OUTPOSTS FROM THE MATERIAL WORLD

NOTES TO NONSELF

2010-10-14T09:11:00.000-07:00

Notes To Nonself, currently on view at Herron Galleries in Indianapolis, is an incredible journey through the passageways of self-hood by artists Diane Christiansen and Soshanna Utchenik, both originally from Chicago. They aptly describe the exhibition, which was first installed at Chicago's Hyde Park Art Center, as a "metaphoric landscape for the activity of the mind." The exhibition's immersive environment is composed of an ego forest rife with clouds, an octopus of attachment, a campsite that cannot be entered, a meditation center/clubhouse that visitors may utilize, a video installation, and strings of prayer flags to which viewers are invited to add their own flags containing positive intentions. "The areas are things you get hooked on, things your mind gets hooked on and obsesses on," Christiansen explains. The octopus, for example, represents attachment: relational, body image, and attachment to youth. Each tree in the ego forest represents a false duality such as isolation/connection and sloth/activity.

The cohesion between the two artists is almost startling to witness in real time; they regularly complete each other's thoughts and interact with the outside world very much as one unit. The pair met when Utchenik was introduced to Christiansen on the pretext that she might be able to help her create a giant cartoon character of Christiansen's design out of paper machete. When Utchenik moved to Slovenia, she reached out to Christiansen and the two began a friendship that developed through physically mailing small notes and pieces of ephemera to each other as well as contact through Skype and other online means. These same notes blossomed into Notes To Nonself, and most of them are integrated as collages into the trees of the ego forest. "Some of our worldviews are very shockingly similar and hilariously so, and so we started seeing the world and each other and ourselves in these notes, sort of colliding, and we hadn't really known each other before." Christiansen muses. "Once we saw this accumulation and the potential for continuing that process of communicating visually through materials, we were like 'OK, let's propose putting this together in a space,'" Utchenik adds.

The artists describe the coming together of Notes To Nonself as "slapdash." "When she says slapdash, that really alludes to a whole world of people coming together to gather all these elements, and not necessarily quick, but just rough...the notes are very precise in terms of personal moments captured...the actual construction was very rough, and really reliant on faith, on just believing that this would come together with one person helping us with this thing, and one person helping us with another and faith also that we should make this, because it is a crazy scale considering that when we began the process we didn't have any support or financial support," the artists explain. The materials they used to construct the different parts of the exhibition are quite unique: bamboo, paper machete, tape, plywood and fishing wire. "Nonself" refers to a lack of solidity and the interconnectedness not only of beings but of everything. Notes To Nonself's iconology, including the video, feature "peculiar landscapes filled with trees, skulls and distinctive cartoon figures and animals," to quote the exhibition catalog; Christiansen's recent drawing and painting work are heavily influential here, and it is important to note that the skulls are a Tibetan reference and symbolize the death of the ego.

Notes To Nonself is a decidedly quirky exercise in exploring human truths, relationships, and ideas of self and ego. Navigating through the exhibition necessitates some level of interaction with all of its different parts; this is not a series of flat works on walls or 3D works on pedestals but a complete environment that must be grappled with. It is deeply personal, yet the artists have succeeded in making a personal statement that forces viewers to have their own reckonings about ego, self-hood and the human experience.

A still image from the video in the exhibition

IT'S A THOUGHT

2010-10-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

Put me in Coach!

Indianapolis' fairly new Wake Press & Gallery recently closed It's A Thought, a combination solo and collaborative drawing project executed entirely in Wake's space. The exhibition was born from five days of collaborative drawing by current or former Herron School of Art and Design artists Sydney Webb, Michael Nannery, Marx Shoemaker and Adam Wollenberg. The result is an exercise in exploring and pushing the boundaries of drawing, a medium often overlooked in the fine art world. In this case it is hard not to pay attention; how do four artists mold a collaborative work through such an intensive process and still leave their individual "mark?" Done entirely in grey scale, the lack of colors draws attention to the artists' working methods, usually abstract content, and varied line structure and shading. Materials used for the work in this show include spray paint, latex paint, graphite, charcoal and even plaster. Four unique artists have come together and managed to make a cohesive offering through their solo works and the epic collaboration piece that takes up nearly an entire wall. "Even our individual drawings have an aspect of collaboration to them because we've done all the work right here in the gallery and while we're working we're just going around talking to each other about each other's drawings," explains Michael Nannery. Below are individual artist statements, images of the artists at work, images of the finished artwork, and a video of the artists during the creation of the artwork.

Sydney Webb

As a primary part of my art making I look at repetitive motion and cyclical growth in nature as the relating factors in all of my contexts, urban, rural and spiritual life. Drawing becomes a part of this as meditative practice. When I begin to draw, it is instinctual, finding forms from my surroundings and representing them as I see them. With this in mind, shapes morph into other shapes and forms become only valuable in representing the state of flux.

Native forms from instinctive form

Michael Nannery

At what point does a drawing aided by a photo reference cease to be a coherent thought? Through imitation of a two-dimensional image, the artwork at hand wavers closely to the point of being a mere representation rather than an extraction of artistic insight. A photo reference has the potential to curb the artist’s vision instead of manifesting possibilities. This is not to say that photo references are useless; they have ability to aid the artist in decision-making and analysis. In a sense, the source imagery may serve as a guide and collaborator for the actualization of the drawing. Ideally, a photograph should inform the drawing, not vice versa.

Accumulated Filth

Marx Shoemaker

I am less interested in replication than I am in vast descriptions. Complete with all the inconsistencies that arise when filtering information, this drawing is an attempt to describe the way an object inhabits space. What appeals to me are images that use lights and darks as language to explain depth and forms. I used a great abundance of this language in order to create shifts and movement.

Preservatives

Adam Wollenberg

Your thoughts can sometimes be perfect and direct but other times can be just a haze. This piece is based in symbolism and metaphors, as a reflection of my perception on drawing as a medium. Translating your thoughts to paper whether be through any medium can reflect and say so much subconsciously. Each individual stroke has a life of its own and influences the next mark while at the same time being completely forgotten about and left alone.

Sliver Your Eyes

Thanks to the artists for the images of the finished work

NERS: "Sparkles, Sprinklers, and Bad Seeds"

2010-09-10T07:17:00.000-07:00

NERS recently unveiled his latest body of work at Harrison Center for the Arts in Indianapolis. Sparkles, Sprinklers, and Bad Seeds channels suburban angst and nature lust in the artist's characteristically bright and straightforward fashion. Works on colored paper with clean, simple lines and sculptures combining natural elements with unexpectedly painted areas in brilliant colors fill the Harrison Center's Gallery 2. The space was once a chapel and presents a novel and engaging if challenging environment for exhibiting contemporary art. NERS' new series of "trophies" - painted sticks with pennant flags designed to support themselves when installed in drywall, required some improvisation when it came to installing. The gallery's brick and cinderblock walls necessitated hot glue and invisible thread be utilized to support the trophies.

"Growing up in the suburbs, I pined to be in nature. Sparkles, Sprinklers, and Bad Seeds is a reaction against the suburban ideals and chromophobia while glorifying the inherent beauty in nature, letting the weeds grow, and just plain forgetting to mow." -NERS

So what exactly is the significance or meaning of Sparkles, Sprinklers, and Bad Seeds? Sparkles reference diamonds (certainly an important part of NERS' iconology) and wealth, sprinklers reference summer, and bad seeds refers to misbehaving children. Sustainability is a recurring thread in NERS' work and is manifested in various ways. For the first time, the artist has chosen to employ pedestals in an installation and of course he could not do so in a conventional way. Rather than a standard white rectangle, NERS' pedestals are logs with the upper surface painted white. In one case, a log sculpture is situated atop a log-based pedestal, blurring lines between exhibition components and art. Painting the surface of the logs that holds the art white makes for an interesting syncretism between traditional gallery culture and the sort of nature maverick approach to art that NERS takes.

