Vanessa German

Vanessa German

I believe that after discussing how the gallery was set up with Leanne, I wouldn't change a thing.  The traffic flow seems very fluid, and the larger pieces are anchored on either side of the gallery.  She also explained that she chose to use the pieces that use colors of the flag in an "every other" pattern, including the introduction of the actual flag.  She also mentioned that she chose the baby clothing with screen print on them to be the most "provocative" pieces in the window to lure viewers.  All of these make sense.

Before having had heard her explanation, I would say knowing that Vanessa is a performance artist; with the division of floor material, I would have put all of the three dimensional pieces on the carpeted floor and put all the two dimensional pieces on the far wall, along with a podium (optional) and platform, centered in front of the two dimensional pieces for a performance area.  (Stage if you will.)  While she was here to make performances, it would have been excellent.  But now that the show still stands without her presence, the show being set up this way would have been lacking.  I do, however, feel the spacing and location of the pieces were as perfect as you could get!

When I first saw the show and researched Vanessa German, I felt the show and her pieces felt a little "witch doctor" and "voodoo" vibe.  I watched several of her performances and interviews, at which point I wondered if she used this visual reference due to her heritage reference, or if she truly believed in such things.  She has a performance piece called "If my hands were anything other then hands", where she talks about a friend with cancer and how she wishes she could just heal her with her hands.  She also has helped several children in need of some clean extra curricular activities on her very own porch.  She talks about God in both of these instances, so I wondered if she is a spiritual person?  Does she believe in both Faith and Magic?  Another thought was, (and I was too scared to ask...but I think I know the answer anyway), "does she still feel that she deals with and struggles with segregation today?

She is a child-like, humanitarian

"The struggle still lives"

I was very impressed by her depth and knowledge of "her" heritage.  I am ashamed to say, I didn't know half of the history that she talked to us about.  Specifically the parts of slavery prior to coming to the U.S..  It also made me wonder, "what would I paint/sculpt/have a voice or opinion about as an artist?"  I think that is what is so great about her work, as a person of reasonably similar age, is her passion.  What do we in Billings, Montana feel passionately about?  And, as far as the older generation appeal, I think they may find her work fascinating as it has a lot of reference to their living history.

Just to compare, I wanted to add a few other gallery set-ups.

Northcutt Steel Gallery, Montana State University, Billings

I am not sure that I like that the pedestals are not consistent, but I do like the titled backdrop!

This seems to be set-up in a circle, as to not allow entry into the center and control flow on the out skirts.