Andrew Jimenez - Norbert Brunner

While on our recent trip to New York City, I was inspired in what was one of my least favorite galleries on our tour. And after discussion, what was also one of the least favorite galleries of my peers. One of us in particular posted a photo on Instagram with the caption, “I believe no one should ever go to the Claire Oliver Gallery”. Which is actually an incredible pun for the piece of work that she chose to photograph and upload to social media. 

 The show “Choose to Believe” by Austrian Artist, Norbert Brunner, caused a few of us to from incredibly strong opinions, all of which I have heard so far have been negative. After we left we were all asking the question, “Why is this in an art gallery?”

 Norbert Brunner, is considered to be an object/conceptual/installation artist, and commonly makes use of acrylic glass, Swarovski crystals, mirrors, and photographic prints, within his work. This show in particular was illuminated from lights inlaid between the acrylic glass and the frame, and all of the pieces were also backlit from within the frame. His “objects not only reflect the viewer, but also superimpose written messages use few, but compelling words” (His wiki page) . The work was incredibly eye catching, as it was shiny, reflective and brighter than anything else in the gallery. Eye catching, in this case, isn’t a compliment. Other things that are eye catching? Ugly outfits. House Fires. 20-car pile ups on i-95. While his artwork is no where near as horrendous as those, the messages he chooses to use in these pieces are all cliché, campy even. The uplifting words paired with viewing your own image could be inspirational, but they come off slogans for motivational speakers that dominate TV on week days between 9-5 and can also be seen side by side the 700 club at 4 in the morning.

 I feel that the idea, while outdated and ultimately boring, was executed incredibly well. This work in my opinion is incredibly interactive, and and the reason for this comes down to human nature and the complexity of the human mind. It plays on the concept of self-awareness, which is our ability to know of our own existence and differentiate ourselves from our surroundings. It’s believed that many animals within our world lack this capability, and this can be seen by hundreds of videos on the internet where dogs bark at their own reflection on a mirror. That is not saying that as humans who are self-aware are not intrigued and enticed by our own reflection. Many of us immediately whipped out our phones and took “selfies” and sent Snapchats on our phones and even a few of us broke out our DSLR’s to take pictures of our distorted reflections in Brunner’s pieces. A quick Google Image search of “Norbert Brunner” will reveal hundreds of “Selfies” that people who view his work have taken. This is where I found the potential within his work. The ability to literally make a viewer see themselves within a piece.