There are also more of the "diamond paintings" that NERS has been making for a while now in the show, and they are always pleasing due their unexpected combinations of colors. Using paint hue examples cut into diamond shapes and frames that have usually been picked up second-hand, this working method is a good example of NERS' commitment to sustainability in art due to their repurposing of discarded materials. Their status as paintings as opposed to collages is a bit cryptic. "They're done with paint, but I didn't paint it," he explains. The diamond paintings are fitted to the size of the frames they occupy, but often spill out from one edge in unexpected shapes and lengths.

Other works on paper are displayed in a way that creatively responds to the difficulty of hanging art on brick and cinder blocks: an uber-salon style display of clustered framed works sit on the floor in the middle of the exhibition. The label for these works as well as the pedestal pieces are hand-written on fluorescent paper and placed on the floor, an interesting departure from the usual method of typed labels on white backgrounds placed on adjacent walls. The upside is that you can't miss the labels, which is often all-too-easy when wall labels attempt to identify works on pedestals. One piece pictured below even finds NERS adding a piece of fungus with a wooden crystal to the frame of a 2-D piece, an interesting continuation of the content both literally and figuratively.

Sparkles, Sprinklers and Bad Seeds finds NERS at an interesting point. Having weathered a personally challenging but perhaps artistically fulfilling fifteen month period after obtaining his BFA from Herron School of Art and Design, this show is one that would have taken place in the past if not for the personal upheaval that resulted in Magical Wonderfulness. The work still feels fresh in large part, and this show marks the end of logs, pinecone shapes and hand-drawn diamond shapes in the artist's iconology. Who knows what the future will hold for NERS, but indeed it will be a....bright one.

I had a chance to catch up with NERS during the installation of the show. See what he had to say:

Dead Artists' Homes, Ethics, and Museums: Westermann's House For Sale

2010-07-26T11:52:00.000-07:00

It was with great surprise that I received an email this morning from a Connecticut realtor notifying me of the presence of the late H.C. Westermann's house on the market. The current status of the house had been the subject of questioning recently; although there has been scholarship published about the house, what happened to it after Westermann's wife Joanna Beale Westermann passed away some years ago was unclear to myself and others. Westermann's house was, perhaps, the culminating work of his extremely productive and storied career as an artist. Having braved difficult living conditions for nearly his entire life, he put his all into crafting the home that was the stuff of dreams for himself and his wife, as it was literally dreamed up by the two of them. Westermann painstakingly built the home from foundation to ceiling, all by hand and with very little assistance, using the most exacting standards of craftsmanship at great physical and financial cost. He was so dedicated to old-world methods of working that he refused to use Philips-head screws in constructing his house and used the finest wood he could find. Attached to the living space was a combination artist studio and gym, making the property place where he could both work and live with his wife in the relative seclusion they had so long desired. Hand-carved detailing throughout the home and studio mark the house as being Westermann's creation and reflect some of his life experiences. Sadly, Westermann passed away before he was able to move into the house. His beloved wife Joanna Beale Westermann lived there until her death.

So that brings us up to speed. The elephant in the living room is, who should have Westermann's house now that himself and his wife are gone? It is unclear whether it was in private hands after Joanna's passing but before right now, but it seems to me that it would be a travesty and perhaps an ethical issue to allow this incredible place to become a private residence. Does one person or family deserve to privately own what could be an incredible opportunity to educate the public about a very important American artist? On a very human note, is it ethical for someone to live in a house that someone labored so incredibly hard to build but passed away before being able to enjoy? The best answer is that a museum or cultural non-profit foundation should acquire the house, preserve it, curate it, and open it to the public. The artist's house as museum is a concept well-articulated by now; School of the Art Institute of Chicago does a fabulous job curating and maintaining the home of the late Roger Brown. To cite an architectural example, people travel from around the world to visit the home and studio of Frank Lloyd Wright. Perhaps it is a bit idealistic to propose such a scenario as the only option; especially in current economic times it would be assuredly difficult for most institutions to take on such a large project as this. Another scenario would be a private collector or group of collectors purchasing the house; this could still yield some scholarship and hopefully occasional public access to the space.

Westermann's example is important to the discussion on artist house museums for two reasons. First of all, in a general sense the preservation, curation, and opening to the public of the homes of prominent deceased artists is a profound educational opportunity for generations to come. There is still an overriding general sentiment out there that art and artists remain an esoteric and pompous corner of culture, and what better way to help the public learn about and begin to understand an artist and his or her work than allowing them to visit their home? There is so much that one's residence says about them and their lifestyle that a painting or sculpture could never begin to capture. Secondly, in this case the artist's home is a work of art in and of itself. Idiosyncrasy, superior craftsmanship, and an appreciation for woodworking are apparent throughout most of the art Westermann created during his life. All of this is perfectly embodied in his home. Additionally, houses were one of the main themes that Westermann esoterically brought into play throughout his ouevre. All of this renders his home extremely important as a potential public treasure and as a scholarly opportunity for the art and museum world.

As Westermann continues to secure his place within the canon of postwar American art, I sincerely hope that this incredible opportunity for scholarship and the appreciation of his life and work is not lost due to the house being sold into disinterested private hands. It seems to me that The Smart Museum would be the ideal candidate to acquire the house; they have contributed much to the scholarship on and appreciation of Westermann through exhibitions and writings. Westermann's wife Joanna left many of his personal affects and much of his art to The Smart Museum when she passed away, so The Smart Museum is more or less the possessor of the world's strongest Westermann collection and the foremost authority on his life and art. If it cannot be The Smart Museum or another institution, I certainly hope whichever individual or individuals that purchase the house respect it for what it is and treat it as such. Only time will tell what happens, but hopefully it will be the right thing.

**Update, 8-30-10**
The price has been reduced to $425,000

**Update, 7-28-2010**

-I contacted the staff of The Smart Museum about this opportunity, and they stated in response:
"The Smart Museum had also been alerted to the fact that H.C. Westermann's home was on the market. The Museum's leadership is evaluating the opportunity that this might present."

-Patty McManus, the Connecticut realtor who is in charge of selling Westermann's house, provided me with the following additional details:

"The wood studio is almost exactly as Westermann left it. It has been kept like a museum. The home also contains some of the shipping crates from his artwork, his lathe and a number of other items. The art studio still has his chin up bar, tools, etc. My client is willing to transfer the property with all of his items." She is contactable at pmcmanus@wpsir.com

-Fellow Westermann appreciator and artist R.L. Croft brought up a very plausible scenario that would be a great answer to the financial strife facing many museums at this time:
"It would be a shame for it to end up being changed or lived in without complete museum-like care. Someone wealthy needs to buy it, donate it, and provide funds for its upkeep. I certainly agree that the Smart Museum sounds like a logical choice, but any museum with money ought to be salivating to add it to a collection."

