Surrealism exhibit coming to U. Michigan museum

Michigan Daily via U-Wire – Univ. of Michigan
University Wire
July 10, 2006 Monday

By Andrew Klein, Michigan Daily; SOURCE: U. Michigan
ANN ARBOR, Mich.

When it comes to expressing or understanding the human unconscious —
specifically through art — it’s an understandable cliche for the
viewer/reader to deem such exercises as psychedelic, trippy or just
plain weird. Right now, at the corner of South University Avenue and
South Forest Street, there’s some weird stuff going on.

Enter George Barsamian, an Armenian-American, New York-based sculptor,
whose exhibit, "Time and Transformation," running through September,
is the first to grace the University of Michigan Museum of Art’s
off-site gallery. UMMA’s Web site best describes Barsamian’s unique
medium as "three-dimensional animated sculpture." Such a description
hardly prepares the viewer for Barsamian’s aesthetic.

A former bicycle mechanic, the exhibit showcases how Barsamian uses
simple, dated techniques as his foundation. The zoetrope, invented in
1834, is a rapidly spinning hollow drum with images fixed along its
inner circumference. Slits along the outside allow light to enter. As
the machine spins, the human eye "fills in" the blank spots between the
images, creating the illusion of never-ending motion. Barsamian uses
this throwback technique, along with strobe lights, and incorporates
the surreal vocabulary of the unconsciousness. The result is an
incredible series of "three-dimensional animated sculptures" that
delight the eye and stimulate the brain: Salvador Dali in motion.

Since 1983, Barsamian has dutifully kept a tape recorder near his bed
for the purpose of immediately cataloguing his dreams before they slip
back into their unconscious beginnings. His observations are at the
center of what he calls a "three-dimensional window into the world
of the subconscious where the emotions run wild and self-deception
is an oxymoron."

It would be assumed, then, that such imagery would be highly subjective
— ideas and emotions personal to Barsamian. As a viewer, appreciating
Surrealist art (such as Dali’s iconic images) seems a crapshoot at
best. We might be able to read a metaphor or two, but in the end,
the artist’s unconscious remains incomprehensible. Barsamian, though,
is able to move beyond these limits.

In "Lather," two hands endlessly wash themselves. The dripping lather
morphs first into a paper bag and then into an egg, with cracks
over a human face with a third eye. Shocking and playful at first,
"Lather" is not solely a snapshot of the artist’s inner mind. It’s
a satirized allegory of humanity’s obsessive need for knowledge.
"Untitled," perhaps the exhibit’s most dynamic piece, shows a small
room with a large painting of a writer. Balled-up pieces of paper
writhe, slide and burn around the room, as the figure in the painting
tears up whatever it is he is writing and throws it through the frame
and into the room. Writers block has never been so elegantly stated.

Barsamian’s sculptures are not dedicated to either the unconscious
or visual phenomena — they are a dynamic combination of both. By
working with religious faith, the artistic conundrum as well as other
universal understandings, Barsamian’s surrealism doesn’t isolate
itself as incomprehensibly subjective. Whether the viewer attempts to
dissect his images, or simply enjoys the exhibit for its innovation,
Barsamian succeeds on all levels.

Is Barsamian pointing to a universal unconscious? Probably not. But
his sculptures transcend boundaries of media and perception. The
unconsciousness is an intangible balance of neural pathways and
faith. But Barsamian puts it into a recognizable context, one that
we all are a part of.