Blog Entry Number: 2 (Before the Sun)

Name of work: Before the Sun
Date of creation: 2010

Artist: Karthik Pandian

This piece was created using film by the artist Karthik Pandian and at first I will say that I was pretty skeptical of seeing the exhibit. Never before have I been to the Midway, nor have I been to a real art gallery. I had high hopes, but low expectations. Once entering the building, I was shocked by what I had seen, or the lack there of. It had been a dark room, confusion had set in. "Isn't an art gallery suppose to have correct lighting?" I thought. While my eyes were adjusting I got a glance at a small image being projected in the corner of the room, and upon rounding the wall that divided the rooms, realized there were two, and not only that it was film that was being projected. My pessimistic side stepped in and I grew skeptical once again. A feeling of disappointment set in, hoping that there was more in the other rooms. But upon taking the time to really sit down and watch these images, I soon realized the depth of the image being projected, which not only sparked questions but also sparked an interest. Questions started popping into my head, "what are these images of?", "where are they taken?", "what is the meaning?" among many others. To give scale, it was a room about twenty by twenty square, the size of a fast food dining area. This was filled by a cake like podium made of sand and sea shells. This also raised questions. In the middle of this podium stood two glass towers with the projectors inside, each pointing east and west (or how i noticed it at the time: left and right from the entrance). One film reel projected the sun rise, while the other showed the sun set. More and more questions arose in my mind, and I became anxious to ask them. When introduced to one of the art gallery's workers questions exploded out of me, leaving the man to fill with empty words. Most of my questions were responded with a "cut and paste" answer or a response of "That is just how it worked out...". Maybe I was asking or expecting to much, but it left me feeling as if there could have been more. That there could be a bigger meaning brought to this piece that I did not understand. But I clasp to that feeling, to be left hanging with disappointment. Over all, it was an interesting piece. Never before have I been to an art exhibit such as this (though my experience in this field is minimal) It had me at the beginning and left a bad taste in my mouth. I just expected more, and maybe I shouldn't have. But the content was interesting, kept me engaged, had me guessing, and depicted something that is so routine in an interesting manner.

-Nick Love