Curator

SUGs Curated

Contributing Artists

Jeff Carter, Rob Davis, Mike Langlois, Young Sun Han, Elise Rasmussen, Stacia Yeapanis

Exhibition Statement as Preserved in the SUGS/SITE Archives:

“I felt a pulsating in my heart. Life was draining out of me, while I walked fearing a fall.”- Marie-Henri Beyle (Stendhal), 1817

 

 Stendhal Syndrome is a psychiatric diagnosis developed in 1989 by Italian psychiatrist Grazielle Margherini, described as an emotionally overwhelming sensation brought on by the sensory overload encountered in large museums, most specifically at the Uffizi in Florence. Characterized by heart palpitations, panic attacks, and even fainting, Margherini named the diagnosis for the French writer Marie-Henru Beyle (ne Stendhal), whose early-19th-century visit to the San Croce church brought on many of the symptoms. The semi-traumatic response to the visual experience of frenetic salon-style hanging displays provides a dramatic introduction to the varied forms of the tourist’s gaze.

 

It is believed that the first American tourist was a doctor named Alexander Hamilton, who traveled “a course of 1,624 miles” from his Maryland home in 1744 just to see what lay beyond the space of his daily experience. Today, tourism tends to be more intentional. From the tradition of the Grand Tour and World’s Expositions to today’s art fairs and biennials, this type of travel has played an integral role in the visual arts. 

 

Without Expectations of Comfort brings together alumni from the Student Union Galleries at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago who participated in the Student Union Galleries either as exhibitors or staff during their tenure at the school. Each artist’s work addresses aspects of tourism’s myriad forms, taking into account both its explorative and explotative capacities. Jeff Carter’s sculptural works are both humorous and critical investigations of cultural tourism that blur the lines between artifical and authentic artifacts and mementos. Rob Davis and Michael Langlois have used Native American imagery in their varied works, exploring cultural sterotypes and tropes of travel souvenirs, and the romanticizing of the American West. In Union Station, set in Chicago, Young Sun Han documents everyday travels and examines how these moments through specific environments shape our identity. Elise Rasmussen has created a series that indexes the semi-traumatic experience of over-stimulation known as Stendhal Syndrome in photographs of the Uffizi’s fainting room and a nearby hospital that treats afflicted travelers. Stacia Yeapanis addresses the fantasy of taking a vacation from oneself in her videos using The Sims life simulation computer game. Taken as a group these works encourage the viewer to question their expectations of travel, emphasizing the possibility that experiencing something new might always be a fantasy.