Molly Schulman, an LA-based artist, is presenting ‘This Is Not A Balloon Dog’ at the Cerritos College Window Dressing installation space from Feb. 10 through Feb. 21.
The art in the window is a sort of dance between three elements that represents the market of today’s art world: The Institution represented by columns, Capitalism symbolized by Jeff Koon’s record-breaking sales represented by balloon dogs, and the Avant-garde represented by Schulman’s performance.
‘This Is Not A Balloon Dog,’ uses a playful sense to represent the revolution against the art world’s existing state by incorporating balloon dogs floating around the columned vitrine.
Schulman’s inspiration for this art exhibition is based on situations she has encountered being in the art world and questions she has been trying to answer through her artwork.
“I do a lot of art about the art market and hierarchies within the art world and what makes art valuable and what makes some art less valuable, I have a project called Maiden LA that plays with that idea also of equalizing hierarchical structures,” said Schulman.
During the night of the opening reception, Feb. 10, Schulman performed in column costume as she blew up and twisted more balloon dogs to release them where they randomly floated around the vitrine space with the help of fans blowing in different directions.
The performance was meant to resemble a snow-globe that plays with the idea of hierarchy in the art world, obscuring the lines between art and commodity, form and function, the real and surreal.
“I hope that the audience walks by and thinks it’s humorous but also maybe connect some of the elements that I am considering and that it sparks their curiosity,” said Schulman.
She also shared that she creates her work based on an idea and then I makes the art considering the idea, so it’s not intuitive in that sense of letting emotions out on a paper but she does think inevitably emotions do come through.
Steve Holton, art history major, thought the art window dressing exhibition is good because it allows students to see what goes on and what pertains to art and showing art in a collective form.
“It is interesting, I have seen similar concepts before, I know the basis of the artwork, and how it is trying to reach down into people’s souls of what art can be and what it is,” said Holton.
Timothy Lascano, art major, saw the process of the artist setting up the exhibition through Instagram so he wanted to see the show.
As he watched he shared the meaning he was perceiving from the performance, “to me seeing all the columns and the balloons it gives me a sense of the government and circus, I see the balloons as the constant creation of distractions and the columns upside down as the chaos,
“My eyes kind of shift to the balloons, when everything else is falling apart she keeps on making more balloons so I get more focused on the balloons rather than the problems/chaos going on,” said Lascano.
Nicole Bernal, printmaking major, was informed about the art exhibition by her professor and decided to check it out herself.
“I just walked out here, it seems fun I’m just not sure what it is trying to say,” said Bernal.
