Water-Zimmerli Art Museum

                The Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University opened the fall semester with its first show simply entitled, Water. Water sought to explore the representation of water in a variety of regards. A large span of mediums ranging from video to installation and everything in between attempted to address the overarching theme of water. The works within themselves, varied in subject and theme, but all somehow loosely tied into the show’s objective of exhibiting water in the arts. There was a certainly a plethora of work within the exhibit, and arguably there was too much work contained with the constrained museum space. A certain sense of suffocation could be felt when viewing room after room of works which were but a foot apart from each other. In one way, the close proximity of all the works allowed them to meld into one congealed thematic piece regarding water. However, more often than not, the overwhelming amount of work led to certain works overpowering others. Ross Cisneros Ice and Ark was one piece in particular which really was allowed to breathe and stand alone as an individual work. 

The installation was also wisely placed within the immediate view of spectators when initially entering the show’s space. A certain feeling of weight and mass within the numerous bottles nestled within the net attracted the average onlooker’s attention and directly entrenched them within the theme of water. Also, the placement of a more easily readable and literal work as a show’s central piece is a rather intelligent decision. For those who are not deeply entrenched in the arts and are simply looking for a way to enjoy art, it would be inefficacious for there to be an unnecessary complex and abstract work as a show’s introductory piece. Seeing as the Zimmerli Art Museum is actively looking to introduce art to the Rutgers community, it would remain best for them to continue to find a curatorial balance of the high arts against the more verbose and literal. While the show is successful in this particular curatorial aspect, a criticism must be offered in regards to the show’s theme.

                Water is a tremendously varied aspect of nature which has many different facets of its whole. The show Water itself, failed to display all of the features and subjects related to the natural force of water. Rather, the show focused on the serene and peaceful aspects of water opposed to the ferocious and destructive. The mundane blue walls set the tone and the continued similarity in subject between the works was prevalent. Regardless, Water was with its failures along with other pertinent successes and still remains worth viewing.