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Light & Sie is proud to present an exhibition of photographs by Israeli artist Adi Nes. Well-known in the United States and abroad for provocative and deeply moving images addressing issues of identity – specifically, masculinity and Israeliness – Nes’ images challenge preconceived notions of the “ideal” male body, homoeroticism as a pictorial device, and the story of Jews who immigrated to Israel from Arab countries.
In 2000, in what is perhaps his most famous series, Nes photographed actors portraying young Israeli soldiers entering the army, contrasting the militarism and machoism that pervade Israeli society by focusing on the soldiers’ youth and vulnerability. Nes’ 1999 work Untitled (The Last Supper) was an elaborately-staged version of Leonardo da Vinci’s master work, featuring 14 Israeli youth dressed up as soldiers sitting at a makeshift table sharing food and conversation – yet the unspoken truth that they may not live much longer pervades. In Nes’ works, classical compositions become the backdrop for the exploration of contemporary, and at times highly controversial, issues.
In the Biblical Stories series, Nes elaborates on the plight of homeless people and reinforces their human quality by connecting them with immensely powerful biblical imagery. This raises universal questions of how societies treat individuals, especially the disenfranchised. In one of the most striking photographs, Abraham and Isaac are portrayed as being homeless. In Nes' staged rendition of these two seminal biblical figures, Abraham is depicted pushing Isaac in a shopping cart filled with recyclable plastic bottles. The image calls to mind not only the mythical roles of its subjects, but the reality of daily sacrifices life forces people to make in order to survive. Taking cues from Caravaggio, who painted people from the street for authenticity, Nes inverts this by employing actors to portray common people. By doing so, his photographs come to life on at least three levels: on the mythic biblical level, the idealized classical one, and the modern world in which reality itself is questioned.
In 2000, in what is perhaps his most famous series, Nes photographed actors portraying young Israeli soldiers entering the army, contrasting the militarism and machoism that pervade Israeli society by focusing on the soldiers’ youth and vulnerability. Nes’ 1999 work Untitled (The Last Supper) was an elaborately-staged version of Leonardo da Vinci’s master work, featuring 14 Israeli youth dressed up as soldiers sitting at a makeshift table sharing food and conversation – yet the unspoken truth that they may not live much longer pervades. In Nes’ works, classical compositions become the backdrop for the exploration of contemporary, and at times highly controversial, issues.
In the Biblical Stories series, Nes elaborates on the plight of homeless people and reinforces their human quality by connecting them with immensely powerful biblical imagery. This raises universal questions of how societies treat individuals, especially the disenfranchised. In one of the most striking photographs, Abraham and Isaac are portrayed as being homeless. In Nes' staged rendition of these two seminal biblical figures, Abraham is depicted pushing Isaac in a shopping cart filled with recyclable plastic bottles. The image calls to mind not only the mythical roles of its subjects, but the reality of daily sacrifices life forces people to make in order to survive. Taking cues from Caravaggio, who painted people from the street for authenticity, Nes inverts this by employing actors to portray common people. By doing so, his photographs come to life on at least three levels: on the mythic biblical level, the idealized classical one, and the modern world in which reality itself is questioned.
Light & Sie is pleased to present new collage works and other new media works by New York City based artist, Matt McGuinness. The series is entitled “Rudolf: A Salutary Pipeline,” making reference to Rudolf Diesel, the “godfather” of modern engine making and a personal hero of the artist.
The exhibition is described thusly by the artist: “The title comes from an idea of advertising signs alongside highways and their relationships to their second handed brothers, the Drive In. When I first bought my pick up truck, I had dreams. I had the dream to go exploring neighborhoods outside my immediate urban environment. I did so. Each time I roared down the open roads outside the city’s perimeters I would catch myself at one very specific moment during any trip, smiling. I was smiling knowing that I was not driving like the rest of the folks to my left. In the slow lane, it was a big truck and speed was not a quality for which it was celebrated. I was not driving solely on petroleum products. My rig was powered by an alternative energy. Fueled by my hours of lustrous labor and occasional laments on spoiled time. That smile, that one moment I celebrated how it was always worth it. The good the bad and instead the queen and country, salvation! Maybe.”
“One of those dreams was to go to the Drive In. Drive- Ins are an amazing, so far as I have found, only an American phenomenon. Big Cars watching Big Screens. Our streets may not be paved with gold but they are lined with Silver, and when I am driving they even glisten an subversive sheen of green. “
Crafting collages that recall early works by Jess and Martha Rosler, Matt works methodically and painstakingly to create a sense of drama in his palette. He is often concerned with interior issues like in the work of Christian Holstad, but differs in their individual worldviews. Matt eschews the psychosexual in favor of the environmental aspects of existence. Biodiesel fuel and finding and developing renewable energy sources form the core of Matt’s concerns with life and artmaking.
The exhibition is described thusly by the artist: “The title comes from an idea of advertising signs alongside highways and their relationships to their second handed brothers, the Drive In. When I first bought my pick up truck, I had dreams. I had the dream to go exploring neighborhoods outside my immediate urban environment. I did so. Each time I roared down the open roads outside the city’s perimeters I would catch myself at one very specific moment during any trip, smiling. I was smiling knowing that I was not driving like the rest of the folks to my left. In the slow lane, it was a big truck and speed was not a quality for which it was celebrated. I was not driving solely on petroleum products. My rig was powered by an alternative energy. Fueled by my hours of lustrous labor and occasional laments on spoiled time. That smile, that one moment I celebrated how it was always worth it. The good the bad and instead the queen and country, salvation! Maybe.”
“One of those dreams was to go to the Drive In. Drive- Ins are an amazing, so far as I have found, only an American phenomenon. Big Cars watching Big Screens. Our streets may not be paved with gold but they are lined with Silver, and when I am driving they even glisten an subversive sheen of green. “
Crafting collages that recall early works by Jess and Martha Rosler, Matt works methodically and painstakingly to create a sense of drama in his palette. He is often concerned with interior issues like in the work of Christian Holstad, but differs in their individual worldviews. Matt eschews the psychosexual in favor of the environmental aspects of existence. Biodiesel fuel and finding and developing renewable energy sources form the core of Matt’s concerns with life and artmaking.
