Day Trip to San Francisco: Codex at the Wattis Institute

Main wall of the Codex show

Simply by the name, one should have a good idea of what to expect when entering this show.  The name Codex is referencing some of the earliest types of bound books that are thought to have come about between the 1^st and 2^nd centuries AD. Though the exhibit’s name implies books, there are only representations of books, not a single, real book is in the show. As soon as you walk in you are overwhelmed by the scattering of artwork that is displayed on the large white wall, opposite the entrance to the building. It took me a while but after looking at the artwork I realized that there were no labels for any of the work, I was confused because I had never been to a gallery where credit was not given to the artist.

Artwork labels on the window of the building

Laetitia Benat, Virginia,  2003

More museum labels on the window to the building.

After walking around a bit to look at the space, I realized that all the labels for the artwork were displayed on the window that was facing the wall showcasing the art. Once I noticed it, I couldn’t understand how I missed it in the first place. The tags had a small, simple illustration of the work it corresponded to as well as being directly across from the work it was a label for. This was conceptual, I had never seen this type of display before and thought it was an interesting concept, but somewhat of a nuisance because I like to be able to know the title of a work while looking at it. This type of set up forced one to walk back and forth if you were interested in knowing who did what.  

Section with artwork on right side of main wall

Myself looking at the large amount of work displayed at the Codex show

Though I thought the concept was interesting I did not think the work was particularly good or even interesting to say the least. After a short time in this exhibit I went on to the other half of the gallery located behind the main wall of the codex show. This exhibit was called Provisional Realities, and I found it much more exciting.

Susan Hiller, Wild Talents, 2007

Myself looking at the installation, Wild Talents

Susan Hiller , Wild Talents,  Installation, 2007

In particular Susan Hiller's installation, Wild Talents, was pretty interesting, there were two large screens with projections, both with images and short clips from movies. It was a little creepy because though there was sound, it did not correlate with what was being shown. The majority of the clips had children in them and most seemed to be from horror films. After seeing this work I looked at more of Hiller's art and found that large installations that include video is what she does best. She was originally interested in anthropology then later decided to pursue a career in art. She is American but has been working and living in London for many years now. This work Wild Talents, had me hooked I stayed watching the clips and listening to the recording that was playing that seemed to be people talking in Russian, the whole experience was a little eerie but I enjoyed it, by far this was the best work on display during this time.

Detail of the installation