When I was in graduate school, I recall a professor asking me, "What do you want to do with your work?" I replied, rather naively, "I want to make art that moves people." The professor hopped across the floor and pronounced my goal mission accomplished. I was baffled by this conceptual-leaning gag at the time, but as I've learned more about contemporary art, I remain stubbornly excited about art's capacity to throw me--albeit figuratively--across the room, to pull me into a warm embrace, to send my mind deep into thought, or to set my nerves on edge.
Each of the works in this second edition of "On Seeing" had that initial effect, moving me emotionally, viscerally, or intellectually. I went further to understand why that occurred and what the work was about but I can't forget that initial moment. There is no single route art can take to inspire deep responses; the artists included here work in different ways. Some come from an interest in process or materials; others explore politics and our social and economic interconnections. Some are motivated by memory and emotions, others by time and systems. The powerful effect of their art derives from sources as varied as empathy, anger, beauty, reverie, and mystery.
Although you are only seeing an image of each work, a representation, I hope that it might have a similar effect on you. Perhaps these images will move you to investigate more about the art and artists included or even to step out of the virtual space and in to the world to explore art in a museum or gallery.
Artists included: Andrea Bowers, Soo Kim, Macha Suzuki, Allan Sekula, Rachel Khedoori, Jessica Minckley, Dane Picard, Pierre Picot, Kat Coyle, and Rashell George
On Seeing is an exhibition series on The Huffington Post curated by Annie Buckley. It includes emerging and established artists from around the globe. The goal is explore the depth of how we see and reflect on art while expanding the range of ways to view art.
On Seeing is not a commercial series, but in the event that it results in a sale, participating artists and gallerists are invited to donate 10 % of the proceeds to REENCONTRO, a local group helping AIDS orphans in Mozambique.