In another room, a mood of peaceful nostalgia emanates from the untitled portrait by Vanessa Beecroft of a fair-skinned woman with red cheeks and a light brown hat that is reminiscent of early 20th century fashion.
In another room, Paolo Canevari’s “Burning Colosseum” shows one of Rome’s greatest ancient landmarks engulfed in flames — but because the artist sketched the image in graphite, the raging inferno looks more like dancing hair at the mercy of a blow dryer.
“Continents,” also part of “Senso Unico,” is a six-minute video featuring a dog, a pig, a cat, a bunny and a rat each tied to large black tires, each of which is inscribed with the name of a different continent, written in white letters. All of the animals are lazily resting, except for the dog tied to the “America” tire, a black Labrador that rarely stops barking. This inventive display conjures up numerous interpretations — for instance, calling to mind the satirical political narrative in George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.”
One of the most memorable and moving new exhibits is “Min Tanaka: Photos by Masato Okada 1975-2005.” It includes more than 70 photographs, both in color and black-and-white, of Tanaka, a nude dancer whose bodily positions and movements convey as much meaning and emotion as his face.
Okada’s work often delineates the contrasts between the subject’s body — particularly his skin — and the surfaces upon which he appears in the photographs. In one black-and-white image, Tanaka lies in a garbage dump, with his tightly closed eyes registering severe discomfort. This fragile image of a fragile human form stands out stunningly against the background of unrecognizable trash.
In another photo, Tanaka lies on a flat rock in a shallow part of the ocean. The seascape seems daunting in its vastness and provides a stark contrast to the infantile posture of Tanaka’s nude figure.
Other exhibits include works by Kris Martin, who presents a seven-foot-high ceramic Chinese vase that is broken and reassembled for each new showing in order to experiment with scale and concepts of authenticity and identity
Kathe Burkhart’s Pop Art paintings, from her “Liz Taylor” series, use puns and other wordplay as well as images to confront two-dimensional sexual stereotypes.
Tony Fitzpatrick’s collages fuse painted images with small cutouts from old magazines, matchbooks and wallpaper to create stories about his hometown of Chicago.
For film enthusiasts, there is “Berlin Alexanderplatz” (1980), a controversial 15-plus hour movie by Rainer Werner Fassbinder about an ex-convict’s life in post-World War I Germany. Each episode of the film plays in 14 separate screening rooms, and film stills — fascinating works of art in their own right — hang in adjacent rooms.
The latest exhibits at P.S.1, located at 22-25 Jackson Ave. in Long Island City, will remain on display until Jan. 7. Hours are noon to 6 p.m. Thursday through Monday. Suggested admission is $5 for adults and $2 for students and senior citizens.
For more information, call (718) 784-2084 or visit http://www.ps1.org.
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