J.T. Kirkland: "White: Part 2"

2010-07-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

Last week, the second half of J.T. Kirkland's White exhibition opened at Christopher West Presents. The Virginia-based artist has produced a spectacular ending to an already strong beginning with the addition of color to his repertoire. "I strive to find clarity and resolution in line, color, and form, while challenging viewers' perceptions of surface and space through simple, precise gestures on wood," Kirkland states, and he has certainly achieved his objective here. The 24 works exhibited, titled Subspace_001 - Subspace_024, are all acrylic and polyacrylic on maple plywood and sized 12x12x1. They conjure Ellsworth Kelly's Panel series due to their shape, scale, monochromatic opacity, and choice of color, but the fact that they are painted on plywood makes them seem more painterly than Kelly's aforementioned works. This in turn brings some of Barnett Newman's genre-busting experiments to mind; it is difficult to say whether Kirkland's Subspace series is painting or sculpture. True to Newman, it seems most accurate and least confining to simply classify them as objects rather than paintings or sculptures.
This objectivity (in the sense of having the status of an object) is furthered by the way that the works in Subspace break the proverbial frame. The painted portions of the works do not stop in the conventional space of the picture plane but spill over onto the sides of the plywood. This results in a series of juxtapositions; the Subspace series seems at once to embody motion and stillness as well as flatness and space. Careful viewing of these works and looking at them from different angles is rewarding. It is also interesting to note the colors Kirkland selected; each piece only has one color besides the white pinstripes that carried over from the first half of the exhibition. The range includes white, black, most of the basic colors, and also some surprising choices such as pastels. All in all, there are some unexpected choices thrown in the mix and the total palate in addition to the arrangement of the works is quite satisfying.

The maple plywood Kirkland chose is certainly a good example of the artist's keen appreciation for the natural beauty of wood. The multiplicity of works in White: Part 2, all of the same size and media, have the added value of showcasing the various patterns that naturally appear in maple wood. The sharp lines and beautifully opaque colors painted onto the wood contrast nicely with the unique patterns of the plywood in each piece.

Kirkland is an artist who has an admirable clarity of vision and purpose in his recent work, and White has been a great opportunity for him to explore pursue that vision. It will be exciting to track his progress in the future, and if White is any indication it will be nothing but bright.

J.T. Kirkland: "White: Part 1"

2010-07-16T06:44:00.000-07:00

J.T. Kirkland currently has the first half of what will be a two-part show up at Christopher West Presents in Indianapolis. White: Part 1 is a strong, focused grouping of neo-minimalist wood sculptures, all of which hang on the wall. Elegant and understated yet also bold in their execution, the work in this show channels minimal art pioneers such as Robert Morris and Dan Flavin because of the way the art is so responsive to and derived from the physical gallery space that it occupies. Kirkland says he is especially influenced by the art of Robert Irwin in this regard.
Fortress, 2008

One piece, Dormer, was actually created specifically for the show with the Christopher West Presents gallery space in mind. Its dimensions are one fourth of the size of the windows that it hangs between. This piece was created after Kirkland began looking into Irwin's work, and is designed to be able to function on its own in any space, not just on the specific gallery wall it was created for.
Dormer, 2010

The only media Kirkland employs in White: Part 1 are Wenge wood and a shade of white paint specifically chosen to blend in with the gallery walls. Thus, the work succeeds at times in obscuring the boundary between artwork and gallery wall. In each piece, it is interesting where and how Kirkland utilizes the white paint. He says that he chooses titles reluctantly, sometimes waiting years to assign a title to a piece. His inspiration from and emphasis on the inherent beauty of wood recalls H.C. Westermann, although it is manifested quite differently in the end result. Slope, 2008

Only once in White: Part 1 does Kirkland really jump into the third dimension with a piece that juts out into the space rather than sitting flat on the wall, but the result is remarkable. Elbow Afloat is easily the strongest piece in the show, and a refreshing example of how very alive minimal art is today. Recalling Sol LeWitt's sculptural explorations of the broken cube, Elbow Afloat seems like it could function with various installation configurations. The shadows that it casts on the gallery walls are incredible. Elbow Afloat, 2008

The next half of the show will feature all-new work, in which Kirkland will be painting on plywood and exploring color. White: Part 2 opens at Christopher West Presents on July 22, 2010. In the meantime, check out a conversation I had with J.T:

Conversation with JT Kirkland from Charles Fox on Vimeo.

Ed McGowin: NAME CHANGE

2010-03-24T11:32:00.001-07:00

Irby Benjamin Roy, Chicken Episode, 2008, mixed mediums, found objects

Ed McGowin's retrospective exhibition Name Change is currently up at Herron Galleries in Indianapolis through April 17. Upon entering the gallery, it is difficult to believe that all of the art on exhibition was created by one person. There is photography, bronze sculpture, painting, woodcarving, and minimalist sculpture. The subject matter is as varied as the media, ranging from iconography of dogs in odd scenarios to exploding ice cream cones to depictions of specific people and storytelling narratives. McGowin has had his name legally changed a total of twelve times, and creates art for each of the names (including Ed McGowin). Each section of the exhibition contains a framed, screen printed copy of the official name change document for the respective artistic persona. It is truly incredible how each "artist" has his own style, subject matter and quirkiness. The exhibition includes art that McGowin has produced throughout his entire career of nearly 40 years.

Alva Isaiah Fost, Four Modules, 1972, vacuum formed and painted plastic

The following is McGowin's own description of his artistic agenda, taken from the catalog:

This project was started in 1970 to explore a theory I conceived about the way art history would evolve in the future. I developed this theory as a means of freeing myself from a system that I found frustrating as a young artist at the beginning of my career: That my work should develop as a linear chain-link model with each creation leading logically to the next. Instead, I preferred to envision my work as a three-dimensional sphere getting larger over time. To demonstrate this theory I had my name changed legally twelve times in the District of Columbia court system. For each name I created works of art and exhibited them at the Baltimore Museum of Art in 1972. For the past thirty-five years I have continued to create works for the twelve names.
Had I created all of these works under one name, I believe they would have been received very differently, with critical analysis of the development of the artist figuring prominently in the consideration of each piece. The different identities under which I made this art may allow for a broader approach to receiving these images, without tying them to past history or future expectations.

When the names of McGowin's eleven personas (his given name is the twelfth) are arranged in the following way, the first letter of each name can be taken to spell out "A line in time."

Alva Isaiah Fost
Lawrence Steven Orlean
Irby Benjamin Roy
Nathan Ellis McDuff
Euri Ignatius Everpure
Isaac Noel Anderson
Nicholas Gregory Nazianzen
Thorton Modestus Dossett
Ingram Andrew Young
Melvill Douglas O'Connor
Edward Everett Updike

McGowin is certainly a multi-talented artist, but his prowess in woodcarving stands out the most. Some of his art is embellished with elaborately carved frames, as in the second photo below. His art is extremely curious; it almost verges on kitsch at times yet it is so bizarre and interesting in its subject matter and execution as well as choice of materials that it has no trouble securing its place in the world of fine art.

Top image: William Edward McGowin, left to right: Musician, 2004, cast bronze. New Jersey, 2003, foam and board model. Librarian, 2004, cast bronze.

Bottom image: Nicholas Gregory Nazianzen, Workers Waving Goodbye, 1994, pastel on linen, carved and painted wood frame

The artistic persona that stands out the most is that of Thorton Modestus Dossett. "All of Thornton's work is about race. It's about the way that, particularly where I grew up in the deep South, the two races come together. One society that was occupied and defeated after the Civil War, another society that was enslaved; two badly damaged psyches in that respect, but yet they come together to create some really remarkable, interesting things," McGowin explains. The carved wooden pieces cast interesting and elaborate shadows onto the gallery walls when they are installed, which serves as an interesting metaphor for the shadows that racially charged incidents have cast over America.

