The Extensions of the Human Being

by ALEJANDRO PARDO on 06/06/2014

Vida Sabbaghi guest Curator Queens Museum

Jeremiah Johnson

The international art contest Call for Bushwick 2014 has closed its doors this past Sunday after a thrilling three days exhibition. In its second edition the five jurors of Call for Bushwick (Michela Bondardo, Holly Crawford, Jill Conner, Alison Pierz, andVida Sabbaghi) selected 25 artists from a pool of more than 500 applicants. The winners represented the four corners of the world while most of them are proudly established in Brooklyn. The artists developed an idea offered by writer and art curator Alessandro Berni, namely, “Understanding Media: The Extensions of the Human Being”. The interpretations couldn’t be more diverse. Celebrated photographer Len Bernstein contributed with a vintage silver gelatin print taken in 1983 during the “March on Washington for Jobs, Peace, & Freedom”. The piece features two ascending columns of people merging from crisp black into sheer white and vice versa in a remarkably peaceful flux. Mr. Bernstein, which works are in the public collections of The Library of Congress and the Museum of the City of New York between many others, made time to attend at the opening and explain his views on Aesthetic Realism.

Call for Bushwick 2014

Sui Park’s work

Award-winner filmmaker Juan Carlos Zaldivar however, explored the human search for identity throughout his short film “Shift” which was screened at Cannes Film Festival 2013 under the Cannes Court Metrage Section. Made out of an ensemble of over 10,000 photographs taken over a year and a half, the film reflects upon physical, psychological, and cultural transformations using a vividly saturated pallet and an enchanting sound of remarkable precision.

Sui Park, a Korean rising star with exhibitions in Seoul (Korea) and Chelsea (New York City), answered roundly with “Cell”, literally a physical extension. The artist invited the public to wear his installation and feel the embracing sensation of being extended beyond the conventional boundaries of their bodies.

During the show the public had the opportunity to talk directly with creators such as Alette Simmons-Jimenez, Virginie Sommet, or Timur York in the presence of their own artworks, and even get to discuss them with jurors of the contest such as Michela Bondardo, top cultural strategic planner, who spent Sunday’s exhibition closing sharing her wise counsel with artists and collectors.

Article by Alejandro Pardo