i_heart_my_DB8

Just wondering if any of you have been to the Ashes & Snow exhibit next to the Santa Monica pier. I went last weekend, and was wondering if anyone else had an opinion about it .

r_duff

well what's your opinion on it?!

Picturepro

I went Feb 1st.... go during the week...

they said on the weekends... this location has the most turnout of any locations they have displayed

i_heart_my_DB8

I thought it was alright.

Well, the exhibit consists of a bunch of photographs, and 3 films- Two 9 minute shorts, and a 60 minute video.

The photography:
The subject matter (animals and people with their eyes closed) was interesting, although I didn't think it was visually impressive. Heck, you see better quality, more interesting visuals on the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet. All the photos are finished in a sepia tone, and printed on "natural" paper, so a lot of the visual details are lost in many of the photos- almost as if you're looking at something through a slight blur. To be honest, there was really nothing that blew me away. The whole time I was looking at the photos I was wondering how "staged" they were in reality.

The videos:
I challenge any of you to sit through the entirety of the 60 minute main film. Sitting through the 9 minute short was difficult enough for me. Maybe it's my ADD (Oh look, a squirrel!), or maybe it's that it really wasn't that interesting to me. The videos seemed to be nothing more than a video version of the photographs. The photographs look like stills captured from the videos (they're not). So why am I seeing both?

My overall impression: (i.e. what matters most anytime you leave an art exhibit, right?)
The whole experience felt incredibly forced. I'm never a fan of artists who take themselves too seriously, and I felt like this guy took himself WAAAY too seriously. The videos at points were almost laughable. Everything was black and white, slow motion, and with weird music in the background. Heck, if you filmed ANYTHING like that, you could call it "artistic." It's so clich

i_heart_my_DB8

Oh, in case you haven't seen the SNL Canis sketch... here. Save yourself $15.

Canis: Cologne for dogs

r_duff

oh shit. i didt know u had to PAY to see it.. forget it!!! I'd rather spend 15 bucks on custom signatures!

i_heart_my_DB8

Thanks man.

julius

I sort of agree, although I didn't hear that the photos are not actually stills from the movie. I thought the show was pretentious, but I REALLY dug the space the whole show was housed in. I also thought it was interesting to sit and watch people watching the films. It was almost like some science fiction movie where everyone is brainwashed and you are the only person who can save them all.

...kind of like the 1984 Mac commercial

drewchie

Some of the photos are quite lovely, but overall I'd have to agree with Nate.


(Gotta give the guy credit for getting whales and elephants to pose, though. )