The piece below tells the story of Oseola McCarthy, a washer woman who saved money from washing shirts at $0.15 a piece and gave the University of Southern Mississippi $150,000 in cash to help minority women go to school. The scholarship fund she set up now receives many contributions from around the United States.

Thorton Modestus Dossett, Oseola, 2001, carved and painted wood and urethane

This piece is about the coming together of music in Mississippi. The life stories of Robert Johnson (in black), Jimmy Rogers (in white), and Elvis Presley (in blue) are depicted. McGowin is attempting to show how blues and country music came together to form rock 'n roll.

Thorton Modestus Dossett, Johnson, Rogers, Presley, 2002, carved and painted wood and urethane

This painting depicts the murder of three young African American boys by the KKK. McGowin thus works to show a broad view of racial issues in the South encompassing both positive and negative stories, all told in his characteristically unique and quirky manner.

Thorton Modestus Dossett, McAlpin, 1999, enamel on canvas

McGowin has twenty permanent public art commissions and his art is held in the collections of The Guggenheim Museum, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Hirshhorn Museum, and many others. He is Professor Emeritus at the State University of New York at Old Westbury.

I had a chance to talk with Ed about his art recently. See what he had to say:
*Note: At the beginning of the video when Ed says "non-linear," he meant to say "linear."

Conversations With Ed McGowin from Charles Fox on Vimeo.

NERS: Magical Wonderfulness

2010-03-12T19:02:00.000-08:00

NERS currently has a solo show at Big Car Gallery in Indianapolis called Magical Wonderfulness. After his abrupt departure from Indianapolis on a Westward road trip to national parks and different cities which resulted in a blog called The Magical Wonderfulness of PBS Goes West, he has returned to his native Indianapolis and created this show of 28 new framed works, all of them inspired by and created after his trip. The works are all made with markers and discarded paper that often has printed text on the opposite side that still shows through. Seeing this text faintly on the other side of the paper sometimes affects his compositional elements, and also serves to remind the viewer of issues of sustainability, which is important to the artist. NERS explains, "I had very little materials to work with, which suits my work well, but just working with a few materials, being highly technical with graphite or Crayola marker."

The iconography in this body of work is largely based on animals, which is inspired by NERS' experiences in national parks during his voyage. Animals have often figured into his artwork in the past, but they are especially prominent here. The familiar rainbows that NERS loves to utilize are also present, but in Magical Wonderfulness the art has become decidedly more violent. There is lots of gore and disembowelment throughout the work, which provides an interesting juxtaposition to the rather light and flowery iconographic elements that the violence combines with in these drawings. There is also a great emphasis on what is drawn due to the large amounts of negative space, which is used as a compositional element. Since there are few backdrops or background details, each image commands the viewer's full attention.

Producing this artwork represents a sort of catharsis for NERS as he grapples with emotional strife and difficult life circumstances. His past work has included sculpture and photography, and it is interesting to see such a focused show from him that is all drawings and all based on a set of experiences and feelings. The well-chosen, bright colors and tight line structure in this body of work are excellent.

Care And Boo 2010
help a friend out. 2010
Desert Albedo 2010
Attack On Christmas. 2010

Ya I Shot a Bear Once, But Only Because It Shot Me First. 2010

I had a conversation with NERS. See what he had to say:

Conversations With NERS from Charles Fox on Vimeo.

Erin K Drew: METAMORPHER

2010-03-12T13:23:00.000-08:00

Erin K Drew's show Metamorpher at Big Car Gallery in Indianapolis showcased various recent artwork including sculptural installation, site-based painting, and framed works. Combining what appears to be innocent, cartoon-like iconography on the surface with more cynical undertones, Drew says that this body of work is helping her to get the past out of her system and move on with her life. "There's a lot of oversimplification of imagery," she says to explain the juxtaposition between childlike forms and dark emotional backdrops. The work evokes the imagery of the Tom Tom Club's cover art and the work of artists such as Bruce Nauman, Christopher Wool and Richard Prince through its reference to neon signs, its semiotic wordplay and its sharp sense of wit and humor. Some of the images below showcase Drew's artistic process insofar as it flows from source research material to the artist's notebook and finally to the gallery wall. For an added bit of irony, Drew utilized rejected blends of house paint for the wall mural in this exhibition, slyly mirroring her feelings of dismay.

Gender relations are also at stake here; Drew appropriates the form of the obelisk and completely flips its usual connotations. Whereas such monuments usually are phallic and serious in nature and commemorate honor, success, and actualized events, Drew's monument to boys she has had crushes on is feminine and playful and commemorates dishonor, defeat, and fantasy.
"All binaries are illusory," she is quick to point out.

Drew's play on cliches and wording in Metamorpher is quite clever. "OPPORTUNITY" spelled out in metallic birthday party banner style lettering ends up signifying two words even though only one is written ("Golden Opportunity").

"Party of One" simultaneously plays on restaurant reservation speak and conjures loneliness and self-celebration.

The "Liquid Courage" piece is especially interesting because it appropriates the iconography of liquor store signs that is all too commonplace and renegotiates its signification to endorse and broadcast what is normally taboo and shameful, the notion of needing liquor to have courage. Liquor, a commodity, is replaced by liquid courage, a form of existential way-finding. Drew muses that she is "Facing my problems, but also not facing. There's a veil."

Drew succeeds in making what is truly a very personal body of work both accessible and thought-provoking to a wide audience through her wit, light/dark humor and reference to popular vernacular. Her command of multiple mediums is impressive and her use of colors and source material is unexpected and unique. I had a conversation with Erin in two parts about her show. See what she had to say:

Conversations With Erin K Drew Part One from Charles Fox on Vimeo.

Kathryn Refi: RECORDS

2010-02-10T09:40:00.001-08:00

On Friday we debuted a new exhibition at the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art (iMOCA) featuring seven years worth of Kathryn Refi's art called Records. Refi is based in Athens, Georgia and holds an MFA from the University of Georgia, Athens. Her art investigates daily life through the lens of scientific processes. She records data from her normal activities and uses the results to create very controlled art, which ironically gives her more artistic freedom.
Beginning to question notions of subjectivity and objectivity helped lead Refi to the implementation of scientific processes in her art. Just as a scientific experiment must contain controls, so does the process of creating art for Refi; controls serve to make sure that she only collects and represents in the final artwork exactly what data is relevant to the question she is probing. "The controls I put on the work give me more freedom and actually allow me to be free to some extent from the academic training I received as an artist. I don't use many of those things I've been taught, so it actually allows more freedom for the work to just be itself and not have to conform to ideas of aesthetics," she says.

Refi, a self-described creature of habit, has noticed that her daily life is very routine as a result of her explorations. Although the data collected in most of Refi's work that is on display here are directly referential to her own experiences, they still make the viewer question their own personal experience and the world around them. Unlike many artists who focus on a way of working or a specific theme for long periods of time, Refi sets out to explore a question and then moves on. As a result, her body of work is constantly changing and reflecting new questions, ideas and processes. "Ultimately, the questions that I'm trying to answer in my work are unanswerable, and that's half the point, and half the point is just keeping on searching even if you don't find an answer," Refi explains.

