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In this thought-provoking exhibition, Los Angeles-based
Mark Bradford continued his examination of the textures of the city
with two understated, evocative works. Niagara (2005) is
a three-minute video projection of a young black man, seen from
behind, walking down a dilapidated city street. Despite the bleak
setting, the fixed stare of the camera reveals small details --
a slight bounce in the man's gait, the lively swing of his arms,
a little hop he takes half way down the block -- that give the scene
a quiet, unexpected jubilation. Titling his work after an early
Marilyn Monroe movie, Bradford applies a familiar lingering gaze
to an atypical subject, conferring not only desirability or even
glamour, but a glimpse of narrative possibilities that both derive
from the cityscape and defy it.
In the site-specific installation Volver (2006), Bradford
returns to his signature use of distressed commercial billboards
and posters. Amidst this detritus he finds nothing less than revolutionary
potential. A wall plastered with ripped and abraded posters for
the latest Pedro Almodóvar movie is etched with the phrase
"Mississippi Gotddam" while the Nina Simone civil rights
anthem of the same name plays in the background. These diverse references
coalesce to suggest that the neglected edges of the urban landscape
-- even one as saturated by corporate media as LA -- are still fertile
ground for revolution. With this spare, savvy show, Bradford skillfully
plied the intersections of history, pop culture, and the metropolis
to create surprising openings for insurgent voices.
This review originally appeared
in the February, 2007 issue of ARTnews.
Reprinted with permission.
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