Barello has a system to prep the medical
imaging film for art making. When she retrieves the purged files
from local hospitals, she divides the films according to hue. MRIs
are reasonably consistent in color, while X-rays range from black to
blue. Additionally, X-ray film can be dyed but MRI film is resistant
to extra pigment.
Julia's pieces have varying dimensions and meanings.
In her floral works, the forms become more opaque because they
are stacked shapes held together with a pin. Once the film is dyed,
the artist slices them either by hand with a surgical scalpel
(ironic) or, more recently, with an industrial laser cutter.
In Genome III (above), Barello is suggesting that the
optical effect of shadows upon shadows, combined with X-rayed
information layered on top of each other, references memories'
complexities and opacity.
In a piece such as Swoop, a special
installation at the Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual
Arts at the University of Texas, El Paso, Barello encourages the
21st century viewer to reflect on present-day tendencies to
over-examine our physical bodies. In various venues such as night
clubs, health clubs and even medical facilities, we are observed,
investigated and probed. This triggers classic associations with
medical experiences because the specimens used are of a limited
palette of black and grey, highlighting the information from the
original MRI film.
What is most admirable about Julia Barello's work is
that she connects us to the physical and personal experience as well
as transports us away from it.
Julia Barello has exhibited extensively in the
United States and abroad and is currently a professor of art at New
Mexico State Univeristy in Las Cruces, NM. She was recently awarded
Best in Show at the 2008 Southwest Biennial at the Albuquerque Art
Museum.
