ARTS
OUT OF WHACK Constructing Identity in the Digital Age By Tony de los Reyes, Visual and Media Arts Teacher
Walking into Windward’s Held and Bordy Family Gallery, one is immediately confronted with Justin Bower’s massive painting Decoder/Debaser (2011), on loan from the collection of parents Teddy and Emily Greenspan. The blurred, anonymous “portrait” feels apt for our time, a period of epic transitions and constant destabilization. Containing furious brushstrokes, vibrant vertical lines, and warped colors, the painting
constantly works against stability. The figure seems to ask, “Where am I?” “What is happening to me?”
Teddy and Emily Greenspan, whose son Nolan is in the Class of 2019, are dedicated supporters of the arts, including LACMA, American Friends of the Israel Museum, and the upcoming Institute of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. Last year, they hosted a private parent and faculty walkthrough of LACMA’s “50 for 50: Gifts on the Occasion of LACMA’s Anniversary” exhibition focusing on important new work donated to the museum.
small abstract painting by Mary Heilmann. He was 21 and had just graduated college. With little disposable income, Teddy was allowed to pay for the work in installments, thus beginning a collecting adventure now going on 25 years. Today, walking into their art-filled home, one can see Los Angeles artists collected in depth, as well as important international work in a variety of media.
In the early 90s, Teddy Greenspan walked into the Pat Hearn gallery in SoHo, New York, and fell in love with a
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In the Spring of 2016, Visual and Media Arts faculty visited the Greenspans’ home and collection and selected Bower’s painting as a catalyst for this exhibition and accompanying class projects regarding identity in the contemporary world. Using digital animation and photography, Adobe Photoshop, and the analog processes of drawing and painting, students created works that addressed the concept of a constructed, and/or mediated identity.
Their children have grown up with the collection and have intuitively picked up a sense of passion and respect for art. Emily, who is the director/owner of TAG Arts, an art consulting and advisory firm,
For Windward students, the new norm of decontextualized social and cultural bonds, combined with ever-expanding virtual social media relationships, has created a world in which identity is a highly fluid concept. During the run of this exhibition, students in the English Department responded to their works and ideas through poetry and prose and worked directly with guest poet Jeremy Radin. (See Page 26).
says their collection “affects the way we feel on a daily basis.” For the Greenspan family, living with art not only generates a positive energy, but also challenges the way they engage with it. The VMA department is very grateful for the generous lending of their artwork, as well as the spirit that parallels Windward’s commitment to the arts.
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