Here are some pics of us at iMOCA installing Light Readings (September 17, 2001). As you can see, the work is so large that it takes up an entire wall.

Light Readings (September 17, 2001), 2002, india ink and graphite on paper. This piece involved Refi wearing a hat with a weather recording device that also registers light for a period of 24 hours, beginning at midnight. The data was converted into gray scale; each square in the picture represents one minute of time. A black square represents complete dark, so it is evident when Refi was sleeping.

Color Recordings, 2006, oil on panel. There are seven of these paintings, one for each day of the week. This project saw Refi utilize a hat-mounted device again, this time for recording colors she observed. A computer program interpreted the data using the red green blue color scale, and 729 hues were generated. Each painting is 100 inches across, so one inch is 1% of a day's worth of color observed. The smallest amount of color in each painting is 1/16 of one inch, and the seven paintings each contain between 75 and 125 colors. In the example pictured above, the brilliant band of blue represents the camera detecting Refi's umbrella on a rainy day.

Address Book, 2003, oil on panel. In Refi's My Address Book series of paintings, she juxtaposes technology and analog ways of doing things: she hand-paints satellite images of locations from her address book. Refi had no cell phone during the creation of this series; as a result of cell phones, address books are now nearly obsolete. The views of the locations remind us how much technology has infiltrated our experience of way-finding. We merely plug addresses in to websites that give us satellite images and directions and no longer have to carry hand-written addresses or use directions that we have gleaned from paper maps. The objective format of representation conceals Refi's relationships with the people whose addresses are pictured; some may be close relations while others are addresses she had not actually visited.

Refi's other series of work included in Records is called All Things Considered and takes its name from the NPR radio program, which Refi listens to every day. The series includes 12 works on paper in which Refi listened to the show daily for a month and plotted each geographic location mentioned on a paper by placing a 1/16 of one inch red sticker. Using the Mercator projection as her basis but placing only the stickers on paper, a skewed map of the world emerges that metaphorically conjures the Mercator projection: North America is incredibly well-defined and large, while Africa and many other areas of the world are much less noticeable. Refi has noted that this work is very hard to photograph. The All Things Considered series is the most concrete example of a large realization Refi has made through her artwork: Everything is subjective. Radio news shows, Mercator projection maps and scientific studies are examples of "truths" that Refi knows to be highly subjective, and thus she feels that the blind faith people often place in scientific studies is problematic. "We trust the numbers more than the experience now," Refi muses.

The body of work presented in Records is thought-provoking in its uncommon methodology used in dissecting what appear to be very mundane experiences. Truly beautiful art has emerged from Refi's explorations. The scale and meticulous discipline and detail in each piece in the show is very impressive. The art could function as aesthetically appealing abstract, minimal work even without its conceptual backing, which is interesting considering how grounded and controlled it is by its conceptual basis. Engaging Refi's art means reevaluating one's daily life and what happens within it, as well as engaging questions of subjectivity and objectivity in the world around us.

I had a chance to ask Kathryn a few questions after her lecture at iMOCA. See what she had to say:

Conversations with Kathryn Refi from Charles Fox on Vimeo.

2010-01-25T10:10:00.000-08:00

C O L L A B O R A T E
The current exhibition at Herron Galleries in Indianapolis is called COLLABORATE. We also have "Friends First: Collaborative Works by Brian Presnell" and "Work Product: Designs from the Walker Art Center" currently on view. This post shows some of the process behind the current exhibitions. Collaboration is crucial not only in the finished product of the exhibitions (the artwork), but also in the process of mounting the shows. My post as a gallery monitor/installation assistant allows me to be a part of this collaborative process, which is largely murky and curious to the general public. I hope this post sheds a bit of light on just what goes into mounting exhibitions of contemporary art.

VINYL. Most exhibitions feature vinyl logos and blocks of text. Many people might assume they are painted on with stencils or the like, but this is not the case. They are ordered at print shops and come to us with adhesive backing. We decide how we want the vinyl placed, then carefully use levels, rulers and painter's tape to place it correctly. We then remove the paper behind the adhesive and use a squeegee device similar to a credit card to smooth any air bubbles out and keep the adhesive firmly on the wall. Then we carefully remove the top layer of paper, and the job is done. In this case, we mounted a tricky vinyl logo onto a window. The small arrows at the bottom made this one difficult but we successfully mounted it without damaging the vinyl.

This mountain was painted onto one of our movable walls, which allow us to divide up our gallery space as well as mount artwork.

FABRICATION OF EXHIBITION COMPONENTS. Here at Herron Galleries, staff collaboratively build a lot of our own components such as pedestals and housings for media elements within our exhibitions. We worked together to build, paint and mount the boxes below. There are two parts to each box. The top part was painted white and fits over the bottom, which houses a Mac Mini that feeds content to monitors that are mounted on the wall. This was for Ultra Red's portion of the COLLABORATE exhibition.

CHRIS VORHEES AND STEVE LACY/ACADEMY RECORDS used overhead projectors to sketch two images directly onto our walls and also contributed similar framed works on paper for their portion of the exhibition. Using a computer program, they turned images into blocks of text and numbers and then enlarged these "new" images onto the walls using overhead projectors. The art is interesting in its investigation of our use of land and its assertion that technology is both a paradigm for seeing, and also waste in the case of the Indianapolis mall that is now a computer dumping ground. They also created a limited run newspaper based on discussions with people in Indianapolis that is available to visitors. Below are some pictures of the artists' process and two videos where they talk about their art.

Conversations with Chris Vorhees from Charles Fox on Vimeo.

Jill Marie Mason: LET'S PLAN OUR ESCAPE

2010-01-20T11:20:00.000-08:00

Jill Marie Mason recently had a show called LET'S PLAN OUR ESCAPE in Indianpolis. Mason is currently finishing up her MFA in printmaking at Indiana University's Herron School of Art + Design. The show was an interesting combination of installation elements and framed prints. The juxtaposition of the campground environment that Mason created with the more traditional gallery feeling evoked by the framed prints on the walls is thought provoking. In creating this installation, Mason strives to "call to attention its constructed nature, exemplifying the illusory nature of the perception of reality." At once, you are transported from the gallery setting and then reminded that you have failed to, well...escape it.

Mason states that she constructed the campsite "to act as a metaphor for both escapism and the melancholy of longing." Very personal in nature, LET'S PLAN OUR ESCAPE explores the themes of nostalgia, nature and escapism and is largely inspired by Mason's childhood experiences including camping and playing with her sister, pretending to be other people. This is combined with a more contemporary desire to reflect and escape. Mason explains,

"the desire to escape reality through pretend play always coincided with a desire to go back in time, or return to innocence. I find that throughout my adult life I have continued this way of thinking. I escape the present by looking to the past with fondness and imagine the future as a recreation of elements from this deceptive recollection. As an artist, the work that I make is often an effort to understand these behaviors. I am interested in recreating an idea, something that is neither here nor there, and making it a reality—something tangible. Themes of past work have included: memory, thought process, time, nostalgia, role-playing, humor, innocence, and guilt. To express these ideas I often utilize pre-existing imagery and content from personal belongings, children’s books, movies, and television."

The "Ship of Fools" canoe is intended to function as a self portrait. When asked how a floppy canoe made of felt functions as a self portrait, somewhat sarcastically, she responds "It's worthless and defeated, much like me...this is a ship that will get you nowhere fast. The form is floppy and lifeless. This defeated vessel, complete with floppy oars and lifejackets, is intended to function as a self-portrait, representing my unfulfilled desires to commune with nature."

