bonyenater =IBROOKLYNR AIL Goh pete Aner GRE ae fem RSPNSTNTS OU AETE PCLCS AND CUTIE MAILINGLIST a soma 0,201 ALFREDO JAAR Shadows on sara = (GALERIE LELONG | FEBRUARY 14 ~ MARCH 28,2015, ‘Toexplore the profound impact of shadows, one must begin with Alfredo Jar, the architect. Jaa’ site-speciti spaces at Lelong have no equivalency in contemporary rcitecrure. Like Lous Kahn, whose architeetral designs drew upon archeological structures, Jan's spaces are timeless without utliing any obvious ‘historical quotation. We enter through tall narow passage reminisent of those found in Okd Kingdom Payptian mortuary temples. The height and blackness of the pasrage dwarfs the viewer. although rationally we know the gallery has aleve floor, one fess weighted down bythe darkness, as though te lor descends. ‘Through Jaa’ architectural spaces, we begin ajourney into psychic interiority, Ito the unconscious. The ist passage ends at faintly lit wal with a bend. Daring thelow light yee, the view eels aif they have entered the central room| ‘rough a magic membrane. This wor like chambers intimate human ‘proportion is scaled to accommodate a privat, internalized tual. The third passage ushers the viewer out, providing a rest rom the atin, This sa realm of suffering, violence, dest, and reflection rarely visited in taday' art world. Alfredo “Jeares produced « work of astonishing dimensionality. Ina video onthe lobby wall, Dutch photojournalist Koen Wossing eseibes photographing the September 1978 insurrection of the Sandinista in ste, Nicaragua, For ‘Shadows, Saar has taken the photograph from Wersing's contact sheets rater than using his own photographs the way he didn his Rocanda project (1994 ~ 98). Wessing Isknoven for Chile, September 1973, wordless book of potogeaphs documenting the coup in Chile, “Shadows e the second partina trlog of works in which single hotogeaphs form atmo he first being The Sound of silence (2006) whic used the late Kevin Center's 1999 photograph ofa starving cl with avaltur sits toachstone, Roth sar snd Wessing, have stowed away photographs they have taken for period oftime because the contents were too Astessng nan era when many angus that photographs have lost ‘heir impact, Roland Barhes'sargument about "shock photos” rings holowin Jars case No such crsion of images ocurs here. Rather, thle impacts reinforced by Jaarsarchitectural spaces and use of Projection, leaving the viewer overwhelmed, “Today weare inmate wit imager ofisece npn ing an Garages tht fs wit these from Meares Stadbs slips down thetimeine to beame partof svotherworkot“Onceupona —rbetaee Suit aan Sa Time" Inthe video, Weningswsit EEE SURES ce Jan cMebstGrektnpgrie Santee sacs rans ean ‘ewer moves back and fth between ‘ent istry and eng Wenn scne of moaraingdanghter wih her tr ied over hei beads in pecan lobe ound ona menue tie Grek tater ated tothe Hirsh Workshop fom 70 8. cated at the entrance tthe Greco Reman al at the Metropolitan Museu, This ian ld Story, daughters with ams ied moursng ln athe. Batering the fist passage the row of smal photographs functions ke the “ations ofthe cross,” deserting a sequence of suffering The first shows. an arrest scone with mon ined up against abus. But iis the scond photograph that aks the vewer into a plac of ternal dares: an assassinated Sandinista father es with his skull Blown open His body has ben dump by the oad ke te corpse cof Antigone’ brother Polyneices, doomed to non-bural beyond the city wall. In this at, we witness contemporary lckof dignity, historically given ever tothe ‘bodies of enemies. This man san Ajay, who wl finally be transported by his fellows tohis home tobe laid ot. child looks on, his innocence lost forever. Inthe central room, the image of is ‘grieving daughters with arms raised has ben desribed by Jaar asthe strongest expression of grief he has ver seen, Most viewers would agree ‘William Kentridge and Nalini Melani Ihave oth spoken about the primacy of shadows, arguing that shadows, kes Rorchach et force the viewer toenterthe imageand completeitin mee taw snenys 0 nssten wrt {hele imagination. Jaar accomplishes Meme, van mete UE Oons ‘his a diflorne way the mural: eae sized image of the grieving daughters itowterFoxmiea,txee™ morphs into an iscated white-hot shove, After a moment of binding ight, we ae eft with seared afterimage, both on our retina and our unconscious. Tis gesture of mourning moves out of Plato's cave nt the bright light and retums agin tothe depts. The iewer fall into the darkness ofthe seoand passage as a reprieve ‘This final pesage contains images of the murdered man laid out at home, witha loth coveringhis head wounds. In repose his dignity has been restored. Theres something very touching about the domestic simplicity of this een In another ‘hotograph, hs grieving daughters ret onthe lawn. Ths final image allows the viewer to gather up their reserves to face the world ouside, Fortis reviewer, the images entered that night’ dreams and the daughters became sisters. In world ten lacking in intimacy, these images entered the most intimate place possible. Jaaras restored the valuable currency of refleticn and compassion toa tired and Sade ert world. This sone ofthe most stunning exhibitions af the season,