As a small child, whenever I stayed at my grandmothers home I had difficult time sleeping. Her house was near a highway and car lights would hit the trees in front of my room's window. In those silent nights I would see reflections and various shapes on the white, empty walls of my grandmother's house. Seeing reflections of what's happening outside the window would remind me that I'm safe as long as I stayed in my grandmother's house.
The Hirshorn Museum for Realisms Pt. II had Paul Chan's 1st Light piece displayed at the end of the exhibition. It was beautiful...I remember standing there watching the reflections from a window somewhere invisible. The whole exhibition was based on how one perceives reality and how we differentiate from non-reality. Chan's window provides room for unlimited possibilities all beyond expectation, showing tools of daily life pass by...to an unknown space.As it turns out, Paul Chan's 1st Light is in remembrance of the victims of the September 11. His 7 Lights show expresses his boundless concept of outer space, reality and unpredictable expectations.
In a more bizarre way, Paul Chan explores possibilities of distorting classic art pieces through changing their contexts. As we studied in class, he works on Caravaggio's Fruit Basket resting on the edge of a wall. Just like in 7 Lights, he floats everything in the basket (including basket as well), providing the religious context of The Rapture.
Though all his works somehow look comforting to me, it is clear that his intention is to get his viewers into thinking. His work has a pessimistic and somewhat disturbing nature, almost like nightmare, while I perceive them in a dreamy fashion.
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