Jim Hodges "The end where you are"

Mariela Quintuna
Reviewing the Arts
18 November 2010
Visual Art Review

Jim Hodges at Museum of Contemporary Arts, 220 E. Chicago Ave.

Jim Hodges was born in 1957 in Spokane Washington. He is a New York base installation artist. He received his Bachelor Fine Arts degree in Fort Wright College in 1980 and his Masters of Fine Arts degree from the Pratt Institute in 1986. His piece “Don’t Be Afraid” was installed on the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C. in 2005. Another of his pieces “The end from where you are, 1998” is one of the collections from the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Chicago. The MCA has displayed his work with a new title, “Lost & Found.”
From the collection, the one piece that looked awesome was “The end from where you are.” This piece is different from other art work that comes out of the Art Institute because instead of looking at boring paint or sketches, this artist chose to sculpt his piece by using everyday materials and found objects that comprises his work. The materials and objects that he uses ranges from beads to aluminum cans, from wool to popcorn, from trash to mirrors and all of this has been transformed into works of art that captures the viewers eye. The diversity in the piece shows that by him using these materials, it says that the artist has a connection with nature and that is why it is a potential contemporary piece.
When looking at this piece, you can see all the aluminum that he used and it somewhat looks like a shower curtain that has the designs of flower patterns all around. However, this “curtain” isn’t like having a big cloth and has drawing of flowers, rather it is all different materials such as aluminum that is possibly stretch out like a string to be attached to other materials and continue that process and flower pattern until it is finished. What is interesting about this piece is that you don’t know where the end is. It could of ended on the edges, on the top or bottom. Hence the name of the piece “The end from where you are.” It could be from whatever angle you are looking from or how you stare at it. It could be observed from looking up or down or side to side.
This art work would be considered as the best art you can see and observe because it is not your traditionally art work where all you see is water paint, oil paint or just a simple sketch. This is the kind of art work that the viewers could relate to and with the artist as well. Hodges deserves his art to be appreciated because it is a different kind of art compared to other artists or sculptures. This display is currently at the MCA and it would be there until February 2011.