BARBARASIELERGALLERY

ZÜRICH,SWITZERLAND

SHANA LUTKER AT BARBARA SEILER

GALLERYA.G.L. &X

BRIGHT YELLOW CURTAINED WINDOWS, NEATLY DISPLAYED COLLECTION OF OBJECTS NEAR THE FLOOR.WEIRD SHAPE OF TWO STICKS SIDE BY SIDE, HOLDING THEMSELVES UP ON A WOODEN FLOOR;AND A WALL WITH NINE UNNATURAL POSES BY SOME WOMEN.

Within this show, Lutker included several beau-tifully incorporated objects and prints to portray the story of a mental patient named Augustine who was referred to by “A” “G” “L” and sometimes “X” in the case study. This woman was documented as the first hysterical woman in history, which Lutker explained is what fascinated her in the first place. She discovered in her in research about one of the earliest if not the first mental hospitals, which was all women. In her talk, Lutker explained each piece of the overall show. In one room of the gallery, the wall was covered with large scale prints which, as she explained, were staged photos of the patient that were supposed to document a hysterical episode or seizure, which was interesting because, as Lutker explained, based on the technol-ogy of the times, photos needed to be staged in or-der for them to come out, so the fact that she had to stay still in these poses was peculiar. Lutker explained further about her series of objects in correlation with her own practice. Her series of objects were placed on a sort of shelf she had created. The shelf was at a low height so you had to look down to view the objects, which she said, was to emulate how people looked down on those who were mentally ill or “strange.” She explained her fascination with the fact that hundreds of years ago people who were “out of the ordinary” were simply thought of as crazy and that was that, but after Charcot and Freud and doctors realized that these people had illnesses, people thought of it as such and not merely mad. She described how throughout her life she had collected various objects and kept them in her studio, which were similar to Augustine’s habit of tying knots. In addition to these collections, she spoke of her postcard collection, which made an appearance in the show to signify the surrealist aspect of the psy-choanalysis of hysteria. Lutker spoke of her fascination with surrealism and psychology/psychoanalysis, which she had been interested in for some time, constantly returning to the subject of hysteria. Especially the fact that Charcot and Freud were interested in this subject and they were two heroes of hers, she felt the need to make objects based on their analyses. She explained that in addition to this show being about Augustine, it was also about what we perceive as truth and what we choose to perceive as truth, which she said was the purpose of her two branch sculptures, one was a cast and one was a real stick. Lutker also had the chance to visit the hospital where Augustine was, and was able to make a cast of one of the steel grates, which were dis-played in the gallery. Lutker explained that she had put the grates on the ground so they would blend into the space. Similarly, she described the interesting structures that the yellow curtains were hung on in the windows of the gallery were supposed to be shaped like needles, which these women in the hospital were pricked with as “studies” by the doctors. Each object in the show has a particular place, which Lutker said was a conscious decision.

Shana’s work was quite interesting as it drew lines between that which is real and unreal. There remained a consistent lingering sense of time, dialogue, and reality vs.misperception. Her work referencing time was presented through her photographs on the back wall as they work as a semi-replacement for reality. As a woman is re-enacting the events of an epileptic seizure, these moments recaptured in time are proven false through the photographic lens as the woman can pose for the reenactment. On the floor in front of the photographs, the piece Stick 1 and Stick 2 is comprised of a real stick and its bronze imi-tation; reflecting the handmade and the found, also corresponding to the layout of objects in the first room. These very carefully placed objects were a collection of unique oddities that created specific repetitions, yet at the same time allowed the viewer to make their own personal associa-tions and rhythms as one traveled throughout the items. Like Stick 1 & 2, the ordered objects displayed in the first room were ready-mades against their handmade counterparts, but one couldn’t sense the difference, as all the objects were unspecific and timeless. Presented with Shana’s work, our perception of authenticity was being questioned as we moved throughout her artifacts in the space. As in the photographs of A.G.L.&X., by herself and by others, these il-lusions of what really is happening versus what one sees, is the real trick to Shana’s work. The exhibit was a constant nonverbal dialogue that questioned relationships and perceived patterns in her work. As Shana laid out theseartifacts for us to try to piece together, relate, and make whole, and our understanding ofher connection to A.G.L.&X. as A.G.L.&X is an artifact herself, was of much interest toShana and the men studying her prior.

My favorite gallery visit was Shana Lutker’s “A. G. L. & X.” exhibition at Barbara Seiler Galerie. I enjoyed the work, but what really drew me in was Shana’s ability to articulate her practice. She was able to give us a thorough yet concise explanation of her history and the history of her work. When I first walked in, I loved look-ing at the strange collection of objects and the pops of yellow throughout the show. Our group seemed to really respond to the twigs in the second room. I think everyone really responded to that piece because they liked taking a care-ful look at it and realizing that the second twig was actually cast. My favorite part was the wall of photos of thewoman, which reminded me of research and work I have done in the past. Once Shana explained the show to us it all made per-fect sense as to why the wall of photos hit home for me. The photos had initially reminded me of Francesca Woodman and the cover of a book about mental illness called “Stop Pretending” by Sonya Sones. The photos were disturbing and dark so once Shana explained that the images were of a woman in a hospital re-performing her seizures/episodes I was instantly hooked. I started to think about how the blurred photograph has related to mental illness overtime. I related to this particular talk because I have studied madness, psychology, and Freud consistently throughout my time at SAIC. Shana explained that her work is based on the study of madness and the idea of madness not necessarily being nonsense. She likes to play with the idea of real vs. fake. With a piece like the twigs, it took us all a second to see that one was cast and one was real so we all had to take a closer look to really figure it out. Shana also talked a lot about the color yellow and how it really distinguishes real from fake. When she visited Salpietriere Hospital in Paris the curtains were bright yellow and she brought that into the gallery along with some other elements from the hospital. Some pieces she created herself and some pieces she found and collected over time. I thought she did a great job with naming the exhibition. A. G. L. & X. were the names the doc-tors Salpietriere had for the women/patients in the hospital. Overall, I thought this show was a success and a great start to our trip.

