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| To answer the question, read for yourself! |
For me, the thought
"David Bowie Is" has always been followed by an ellipsis... It was never a full sentence, just a question
that sort of trailed off and I never answered for myself. Not that I
tried, but I couldn’t get a grasp on him—is he a movie star, a musician? Never
having listened to his music, or seen Labyrinth as a child (the brink, I think,
of Bowie fandom for my generation), Bowie always remained an intimidating
enigma to me, whose multiple roles I never delved into further contemplating. Well,
that changed Saturday night when I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art.
The exhibit now
showing at the MCA uses the phrase “David Bowie Is” as a title. Though it seems a pretty definitive
statement, it is presented without punctuation. It’s an open-ended invitation to you the
museum goer to finish the thought however you'd like, whatever you say is
probably right… This, to me, was still a little trepidating. Having majored in English, I’m pretty
attached to my punctuation. It makes
sense that the title wouldn’t have a period, because it wouldn’t be a complete
sentence--and because Bowie is still alive.
But then why get a retrospective exhibit? He's not retired, he's not
really the sort of artist that would be featured in an art museum.
The exhibit uses the
term “David Bowie Is” playfully throughout, in mock matinees, in posters spaced
throughout the exhibit. Actually, the phrase itself is used (playfully
enough as punctuation) throughout the exhibit. “David Bowie Is” will begin the
sentence on a poster/matinee in different rooms in the exhibit, with various
endings. Thus, there is in fact no wrong
ending to that phrase, because David Bowie is so many things.
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| A poor example of the costume staging and use of multimedia |
And, in exploring that
idea in the makeup of the artist, many other artists, musicians, authors, are
cited. Prior to seeing this, I expected
(correctly) that this retrospective exhibit might echo that of the Alexander
McQueen exhibit, “Savage Beauty,” given at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in
New York in 2011. As Bowie is a fashion
icon himself, many of his costumes and outfits were displayed at the MCA for “David
Bowie Is.” And indeed, they were dramatically
staged as runway mannequins, not unlike those designs of McQueen in “Savage
Beauty,” down to the lighting. This worked out though, given the drama of so
many of his outfits, and especially given that McQueen himself designed
several costumes for Bowie.
Costume
was not the only medium on display. Everything
from music videos, to creatively staged motion projection, photographs,
journals, notes, and countless other artifacts are on display at the MCA
attempting to give a grasp on Bowie's incredible body of work. I had no
idea just how influential he was
until having seen a preserved tissue of his from a concert in the 1970s. I had
no idea just how widely influenced he
was until seeing his notes on a copy of a novel he read.
The
essential audio tour fit in nicely to this multimedia aspect. Now, if you recall our post about the recent Magritte
exhibit at the Art Institute, you know my qualm
with audio tours at museums. I hate the invasive ones, and I almost never
partake in them myself because I don't like my interpretations or
exhibit experience to be guided by a pre-recording. This audio tour,
however, was truly stellar. It actually automatically synced up to whatever
station of the exhibit you were in (confession: I had more than a little fun
stepping from spot to spot just to make sure that the tour’s motion sensors
kicked in). Perusing that powder blue Bowie once famously donned, you might overhear
soft audio from an interview with Bowie, and then it would kick into “Life on
Mars?,” which you would realize was synced up to the music video being
projected on a wall nearby, featuring that very suit. There was so much visual
and audio stimulation from one moment to the next in this exhibit, but not so
that your eyes and ears didn't know where to focus. It all flowed very nicely.
Now having gotten a
glimpse at what “David Bowie Is,” I can confidently say that Bowie remains
evermore mysterious, though more intriguing than intimidating. He is a movie
star, and yet a recording star, and yet an actor, but now after a peek under all
of those hats, the multiple roles make more sense. And this exhibit revealed even more hats that
I was not aware of--designer, makeup artist, fashion icon, voracious reader
and a pretty talented student of other icons and musicians. But getting a closer glimpse into his process
on all the media and platforms available in this exhibit, it is clear why “David
Bowie Is” has no punctuation: because that ending is continually being altered
and rewritten and added to.
"David Bowie
Is" only here until January 9th, so make sure you catch it before it
leaves!
These were not just any Christmas lights! Although there were plenty of conifer trees on display, the lights shone upon trees
and hedges of all sizes and shapes at the Arboretum. It was literally like walking through the
Disney classic “Fantasia,” what with all the incredible colors and the Classical
music (from our very own Chicago Symphony Orchestra!) being played from the
speakers. The ‘Symphony Station,’ which
you see pictured to the right and above,
