like painting combines 10 to 15 coats of paint with Japanese paper, creating innumerable hues of black and white as well as rich and haunting textures. Related Websites – Interview with Asya Dodina & Slava Polishchuk, Studio International – Asya Dodina& Slava Polishchuk ” What Remains”, NY ART BEAT
Artist: Shahzia Sikander (Pakistani, b. 1969) Title: Embark/Disembark I-VI Audio: Date: 2002 Dimensions: I, V, VI, 18″ x 15″; II, 15″ x 18″; III-IV, 24″ x 20″ Location in Library: First floor Media: Photolithography and silkscreen; works on paper Owner: The Brooklyn College Library Collection. Purchased with Dormitory Authority of New York Art Acquisition Funds. © Shahzia Sikander Description: Sikander began her formal art training by studying Indian and Persian miniatures. She reinterprets this genre by combining Christian, Hindu, and Muslim iconography in a contemporary medium. Using the central image of the woman, the artist explores both her personal identity and broader political and gender issues. Her work is remarkable for its breathtaking delicacy, meticulous details, and dreamlike rhythm. When asked what her work means, Sikander replied, “It’s not a question of what kinds of meaning the image is transmitting but what kind of meaning the viewer is projecting [on to my work].” Related Websites– Shahzia Sikander’s Website –Shahzia Sikander at The Morgan Library – Shahzia Sikander at PBS Suggested Reading– Berry, Ian and Jessica Hough. Shahzia Sikander: Nemesis, 2004.Call Number: N7310.73 .S57 A4 2004