Lismore Regional Gallery

For my visual culture class, we had to find a gallery displaying contemporary art and write a concise 750 word reflection on the experience. I went with two classmates to the gallery downtown Lismore. I'll let the pictures and reflection speak for itself! 
~All of  the pictures below are from the gallery's website or are photographs from their pamphlet. 


http://www.lismoregallery.org/cmst/lrg003/view_doc_home.asp?id=257&cat=37  

As I walked up to the Lismore Regional Gallery, I thought about how I felt about contemporary art. I’ve had a few encounters with it in major cities, and it felt very different walking into this particular gallery. I noticed the gallery itself stuck out from the neighbouring buildings, with an intriguing, modern outside. Inside, there was no one else viewing the artwork except for the two other girls I went with. I realized there was no buzzing sound of artists and audience chatting amongst themselves while making claims and observations about the art on the walls. There was complete silence, as if a pin dropped in the next room, I would hear it. The only sound was the ‘click’ of the gadget on the floor that counted the people passing through the room. As I entered the first of three spaces, I questioned why there were so few art pieces in each room, with only one or two large photographs per wall. I noticed it was much cooler than the temperature outside, perhaps due to the concrete floor. I felt at ease physically, but mentally I was bewildered. I kept my focus on trying to figure out what led the artists to display certain photographs. The work that struck me with the most curiosity was a girl with a bird sticking out of her mouth. I wondered if I missed something, like if there was a sign that described the exhibition or the artist’s reasoning for these intriguing works of art.

"Mini-Flex Super-Comfort"
by Vanila Netto

"beginningsandendings"
by Newell Harry

"White Poles" by Jonathan Jones 

Confusion was my main emotion while being an audience at this contemporary art gallery. I realized that I was raised surrounded with landscape oil paintings and sketches of realistic portraits. When I began to paint, my main focus was making the image as realistic and aesthetically pleasing as possible. I received a positive reaction to that type of art, and I thought that it took more ability to make a painting look realistic, compared to an abstract image. 

Before going to this gallery, when I thought of contemporary art, I pictured a series of coloured dots painted on canvases at a New York art gallery. It seemed to me like a chance to earn a profit for the gallery, and the artists’ background and reasoning for the work was inconsequential. Contemporary art never seemed to be well thought out enough to be called genuine masterpieces. The lack of audience at this Lismore gallery added to my sense of uncertainty on how to react. I had pictured what I’ve observed in magazines and movies, where there is a large group of people attempting to pick apart the artwork while using the gallery as a social event. It was as if I had to think about how I should be react, instead of just enjoying what was in front of me. I felt there was a code of conduct that I should’ve been aware of, but wasn’t. There was a screen displaying a video with 

a goat inside an unnatural looking concrete room. 

"Goat Odyssey" by Hayden Fowler

I stared at this video that kept looping every few minutes, trying to distinguish what provoked the artist to capture this surreal idea. My thoughts were too forced, as if I was trying to solve a riddle. I have academics to challenge my brain and inquire about the world. When it comes to viewing art, whether it’s a photograph, sculpture, video or painting, I want to feel the art, not think it. Because I couldn’t grasp a cohesive meaning behind the photographs, I felt frustrated not at the experience, but towards myself. Why couldn’t I see what I was “supposed” to see or feel. Maybe it was due to my lack of exposure with contemporary art. Perhaps it was because I only surrounded myself with the art I am used to-landscapes and portraits in what I consider to be an attractive medium. 

"Self-Portrait Spinning (Invalides)"
by Shaun Gladwell                   

My contemporary art experience didn’t end when I 

left the building. I came back and researched the 

artists and the exhibits purpose; it was to display a collection that was made possible due to the essence of light and to show that without light in our world, we wouldn’t have these images illuminated. I also found that one of the artists was a Sydney born aboriginal man of the Wiradjuri nation. After more insight into the exhibit background, I was able to have a more thorough reflection and discover a more sincere attitude towards the art displays.