Thirty-one flat screen monitors light up with images from a month in the life of an unknown woman in artist Lorna Simpson’s exhibit opening Saturday at the Block Museum of Art.
In her film, Simpson, a well-known contemporary artist, undermines the expectations of everyday life as an anonymous black woman is followed over the course of a month. The installation, entitled “31,” is a part of Block’s “Made in America” Winter Quarter series, which aims to express what it means to live as an American from the 1920s to today.
“(Simpson) has done a lot challenging gender and racial stereotypes,” said Burke Patten, the Block’s communications manager. “The exhibitions deal with, in different ways, art that looks at the margins of American society.”
Simpson has challenged stereotypes through her artwork since she began working in the 1980s. The installation at the Block exposes restrictions imposed on Americans by social structures present in life, regardless of class, gender or race.
The 31 monitors of the exhibit are organized in a grid formation, just as days are organized on a calendar. Each monitor plays clips from one day of the anonymous woman’s life as she moves through her apartment, office and recreational spaces.
The installation features monitors that begin black and then light up according to the start of the woman’s day, said Block’s senior curator, Debora Wood. On the monitor columns designated for the weekend, the monitors begin later because the woman enjoys sleeping late.
The viewer fully witnesses the woman’s life as the 31 monitors display simultaneously — except for one that remains dark before brightening into a surprise scene. Various sound clips also accompany the installation, and audio cues draw the viewer’s attention to certain monitors.
Simpson’s installation originally was commissioned for “Documenta XI,” a celebrated German exhibition of contemporary art that featured the work of 116 artists.
According to Wood, Simpson’s new work was inspired by French New Wave director Chantal Akerman, who used similar techniques of non-convention in film.
This different approach combined with Simpson’s exploration of race-related themes characterizes Simpson’s art.
Diana Metzger, a Communication sophomore, said she finds Simpson’s different approach to art very intriguing.
“You are just watching her daily life,” she said. “And I think there is something interesting about watching someone live their life without sex, drugs or whatever else reality TV today wants you to focus on and believe is part of the human experience.”
“I’ve been studying social inequality in a sociology class, so aspects of racial inequality have always interested me,” said Jacob Daneman, a Music senior. “For someone who is not accustomed to seeing a different racial perspective, it can bring to light that people are the same. It shows that everyone has to go through the same problems and same triumphs.”
Simpson will come to the Block on March 18 at 5 p.m. for a discussion exploring her current work and broader issues of social regulation and stereotyping. Curators and art aficionados also will be able to examine Simpson’s work.
The exhibit runs through March 28 and is free.