The fishing pole holding letters that read "GULLIBLE," is another element that points to the artist, who is easily caught by the allure of escapism. The tent is also a self-portrait; "The things that are not revealed to the audience are housed within the safety of the tent," Mason explains. This is a good metaphor for the self; there is one side that we show the world and one that we keep inside. Simultaneously plain and striking, inviting and closed-off, the tent draws attention and curiosity all the more because it is lit from within. Mason feels that "the light in the tent could be compared to that of a lighthouse. Just as lighthouses are a symbol of safety or a safe haven, they are also seen as lonely or isolated structures."

The nonfunctional stools, closed-off tent, and floppy canoe are all purposely useless. This is a fascinating if pessimistic way of looking at memory, escape and nostalgia. Like memories themselves, the elements of this installation are not rigid nor are they complete in their details. They are of little help when confronting real-world situations, but serve as reminders all the same. The experience of viewing LET'S PLAN OUR ESCAPE ideally embodies the lesson Mason has learned from so much contemplation: the value of being present and enjoying the moment rather than looking backwards or forwards.

Regarding her future artistic endeavors, Mason plans to "continue to explore the paradox of escape through creation of a thoroughly planned and executed body of work in order to gain further understanding of the following questions: What am I escaping from? What am I escaping to? And why?"

In the end escape is futile, but it is certainly an interesting exercise in self-reflection and also makes for some pretty awesome art in this case. I had a chance to talk to Jill during the creation of her installation and after its completion. See what she had to say in the videos below.

Conversations with Jill Marie Mason Part One from Charles Fox on Vimeo.

Conversations with Jill Marie Mason Part Two from Charles Fox on Vimeo.

The Role of Autobiography and Gender in Westermann’s Dance of Death

2009-12-22T14:39:00.000-08:00

In a previous post I introduced H.C. Westermann, who is one of my favorite artists. Scholarship on Westermann is increasing of late, and I am pleased to present my paper that talks a bit about Westermann's life and art. The paper examines the 1975 print Dance of Death through the lenses of autobiography and feminism, and analyzes the recent use of the print as a motif in the work of Jeff Koons. My paper is available to read here

Tre Reising: "No Space"

2009-12-22T12:13:00.000-08:00

images by Charles Fox and Paul Miller
Tre Reising currently has a solo installation up at Big Car Gallery in Indianapolis called No Space. Reising has worked in printmaking before, but his artistic practice consists primarily of installation art and sculpture. No Space, and art in general at this point in Reising's career, represents somewhat of an internal struggle. Sure, it has deeper significance than what immediately confronts the viewer, such as the concept of being stuck between two pages of an artist's sketchbook and the investigation of drawing and painting's relationship to sculpture. On the other hand though, Reising just wants to make art. As Frank Stella would say, "What you see is what you see." With that said, Reising's art is abstract and its independence from figurative representation is, of course, a definite step towards art for art's sake.

Despite being abstract and in a square room, No Space succeeds in creating the effect of a Cyclorama. In this regard, Reising's new work has some similarity to Kara Walker. Regarding the Cyclorama and its effect, Walker states "It's like the pique of the painter's creative enterprise to make the painting surround the viewer and to create the illusion of depth and of space, and to lure the viewer into the feeling of being a part of the scene." Reising creates illusions of depth and space through his use of similar shapes in varying sizes and lines that do not form right angles. Reising has also explored the territory first mapped by Fred Sandback through three dimensional yarn sculpture in the past, but in this installation the yarn stays on the walls. Painted shapes always take precedence over yarn in No Space, literally breaking the yarn's continuity, and this is also effective in creating illusions of depth. Overall, No Space is an intense and enjoyable aesthetic experience that surrounds the viewer with appealing colors and shapes that really pop off--or into--the walls.

I had a conversation with Tre in three parts, which occurred at an early stage of the installation, during the middle, and after its completion. Check out what Tre had to say about No Space:

Nick Allman at Dean Johnson Gallery

2009-12-07T09:44:00.001-08:00

images (besides the last two) courtesy of Nick Allman and Christopher West

On Thursday, December 3 a new show opened up at Dean Johnson Gallery called New Design: Nick Allman, Morgen Bosler and Lauren Zoll

Quoted from Dean Johnson Gallery's website is a description of the show, which was curated by Christopher West:

Three local designers put their own unique spins on what are traditionally mundane items. Nick Allman imagines an environment where an entryway table and an iconic Arco Floor Lamp burst through (or crash into) the existing architecture of a home or building. Morgen Bosler handcrafts ceramic urns designed to honor a loved one’s individuality and spirit. Each piece is an expression of pure art and design created to bring a lifetime of comfort. Finally, Lauren Zoll has created a series of vases intended to represent the antithesis of design. Using materials such as rebar, Zoll is able to combine the brutality of the materials with the beauty of a functional vase.

Nick Allman recently won First Prize for a furniture piece in the Herron Galleries Undergraduate Student Exhibition, and the work he has featured in the Dean Johnson show is daring, strong and surprisingly functional. Destroying drywall in order to insert or remove objects, Allman creates furniture pieces that question perception and undermine traditional notions of design, space and aesthetics. Upon first viewing Allman's work in this show looks like a series of disasters rather than intentional design, and it is this element of surprise and rethinking function that gives the work its strength.

I had a conversation with Nick in two parts, during the installation and upon its completion. Hear what he had to say:

Conversations with Nick Allman Part One from Charles Fox on Vimeo.

Conversations With Nick Allman Part Two from Charles Fox on Vimeo.

There is also work currently for sale in the Dean Johnson Gallery. These pieces by Ted Ross are excellent.

What Goes Up, Must Come Down

2009-11-27T10:22:00.000-08:00

On November 20, Between History and Memory closed at Herron Galleries. It is always interesting when an exhibition goes up or down to see the process and be involved! Below are some pictures of Tony Luensman as we helped him to take down and crate his two pieces that were in the show. I like the teamwork aspect of installation/deinstallation, and it is a rewarding feeling when the work is done!

The submissions for the undergraduate Student Show have already been submitted and judged, and the show opens on December 2. Below is a sneak peek!

There are some exciting things coming up in Indianapolis: the aforementioned undergraduate Student Show on December 2nd at Herron, Nick Allman's furniture show opening at Dean Johnson Gallery on December 3, and then a spectacular First Friday that will include new solo installations in the Murphy building by Jill Marie Mason and Tre Reising. I've been talking to these three exciting young artists during the process of their installations, and when they open I will post the interviews. Stay tuned!

Women by Craig Doty at Christopher West Presents

2009-11-16T11:11:00.000-08:00

Untitled 19. 2008. Image courtesy of Christopher West presents.

Indianapolis gallery Christopher West Presents recently opened a show of new photography by Craig Doty called Women. Quoted from Christopher West, some information on Doty:
"Craig Doty received his MFA from Yale University in 2006. He earned his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a Concentration in Photography in 2003. His exhibitions include the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago (solo), the Sydney Center for Photography in Sydney, Australia and Baumgartner Gallery, New York and many others."

The work is quite provocative, and very interesting in what is concealed and what is revealed within each photograph. There is a definite sense of the abject. The viewer is confronted with a piece of a story, with many other pieces of the story intentionally not supplied by Doty and thus left for the viewer to decode or invent. The sense of tension is quite evident, and frankly many of the photographs seem to document moments that were meant to be unremembered, and perhaps therein lies their power. Disheveled, caught in awkward poses (if they can even be called poses), these women are almost guaranteed to provoke a reaction of some sort from viewers.