Our first stop in Switzerland, aside from the hotel, provided a good transitionfrom the Chicago scene to that found throughout the international chaos of Art Basel. Shana Lutker provided us with a nearly typical yet surpris-ingly wellbacked body of objects and pictures. The archival nature of her show proved more considered than I had originally expected. Ini-tially I expected another overly open-ended col-lection of oddities and found objects; however, after Ms Lutker enlightened us to the origins of the work, it became apparent that the themes were founded. The genesis of the collection lay in the early days of psychology, especially as related to its treatment of women. By being able to clearly articulate the connections between the various pieces, the artist tied the disparate elements together and won me over with her work. Attention to detail throughout the space was impressive. Golden yellow curtains hung in the windows suspended by large double-ended spikes, wedging it into the window frame. Originally I had written these off as elements of the gallery itself, though I came to understand they were authentic window dressings from the very institution in which Shana’s research was centered. In addition to the curtains, the space contained several cast iron vent covers. They too were authentic artifacts of this early psychologi-cal hospital and research facility. In short, the thorough understanding of her subject made her comments on the naïve processes of early psy-chiatric medicine and its reliance on superficial associations in determining cause and effect, clear and pertinent. My only true critique is a wish to see the message come across without having to be flanked by the artist’s words. This may be a difficult bridge for the work to cross by its nature, but can a piece be truly successful if it cannot stand-alone?

INTERVIEWSHANA LUTKER

How have the places you’ve lived inspired your work, or taken away from yourwork?

I don’t feel that the places I have lived have inspired my work directly, but I do think thatit is good to live near artists, art, and good art institutions.

What are some of the most important things you have taken away from art school?In art school I began to think about how to make objects. It was a gift of time dedicated tofiguring out how to be a working artist and I learned a lot from my peers and teachers.

How would you describe your relationship to Europe? Both personally and with regard toyour art.A lot of my research is focused on late nineteenth and early twentieth century Europe, in thebeginnings of psychoanalysis and surrealism. I enjoy being in Europe, the differences betweenthe cultures, the way that things go. It often feels more organized and seems wiser—older andmore flexible to change with time. But there are problems with that too, and a lot of things alsoseem more stuck.

Which artists have greatly inspired you and your work?Some artists that I have been inspired by at different times include Mary Kelly, Hanne Darboven,Mark Dion, Robert Gober, Joan Didion, Mark Manders, Susan Hiller, Frances Stark, and SophieCalle.

What sparked your interest in madness?I am interested in the slipperiness between subjective experience and objective truth, and theway that interpretation and context greatly change public and private histories, and who gets todetermine what is right or real. One definition of madness could be the experience of a realitythat does not correspond with the accepted version of reality of one’s own society.

Would you consider yourself a feminist? You talked about how hysteria was a “woman’sproblem” back in the day, did that give you a reason to explain, explore, and/or defend thishistory?Yes, I consider myself a feminist. I see and encounter the world as a woman first. And the otherthings that I am fall under that umbrella — artist, American, etc. Hysteria was defined early inmedical history as a disorder of the uterus, and was diagnosed primarily as a women’s disease.Today the term “hysteria” is no longer a proper medical term. I am interested in the history of theword and of the way that it’s symptoms have been diagnosed.

How have Breton, the Surrealists, and the archive of Charcot played into your research/work?My research into Freud and the Surrealists led me to Charcot’s archive of photographsdocumenting the symptoms of hysteria from the Salpietrere Hospital in Paris. Frued studied inParis with Charcot and it was a major turning point in his thinking about treatment of mentalillness. The photographs Charcot had taken of his patients are theoretically documentingcompulsive and unconsciously motivated physical manifestations of different mental states, butin order to get the pictures, the patients would have to pose, act out, and sometimes re-enacttheir “attacks” for the photographer.

What were some difficulties you faced as far as getting authorization in the SalpietriereHospital? If there were no difficulties, what was the process like?I did not get any special authorization to go to the Salpietriere Hospital in Paris. It is a publicteaching hospital and people can walk the grounds. I did not try to go inside the wards, butfocused my visits on the grounds, and in thinking about what it would have been like to be thereas a patient. There are a number of historical engravings of patients in the yards of the facility.

Can you talk a little bit about how the color yellow is expressed in your work?The color yellow is intense and uncomfortable, it is linked to insanity and anxiety as well ascaution (it is in-between go and stop). I don’t use a lot of color in my work, but yellow is a colorthat heightens the line between what seems natural and unnatural.What was your favorite part of Art Basel ‘11?The Statements section at Basel and the 12-guitar performance at New Jerseyy.