corine vermeulen-smith:
DIORAMAS
October 18 - November 22
@ the Museum of New Art
The Museum of New Art (MONA) is located at 7 North Saginaw, Pontiac.
Museum hours: 12pm-6pm Thursday through Saturday.
BUT NOT LIKE YOUR SCHOOL PROJECT ...
Confusion is an apt reaction to transplanted Dutch
photographer Corine Vermeulen-Smith's current show, Dioramas. A
cursory look through the MONA's window suggests nicely rendered, colorful
photographs of ethereal landscapes. Go inside for a closer look and these
presumptions prove less than entirely true. Something is visibly awkward
about these vistas of Detroit's urban prairies, farms and the like. You
begin to notice the landscape is actually a painting, at least in the
background. The foreground isn't a painting, however; the trees, lily pads
and foliage seem real enough as they gradually give way to the similar scene
depicted in the painting. And they're not real either. What is going on
here?
Something well worth seeing for yourself. At the Museum of New Art, 7 N. Saginaw, Pontiac; 248-210-7560; exhibit runs through Nov. 22.
(read complete article below)
Corine Vermeulen-Smith
didn’t come all the way from the Netherlands just to be eaten by a bear while taking a landscape photograph. Even though the bear was just inches away, raised on its hind quarters, teeth gnashing, a hungry look in his eyes; she still managed to get her shot of the sun-dappled, tranquil forest. Thankfully Corine is still with us today. And, thanks to taxidermy, so is the bear. No, she didn’t kill the bear. The bear was already dead.
Confusion is certainly an acceptable reaction upon viewing Vermeulen-Smith’s current show, Dioramas, at the Museum of New Art in Pontiac. A cursory look through the window on N. Saginaw might only reveal some nicely rendered, colorful photographs of ethereal landscapes. Go inside for a closer look and these presumptions prove true, but not entirely. Something is visibly awkward about these vistas. You begin to notice the landscape is actually a painting, at least in the background. The foreground isn’t a painting, however; the trees, lily pads and foliage seem real enough as they gradually give way to the similar scene depicted in the painting. And they’re not real either. What is going on here?
The first dioramas were created by Louis Deguerre in Paris nearly 200 years ago. (This was before he lent his name to the first widely used form of photography). Crowds would stand inside a theater to witness an ersatz scenery change before their eyes. This effect was achieved by manipulating sunlight directed through large linen swaths, hung in an overlapping sequence and painted to depict realistic natural settings. In the early 19th century it was the closest you could come to feeling you were outdoors while you were indoors. The strangeness of this human desire; to accept a surrogate reality, is what intrigues Vermeulen-Smith. She sought out similar faux landscapes and found them in modern dioramas, seen primarily in Natural History and Science museums.
Training her camera strictly on the scenery and not on the wildlife, such as the bear, created the unique perspective seen in the seven pieces on display. "What attracted me," she says "is that they are supposed to be a realistic representation of nature but most of them seem overly romantic. At first glance they are sort of enticing, I can imagine myself in one of these landscapes having a very comfortable experience, without the dirt and the bugs. But the thought which comes immediately afterward is that this experience would ultimately be lifeless and complacent, very unsatisfying.
This show comes on the heels of this Dutch-born and Cranbrook Academy of Art graduate’s stunning show at Design 99 in Hamtramck; which featured her latest work depicting Detroit’s verdant urban prairies, along with portraits of the humble toilers of the city’s back forties. It is a testament to her keen eye and unique ability to summon a feeling of disorientation in a seemingly peaceful and oddly familiar, place.
by Matt Casadonte
11/12/08