Barry Le Va, who is the subject of a retrospective at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania entitled Accumulated Vision, Barry Le Va, on view through April 3, "has used broken glass, meat cleavers, wool felt, ball bearings, powdered chalk, cast concrete, paper towels, linseed oil, a typewriter and a gun, among other things, to make his art," which is "synonymous with the scatter -- a Postminimal gesture now ubiquitous to Postmodern art," according to a recent press release.

"Part of a generation intent on knocking art off its pedestal, Le Va claimed the floor as his field of operations by scattering massive amounts of materials, or forms, to create works which he called 'distributions.' Apparently random, even chaotic, these installations are in fact premeditated and executed according to plan. Not surprisingly, drawing plays a significant role in the work of this artist whose formative training is in architecture.

But perhaps surprisingly, film also serves as a key reference point for Le Va, "who cites Peter Greenaway, Jean-Luc Godard and Orson Welles among the directors whose work he had looked at intensely over the years."

In conjunction with the ICA exhibition, International House, Philadelphia will present a screening of Welles's The Lady from Shanghai on Wednesday, February 2 at 7 p.m., preceded by an introduction by Timothy Corrigan, professor of English and director of cinema studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

"A classic film noir expose of the evils of greed and lust... Welles's oratory on sharks in The Lady from Shanghai is as thrilling as the final shootout in a Hall of Mirrors -- an imagery that evokes Le Va's art", such as the piece "On Center Shatter -- or --Scattershatter (within the Series of Layered Pattern Acts" (pictured, top right), from 1968-71.

# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 1/31/2005 02:53:00 PM

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