Event Review - James Nares Lecture

In Conversation: James Nares

Saturday, January 28, 3:00pm  Lubar Auditorium, Milwaukee Art Museum
in conjunction with  Helen Levitt: In the Street | James Nares: In the City January 27 through April 16, 2017
by Kylee Diedrich

James Nares is a multimedia visual artist.  He was born in London, United Kingdom and went to school for Visual Arts.  He moved to New York City to work as an artist in 1974.  He creates thought provoking and intense works that force the viewer to be uncomfortable, hypnotized and engrossed in the viewing of his work.  His main themes reference movement, rhythms, and repetition. I think he works intuitively and spontaneously while also being precise and conscious of his process. During the talk, Nares discusses a wide scope of his work from when he started out to the most current projects, one called In the City which is showing in the Milwaukee Art Museum. He also has a project named Portraits up in the Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York City, NY. 

From watching his videos he seems to enjoy the balance between physics, art and rhythm. My favorite part of his talk was when he showed called Globe. The video was created in 2007 and is truly hypnotic with the music he chose. I could honestly watch this for hours and never become bored.  I found the video exhibited at the museum interesting, In the City, because he changes how people are viewed and breaks down a barrier between how people want to be seen, and how people are actually seen.  His video, Drip uses changes in sound and speed -- like all of his videos, they are hypnotic.  I feel as though I am in a trance when I view them, everything in the world goes away and I am placed in this other world.