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    Art Review: ‘Nostalgia’ is More Than Just a Trip Down Memory Lane

    Exhibitions, whether they are in a museum or a gallery, subtly ask the viewer to participate in the work through their own lived experiences. There’s a dialogue that exists between artist and viewer where an artist might present an experience and invite the viewer to examine how that experience plays out — or doesn’t — in their own life. Nostalgia isn’t that subtle. The name of the exhibition, on view at Blockfort through December 11, directly invites the viewer to examine their relationship with nostalgic moments from their past, albeit through the lens of the artist.

    The beauty of Nostalgia isn’t just a trip down your own memory lane, however. The journey spans the many different decades and generations of the artists and interns represented by Blockfort, and through examining their memories, we’re gifted a sense of wistfulness for times and places we might not have otherwise been witness to.

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    The artists of Blockfort explore nostalgic memories through art.
    The artists of Blockfort explore nostalgic memories through art.

    Some artists took inspiration from their childhood, choosing iconic characters that reminded them of simpler and joyful times and representing these memories through their own established artistic styles. Some artists, like Catherine Bell Smith, have pushed themselves beyond their chosen style. Those familiar with Smith’s work will know she often leans on nature-inspired installations that focus on the environment, not on pop culture.

    “We grew up in the late ’50s and early 60’s,” Smith explains about her subject matter. “Barbie was everything. So I thought that that would be a good safe place. It was for us when we were playing, despite the fact that we were growing up practicing atomic bomb dives under our desks.”

    Viewers might not immediately recognize Smith’s work, which are two Barbie dolls slowly locked in an endless dance atop a turntable.

    Catherine Bell Smith explores childhood memories of playing with Barbie.
    Catherine Bell Smith explores childhood memories of playing with Barbie.

    Jump ahead 50 years into the future and Barbie remains a common nostalgic thread. Artist and Blockfort intern Sophie Gerdeman, possibly the youngest artist represented and therefore the one with the most vivid memories of childhood, also credits Barbie as a source of inspiration. Animation, video games, toys and movie characters are all common subjects for Nostalgia.

    It could have been very easy for Nostalgia to be a messy, although a very joyful, show. With so many artists and different styles representing a plethora of different topics, walking into Nostalgia could have felt like watching a scrambled TV that was constantly switching channels. Artist and curator Adam Brouillette describes placing the show, abandoning any attempts at grouping work together by subject and instead grouping work together aesthetically.

    “It’s kind of like you have these aesthetic things that match each other, but then also the story jumps,” he says. “You’ll be sent through these different pathways of how people experience nostalgia and how different it is for people of different generations.” 

    Artist Daniel Rona takes a turn from his traditional abstracted work and instead has chosen a very real-world object: an old CRT computer monitor and a blue bottle of Bawls, a highly caffeinated carbonated soda heavily marketed towards gamers in the late ’90s.

    “I had a vivid image of the CRT monitor and this tan look that everything had on old computers,” says Rona as he recalls going to LAN parties with his dad in his youth. Those that share a lived experience with Rona can almost hear the click of an ancient monitor turning on and the feel of the glass bottle in their hands. “This Nostalgia show is really kind of showing why artists are artists. It’s because we tend to escape from our life,” explains Rona. 

    Daniel Rona breaks from abstraction to create work for "Nostalgia"
    Daniel Rona breaks from abstraction to create work for “Nostalgia”

    Indeed, escapism and nostalgia can go dangerously hand in hand. Like Smith turning to Barbies during wartime and Rona turning to video games to escape the harshness of high school social life, we seek out comfort and escape into different worlds.

    Artist Maya Pinz explores childhood memories in a parallel show, Growing Pains, downstairs at Blockfort. Exploring family issues such as divorce in Growing Pains, Pinz wanted to create a piece for Nostalgia that fit the rose-tinted glasses we often wear when remembering our past.

    “As kid, I would literally fantasize about going somewhere else,” Pinz says.

    She explains her process in choosing a subject for Nostalgia.

    “I had a drawing of Neverland and Peter Pan and I had it on my window for months … for me, nostalgia sometimes is tied to a bittersweet [feeling] of wanting to get away,” she says.

    Work in "Nostalgia" features the many different artists within Blockfort.
    Work in “Nostalgia” features the many different artists within Blockfort.

    The success of Nostalgia is that it strikes a perfect balance between joyful escapism into the comforts of our past, with a thoughtful conversation that asks us what we’re escaping from and more importantly, why. Nostalgia holds space for everyone to participate in this conversation, whether your preferred tools of escaping are through video games, music, movies or fairytales. Younger generations can connect with moments of pop culture history that exist just beyond their grasp and older generations can form a deeper understanding of their youthful counterparts by witnessing the commonality that is mirrored throughout the exhibition.

    Artist Nicholas Nocera is nostalgic for Columbus music institutions that no longer exist.
    Artist Nicholas Nocera is nostalgic for Columbus music institutions that no longer exist.

    Visit Blockfort on Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. through December 11, including on Saturday, December 3 for the Discovery District Holiday Trolley Hop.

    Nostalgia is on view at Blockfort through December 11, 2022. For more information, visit blockfortcolumbus.com.

    All photos by Ashley Steward.

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    Ashley Steward
    Ashley Stewardhttps://www.columbusunderground.com/
    Ashley is a contributor for Columbus Underground and a long-time supporter of the arts in Columbus. They studied Fine Art at The Ohio State University and have spoken on the subject of art collecting and NFTs for Pecha Kucha, Wild Goose Creative, and the Greater Columbus Arts Council. They currently serve on the Advisory Board for 934 Gallery and have curated a number of past exhibitions. Ashley also serves as an advisor for Rela Art and sits on the board of Matter News.
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