Hello, I am AJ Young, and I am a new intern here at the Columbia Art League! I have chosen to write about our current exhibition, Tiny Things, as I found myself drawn into the gallery, challenged to take a moment more with each piece, and appreciate the smaller scale of the artwork.
The first piece that caught my eye was Snowy Egret by Sarah Mosteller. Upon viewing the carved creature, I was immediately struck by its intensity. The eyes feel as though they follow you throughout the space, keeping a keen eye on the surroundings. The choice to mount just this wood-carved head, instead of a whole body, which is typical in bird taxidermy, makes it feel as though the bird is poking its head through the wall to peer out at onlookers, with the rest of its body partitioned away.
The second piece I am interested in is Bog by Susan Mart. I think that bogs are an often overlooked part of an ecosystem. Part of this, I think, comes from a lack of clarity. So much happens below, underwater, and in mud, where we cannot see. I think that is what I love most about this piece. It shows a cross-section of a plant in a bog. We can see the root system, but it is still muddled. The medium of watercolor lends itself nicely to this effect, as the colors blend in the roots. Choosing to make the bog the subject matter of a tiny artwork makes you, as a viewer, take more care in perceiving this piece, just as you may have to put more care into perceiving an ecosystem such as a bog.
The final piece I am looking at further is A Magnificent Home by Julie Youmans. Upon my first glance, I thought this piece was gouache. The transparency of certain elements of the cocoon and the vibrancy of the spots give this piece a fantastical feeling. This made it almost shocking for me to see that this is a photograph. Sometimes I think we forget that there are such vibrant and lovely things naturally occurring in nature, and this photo is a perfect example of highlighting such a thing.
Scale can be everything in art; it can make or break a piece, and this exhibit shows what an impact it can have. Instinct may tell us that small things pack a smaller punch, but Tiny Things dares viewers to play with the idea of scale and work with it instead of against it.
Check out the show, on display through April 9th!
