ART REVIEW: Consulate-General of Spain in Shanghai | Googlegramas
by shanghai_cw | Posted on Sep 15 2008 | Art Review 0 Comments | 0 Bookmarked
See All 1 Photos

Google This
On first hearing of this exhibition, we were a little unimpressed. Honestly, photo-mosaic is a bit passé–the first software was invented in 1996. Even Yao Ming's famous mug has been made up of hundreds of tiny pictures for an ad.

However, the power of photography cannot be denied, and using 10,000 Google images to create each of these works gives them a second layer of meaning. In using pertinent and often politically-oriented search words to find images, artist Joan Fontcuberta has stripped back layers to find the story beneath–not obvious at the first sight of a photograph.

On entering, we were struck by the first work, a familiar image of Auschwitz. Yet another familiar image–a U.S. army soldier abusing an Iraqi prisoner follows along with others with themes such as power, abuse, politics, violence, impotence and history.

Fontcuberta's chosen media is not what makes this show worth seeing. When we saw our first photo-mosaic back in the late 90s, we innocently assumed that someone had painstakingly hand assembled all the images. Now the magic spell has been broken, the method lacks the technical cachet of a masterful oil, for example, or a perfectly rendered sculpture. Yet, the revelation of the subtext gives it strength. A photo of a dead Iraqi man is composed of images found by searching the names of the world leaders who supported the first invasion of Iraq. Also, from the mundane comes the beautiful. The final work, a woman reclining on a sofa, uses images including trashy porn shots and advertising material.

The whole photo mosaic concept and Internet theme aren't new, but the message and photos themselves are testimony to the timeless power of the image.

Elyse Singleton

0 Comments

Other Posts by This Writer

GREAT GETAWAYS: South China | Sichuan | Sanya | Beijing

By shanghai_cw

South China Grand Tour These days the Grand Canal is a quaint artifact of China’s ...

Hao Chi

By shanghai_cw

CW boldly takes you where you haven't eaten before You’d have to be a fool ...

SHANGHAIology: David Basmajian | Go Big or Go Home | Visa Revival

By shanghai_cw

SMALL TALK WITH ... David Basmajian Every Vote Counts With the U.S. election looming, David ...

The Play’s the Thing

By shanghai_cw

Independent theater stretches its wings Yeah, we’ve seen Hairspray and some great Shakespeare, but what’s ...

ART REVIEW: Shanghai Art Museum | Translocalmotion: 7th Shanghai Biennale

By shanghai_cw

A Buffet For The Senses A45-ton train perched on real tracks, rice paddies, wine sloshing ...

A Techno Anniversary

By shanghai_cw

An underground electronic music crew turns one In the middle of Void Crew founder Nat ...

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie

By shanghai_cw

Austrailian DJ duo Hermitude seeks “shelter” in Shanghai Your first release, Imaginary Friends, was vinyl-only. ...

THE BEAT: This Is a Call

By shanghai_cw

Who among us will make the next move? By the time this column goes to ...

THE LGBeaT: Drag Queen

By shanghai_cw

The highs and lows of drag in the Strumpet of the Orient Shanghai can really ...

BEST CARROT CAKES

By shanghai_cw

Improve Your Eyesight Cafés | Wagas The perfect compliment to your lunch or coffee break, ...

IN THE KITCHEN: Willy Trullas Moreno | Chef at El Willy

By shanghai_cw

Creative Tapas King El Willy means “The Willy,” right? Yes. Why are you “The” Willy? ...

WINO: Champagne: Stripped Down

By shanghai_cw

It takes a healthy dose of self-confidence and a sort of “nose up” to the ...

MY PEEPS: Robb Ross | Shanghai Expat Learning Center

By shanghai_cw

Back to School "Learning Center" sounds like "school." Is that what you see this as? ...

FAMILY MATTERS: It's My Party

By shanghai_cw

How to host a stress-free party for your baby's first birthday My mother recently asked ...

MVP: Feel the Burn

By shanghai_cw

Lisa Law | Synapse Pilates Studio For those who've been living under a rock, what ...

Moving Out

By shanghai_cw

Shanghai dance classes are stepping out of the studios In Shanghai's roaring past, citizens flocked ...

SPA REVIEW: The Ritz-Carlton Salon | Traditional Chinese Massage & Foot Reflexology

By shanghai_cw

The Pressure's On Most brand new hotels include lavish facilities dedicated to the sole purpose ...

FASHIONISTA: To Market, To Market

By shanghai_cw

We often hit a wall when it comes to new places to shop, but this ...

GREAT GETAWAYS: South China | Sichuan | Sanya | London

By shanghai_cw

South China Grand Tour These days the Grand Canal is a quaint artifact of China’s ...

WEEKENDER: Tongli | Suzhou

By shanghai_cw

Island Town Surrounded by five lakes, cut into patchwork by canals and crisscrossed by cobblestone ...