Anne Gilman at BBAC @ Hyperallergic
BIRMINGHAM, Mich. — We may think of the scroll as an archaic form, borne of necessity or designed with anachronistic reverence for the relatively precious ink-and-paper technology of the preceding centuries. But to dismiss the scroll as merely aesthetic or functional fails to consider the conceptual significance of the scroll as a uniquely temporal object — one that requires the reader to move through a narrative in a subjective and physical manner, as it literally unrolls. In truth, the scroll has proven to be one of the most enduring forms, as each and every reader of this article is currently utilizing a virtual scroll.
Artist Anne Gilman seems to keenly appreciate the scroll as both a physical and temporal experience; her solo show, Up close / in the distance / now at the Birmingham Bloomfield Arts Center is comprised almost exclusively of super-sized scroll-like works on paper. These hang on walls — or in one case from the ceiling, dividing the space like a legend between her complementary fields of orange and blue — or lay out on a plinth-top or the floor, in one case punctuated by a pair of crystal balls.
Read more here…