It would be very easy to label this body of work as misogynistic, but that would be reductive and altogether incorrect when Women is considered in the context of Doty's ouevre. Doty has always portrayed his subjects (or objects---more on that shortly) in compromising positions. Doty shows a definite progression in the quality of his work in Women, and this is the first time that his subjects have not been male.

The following are excerpts from the essay "On 'Women'" by Marc LeBlanc that really put the work into context for me.
Craig, 2001. Image courtesy of Christopher West Presents.

"In one of his better known works, drunk coming down a wooden backyard staircase, Doty himself has slipped and fallen forward, smashing his 40 oz. and his face in the process. Where moments earlier he may have been holding court, we now stop to look at what a failure he has become, a reflexivity that acknowledges that no one escapes the fatalism of our world. Made both magic and terrible, Doty's new photographs of women push for a greater discomfort. The tactics of humor have dissolved; the optimism of comedy is squelched."

"With each image pointing out that no one escapes life seeing them as an object, claims of discrimination are deadened. Being distinguished as an object rejects affiliation with any group, it is sexless, race-less, and hopeless in its dearth of humanity."

"This is not portraiture, these are not models, any thematic pretenses for the purpose of dignity are unneeded when we address the subject whose fate is to be an object. Instead of the socially constructed victim, the marginalized or mistreated subject, what is presented is the subject so tragic it has no subjectivity to assert, determined to exist depersonalized, determined to be the waste they must become."

conversations with Christopher West on Craig Doty Women

conversation with Christopher West on Craig Doty 'Women' from Charles Fox on Vimeo.

conversations with TONY LUENSMAN

2009-11-11T09:14:00.001-08:00

Images: Tony Luensman at Herron Galleries next to his piece Literalization of Transubstantiation (A Child's Vision of the Sacred Heart) and his piece Treeblower, also on exhibition at Herron Galleries.

Last week, we at Herron were fortunate to have Cincinnati-based artist Tony Luensman with us for a lecture and studio visits with MFA students. Luensman has two pieces up in the current group show at Herron Galleries, which is called Between History and Memory and is open through November 20. He has a solo exhibition up at Clay Street Press in Cincinnati called ABRADE. Luensman was educated in painting and sculpture at Kenyon, has had multiple residencies in Taiwan, is a recipient of the 2008 Efroymson Contemporary Arts Fellowship among many other awards, and his art is held in many public collections. He has been widely exhibited both nationally and internationally in group and solo shows, including a 2007 exhibition entitled Arenas at the Cincinnati Art Museum where his art was placed throughout the space so visitors could revisit the museum's collection while seeking out his art.

Luensman believes titles are very important, and often thinks through words rather than images in his art. "My ideas come verbally," he says. A lot of his art straddles the line between innocence and a darker reality quite poignantly, but through the the more adult-like themes that exist within his art he is also trying to restore the sense of innocence in experiences that would not traditionally be interpreted that way. He views some of his art as "a way of making sexual issues not so serious" for himself. His art's ability to embody completely different meanings and situations simultaneously is its greatest strength. "I like setting up that tension where people may be unaware of what they are doing," he explains in reference to viewers' interactions with his art.

I recently had the pleasure of having some conversations with Tony here at Herron Galleries. Below are the videos, and also some photographs of some of his art, with his explanations.

conversations with Tony Luensman Part 3 from Charles Fox on Vimeo.

The following images are courtesy of Tony Luensman:

Flashcracker, 2007

“I like to occasionally undermine an innocent experience one may have with a work by building in an uneasy history and/or reference. In the case of Flashcracker, the viewer may dance on the circle of sand to activate the 4th of July video firecrackers while being unaware that the 'Flash' in the title refers to a quote I heard on NPR in which a soldier described walking along the desert with a fellow soldier and in the next instant, upon stepping on a landmine, his buddy became a cloud of ‘pink mist and bone chips.’”

Angel Swing, 2009

"Angel Swing refers to the hangings of 2 gay youths in Iran. The neon form in the piece is at once a noose, a 'tire' swing, and a halo. the images released on the internet of this 2005 event, depict a flatbed truck which served as the gallows platform. In my piece i have a chain coming out from the underside of a toy truck which holds the neon transformer - viewers, then, can turn the neon light on and off but, at the same time, taking unwitting part in the executions."

Ladder For Blurred Perspective, 2009

H.C. WESTERMANN

2009-11-09T09:21:00.001-08:00

Channel 37, 1963

H.C. Westermann is one of my all-time favorite artists. I initially intended to use this blog for living artists, but Westermann is still a "contemporary" post-war American artist and he merits consideration and study. I am surprised and somewhat disturbed in my daily conversations with people who are well-educated and have more than a passing interest in contemporary art that the majority of people I encounter do not know who Westermann is. I also find it interesting that those who do know about him seem to glow when his name is brought up. In the last ten years, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago have taken huge strides in contributing to scholarship and public recognition regarding Westermann through excellent books and exhibitions. Today I came across this great article from T ime Out Chicago, which I think does a very nice job of describing Westermann's art and the exhibition "Your Pal Cliff," which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I suppose Westermann has always been a somewhat subconscious impetus for my love of contemporary art. Growing up in the Chicago area, I have been consistently exposed to his art because of the aforementioned museums and their tendency to exhibit Westermann's work. I am in the process of writing a paper on Westermann, specifically looking at his print Dance of Death through the theoretical lenses of autobiography and feminism. When the paper is done, I will post it to the blog. In the meantime, here are a few images of Westermann's art that I have borrowed from a quick Google Image search:

Death Ship of No Port, 1967, and Dismasted Ship, 1956

Dance of Death, 1975, woodblock print

The Jazz Singer, 1953, oil on canvas with artist's painted frame

Know No Stranger Presents Optical Popsicle

2009-11-02T09:27:00.000-08:00

Last Friday and Saturday, everyone who attended Know No Stranger's Optical Popsicle was treated to a visual feast. It was advertised as a visual variety show, and it did not disappoint. Comprised of a wide variety of seemingly disparate skits and vignettes, Optical Popsicle left the viewer with a sense of unity and empathy with the human experience. The show felt very contemporary in its scope of thematic material while maintaining a deeply ingrained sense of nostalgia. The skits were evocative of National Film Board of Canada Vi gnettes in the sense of being short, lighthearted and whimsical bursts of creative energy. It was a lo-fi look at a hi-fi life, evoking the feeling of facing current life issues through the guise of warm, fuzzy memories and "technology" (think projectors) that has become so outdated that it is nostalgic. There was lots of optical trickery incorporating overhead projectors, and although simple it was amazingly fun and effective in stimulating viewers. I have tried to illustrate some of what went on through my photographs, and there is also a link to some video snippets courtesy of Know No Stranger. I can't remember how many sheets of messy notes written on transparencies I've copied from overhead projectors throughout my life as a student, how many times I've closed my eyes as I stepped in front of them so as not to be blinded, but in recent years they have given way to the Powerpoint. I never thought overhead projectors would become endearingly nostalgic!

I recently had the chance to catch up with Know No Stranger's Michael Runge to discuss the show and what lies ahead for No Know Stranger.

