Water by Donna Gustafson

Donna Gustafson’s curation of Water at the Zimmerli Art Museum depicts both the calm and rage that water can possess. At some points blunt and others subtler, the show illustrates the different characteristics of water and juxtaposes them against one another. For example, upon first entering the Water exhibit, you are greeted by bright and beautiful walls reminiscent of the ocean itself. As you examine further however, you notice the giant fish net holding countless bottles of water, asking the question can water be owned? Water is all around us, seemingly abundant, and yet sold for profit and owned like a material possession.

What is most interesting about the Water exhibit is its ability to provoke thought from the audience. The first room in the exhibit emphasizes this with two particular pieces; the first by Hans Haacke entitled Condensation Cube and the other by Maya Lin entitled Dew Point. Both pieces depict water with Haacke using a more literal translation, and Lin essentially focusing on the same idea of condensation or dew and magnifying it into large sculptures. This pairing is particularly strong in that it examines the same characteristic of water in both a natural and imaginative way.

The next room also features a piece by Maya Lin. On the opposite side of Dew Point, is Lin’s piece entitled Pin River. This piece takes a more theatrical approach to interpret water.  It is an abstract piece with an obvious reference to how a river flows, constructed with a not so obvious choice of material, needles. The choice to put these two pieces on opposite sides of a wall really highlights the creativity of Lin and was another strong choice by Gustafson.

As you continue through the exhibit, each room brings a different experience. Every wall is painted a specific shade of ocean blue to accentuate the paintings and pieces on display. The video room is particularly interesting. The pairing of two videos showing water, one calm, the other in a more excited state truly shows the versatility of water.

Gustafson really tries to make you think about what water is and what it means, however, at times the idea is forced. I do believe some of the blue walls were excessive. And probably due to the lack of space, the pieces look as though they are on top of one another. There is a flow between each piece but it feels rushed as if the Gustafson had to pack her vision in a smaller space than she would have preferred. She also did not always let the artwork’s own intention come through. You see all the pieces as one series explaining Gustafson’s perspective and because of this you sometimes lose the fact that the artists had different intentions. This is not necessarily a bad thing, however it poses the question, who is the artist? In this case it is Gustafson.