Urs Fischer at MOCA, Los Angeles

May 9, 2013

Urs Fischer at MOCA, Los Angeles | April 21 – August 19, 2013 | http://www.moca.org

No, it did not meet my level of expectations. I thought the art of Urs Fischer, on exhibit at MOCA, failed to communicate with me as the viewer. It did not dig in hard and deep into that certain “wow” level in me. It was like I was expecting to dive into deep water, but the depth was shallow, and I could only wet my feet. This was highly disappointing, especially considering the fact that in the last few months, I had already visited two art exhibitions that made a tremendous emotional impact close to my heart – the work of Llyn Foulkes at the Hammer Museum and “Ain’t Painting a Pain” by Richard Jackson at the Orange County Museum of Art. I was already completely in love and mesmerized by these two extraordinary artists and their great exhibitions that it was as though I was already full. There was no hunger, no room for any other art to wow me – unless it would be truly extraordinary, unless it could hit me right into my heart. The work of Urs Fischer was unfortunately not extraordinary and did not aim for my heart. We are living in a very advanced, technological age, where our mind is already saturated with images as such that he is bringing us. Standing in the middle of the spacious exhibition room of the museum and looking around at Fischer’s work was like looking at a room with a lot of unnecessary clutter, a little bit of everything here and there. For example, an apple, a large banana, a pineapple, and a large fried egg right on the floor and within everything made it as though communication between the objects and the viewer was weak and lost. Walking around the rooms, looking at the walls and looking at splashes of paint on the bottom of it, I could not help but think, Wait a minute. That’s not really original, for I just saw something similar when I viewed Richard Jackson’s exhibition. Don’t get me started on the skeletons he used here and there to so directly symbolize death.

Excuse me, MOCA, I thought we are in the year 2013 and were already done with Andy Warhol and the clever elements of his era’s art, which once amazed us. Please, next time, bring us something refreshingly brand new!

About Urs Fischer

MOCA presents the first comprehensive museum retrospective of works by the internationally acclaimed Swiss-born artist Urs Fischer. Fischer is one of today’s most important contemporary artists, who is known for using a range of media to express the transience of art and, concomitantly, the human condition. Jessica Morgan, renowned curator from the Tate Modern in London, is curating the exhibition, which will occupy a total of 65,000 square feet at both MOCA Grand Avenue and The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA from April 21, 2013 to August 19, 2013. Now residing primarily in New York, Fischer is also familiar with Los Angeles where he has a home and studio. Presenting his work of the last decade the show will bring together for the first time his many iconic works from leading international collections as well as new productions. A new landscape within the two unique museum spaces will encompass Fischer’s singular sense of the banal and the fantastical. http://edu.moca.org/calendar/2013-05-09#mevent-7652