Human relations seemed to be the biggest underlying theme that pulsed throughout each skit of Optical Popsicle. The tone was very sober and authentic in conveying the awkwardness and fleeting nature of many social interactions and relationships. It never felt sappy or contrived and there was always a candid, confessional sentiment. “I feel like relationships was the big theme, especially for the Friday show," Runge explains. " I think anybody can identify with that kind of stuff and anybody can relate; everybody has some experience with a relationship." Despite the very personal nature of some of the skits, they were presented in a way that had relevance to everyone. They maintained a lighthearted appeal while seeming to hold a message or epiphany just below the surface. Runge elaborates on the personal/impersonal nature of storytelling:

"The more specific of a story that you tell, and the more individualized you make it, it seems like the more people can relate to it since it’s more sincere, it’s more heartfelt; you know people are going to identify with that rather than trying to make something that reaches everybody. You just try to make something that’s true to yourself and being true to yourself is what’s going to reach people. (The skits) are specific in a way because they’re my individual experience, but they’re vague enough because everyone can relate to them, and I think that’s really powerful. That’s what made it enjoyable for me, something that I was into and something that I felt I needed to express, so that gave me more energy and I think that came through in the actual pieces."

A large aim of Optical Popsicle was to inspire creativity and curtail negativity, specifically regarding the perceived lack of things to do in Indianapolis. Friday's performance ended with Runge beckoning the crowd to stop complaining about Indianapolis. “I think that people think there’s nothing going on," he reasons. "I think there’s just a lack of community; it’s not easy to meet new people and it’s not easy to hang out and develop those really strong friendships in Indianapolis. That’s something that I’ve been trying to fight for a while. (Know No Stranger aims) to connect people to things going on, but also to connect people to each other.”

Using the vignette-style format of short skits proved to be very effective for Know No Stranger both in granting different artists the chance to show their material and in holding the audience's attention. Runge reflects on the format:

"I wanted it to be immediately accessible to the viewer, and they appreciate it right away rather than having to dwell on it and analyse it. It’s almost like watching TV in a way, the cuts were really quick, and you’re immediately satisfied. I guess when I compare it to TV that sounds really disgusting, but I think a lot of people are used to viewing that way, and so bringing them an art source that kind of caters to that kind of mentality, I think we were able to capture the attention of a lot more people because we gave them the art in a way that they were used to…in a museum, you see usual fine arts, it takes a lot of time, you have to really reflect on it, and really kind of analyze yourself and the piece and it sometimes takes a long time for you to get anything back from the piece. I was interested in doing something that was a little quicker."

Ideally, Optical Popsicle will become an annual event. Runge hopes to receive some strong submissions for next year's show as well as apply for grants and search for artists from other places who can contribute to the show, hopefully on a paid basis. The future will also see Know No Stranger placing emphasis on interacting with the local community. Next spring, there will be a partnership with Big Car including activities in downtown Indianapolis and on the Eastside. “I’d like (Know No Stranger) to be a place where we can actualize people’s ideas. That’s what I’d like to see Know No Stranger become: the source to make things happen,” Runge says.

Runge stresses that anyone can be creative and make things happen for other people to enjoy. “Since it was cheap and simple to put together, the only thing that we really needed was our creativity,” he says regarding Optical Popsicle. “It’s fun that we just made it up; none of us had ever done that before and it’s just something that we wanted to do. It was a really big learning experience for all of us, but it was not impossible. We just had the courage to put ourselves out there and make it happen, just step off that ledge and hope that there’s something there." And there most definitely was something there!

Look out for an upcoming DVD of Optical Popsicle (see attached video).

Teaser for Optical Popsicle DVDs coming soon from KNOW NO STRANGER on Vimeo.

Linda Adele Goodine

2009-11-01T14:53:00.000-08:00

Linda Adele Goodine gave a very interesting lecture, "The Constructed Journey: Fine Art, Photography + Video" this past Wednesday in Indianapolis as a part of IUPUI's Cutting Edge Lecture Series. Goodine has taught for 2o years at Herron School of Art + Design (photography, installation, sound, video, performance) and also teaches distance learning classes at Vermont College. She is trained as a modern dancer and also teaches yoga and sings. Her artistic practice encompasses dance, poetry, performance, video, photography, images produced using scanners. During the lecture, Goodine screened images and video from her Seneca Honey series, produced between 2007 and 2009. Goodine states that she is "thinking of honey in terms of healing" in this body of work. "You can't live a life without suffering," she muses.

The two-channel video Bee Asana: the Healing of Plath (2007, collaboration with Herb Vincent Peterson) that Goodine screened during her lecture was very powerful. The video contrasts one channel with a figure covering herself in a mixture of wine, honey and oil to another channel of honey pouring and dripping. The wine is meant to represent blood and the honey and oil symbolize war. "The video is setup so you feel very anxious, referencing the eternal cycle of suffering," Goodine explains. After being entirely covered in the mixture of wine, honey and oil the figure is then lifted away from suffering, breaking the cycle. The soundscape combines B-52 bombers, bees, World War II bomb sirens and religious anthems. The first portion is an Episcopal Thanksgiving prayer, and it ends with a Buddhist healing prayer (Goodine describes herself as "an Episcopalian who thinks like a Buddhist"). Goodine also emphasized that it is an anti-war piece and says that she was very much effected by the war.

The art in the Seneca Honey series is also inspired by the poetry of Sylvia Plath. It did not start out this way, but as Goodine became involved in a group of people engaging Plath's work, her artistic direction began to be affected. "While I've always enjoyed Plath, when I began the work I wasn't thinking about Plath," Goodine explains. "She uses metaphor the same way I use metaphor. One thing I did not want (the body of work) to do was be illustrative of Plath. I'm resonating with Plath." Plath's poems that reference honey, such as The Beekeeper's Daughter, were especially inspiring to Goodine: "I related to her heartbreak, I related to her imagery, specifically the bee poems, and I related to her pain."

The Seneca Honey series is especially important for Goodine as she looks back on her life as artist and teacher and contemplates her future. "(The Seneca Honey Series) combines my entire experience as an artist and a person in the world. I did this work as if it would be the last work I'd ever do. That gave me a certain freedom to do whatever I wanted to do."

Goodine's photography often incorporates elaborately constructed scenes. She does not create these images in Photoshop or any such program, however. "I'm not interested at all in creating anything in the computer," she reasons. "The computer, I feel, is a thief in my life. I think the computer is an amazing tool, but I don't want to live there for my work."

The Seneca Honey series will soon be exhibited in three international venues: The National Gallery of Macedonia, The National Gallery of Montenegro, and an unspecified venue in Cologne, Germany.

Image: Ghat from the Seneca Honey series.

2009-11-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Outposts From The Material World. My name is Charles Fox and this blog will chronicle my experiences in the world of contemporary art wherever I am living. I am currently in Indianapolis, but my hometown is Oak Park, IL. I will try to focus on process and artists' voices, in order to make the blog more than simply my own opinions and photos.

At this point in time, I will also be contributing the material that you will see on here to a great Indianapolis art blog called On The Cusp. I want to thank Scott Grow for the opportunity to contribute to his great blog, and I am excited about the collaboration.

I got my start blogging about art this summer during an awesome stint as an Exhibitions Assistant at Chicago's fantastic Hyde Park Art Center. It was a very rewarding experience. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun. I like how community-oriented HPAC is, and how they focus on helping Chicago artists get a foot in the door of the art world. It is interesting to think that the Hairy Who got their start there! Below are links to the blog entries I completed for HPAC.

One
Two
Three
Four
Five

Expect another post or two soon!