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Art Reviews |
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The Worms Crawl Out
"Furnish"
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There have been many discussions over what is art and what is craft. Furniture design, which is mostly functional, almost always falls into the “craft” category because of its architectural ethics. “Furnish,” the new Static Factory show at the Lower Level Gallery in the Capitol Hill Arts Center makes a concrete decision to consider the notion of furniture in its most fundamental form. Curator Charles McHale makes you look at this subject matter at its base core. And after a walk though the exhibit, it’s purely an artistic affair.
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Upon entering the show, you will notice a rather large chair nailed high upon a wall, constructed of super shiny Granny Smith apples. With closer inspection, its base consists of PVC pipes. The finely constructed apple chair looks luscious because of a thick coat of shellac painted onto the surface of the organic medium. If you talk to the artist, or those in the know, they will tell you that artist Erk Run actually filled the pipes with dirt, and yes, live worms. Apparently, he also left a few holes in the pipes so that his artwork may (or may not) undergo a metamorphosis. The piece, which is ironically called “Inequity,” is currently selling for the asking price of two grand. How luxurious would it be to buy a piece that could very well decay and possibly wreak havoc within a few months? I have to give kudos to Run, because he has created the ultimate functional work of art. It’s a chair, it’s a worm house, and if desperate, it’s also almost entirely edible! The humor of this work of art is timeless, and its structure is delightfully aesthetic.
Other notable pieces in the show include “The Audience,” a haunting and gorgeous photograph of empty vintage theatre seats ensconced in a desert in Eastern Washington. I also really enjoyed Charles McHale’s “Summer Home,” which looks like a sci-fi igloo constructed of dandelion spheres and grass. My only complaint is the presentation. The work is too fabulous to be riddled by obvious lighting and the cords that accompany it. On another note, McHale also created a closet as you would see it if it were not surrounded by walls. You can peep into this vague infrastructure and catch glimpses of cobwebs, cloth and light. It’s like eavesdropping on an old and abandoned closet, or a place in your mind where you want to store all of those crazy secrets.
“Furnish” is a great little gem of a show. Go down to the lower level of CHAC, get a drink at their full bar and feel at home. —Karla Esquivel
“Furnish” runs through September. Gallery hours are 6pm-2am. For more information visit staticfactory.org/galleryspace. |
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Architects and Skateboards
At the Henry Art Gallery
Santiago Calatrava represents everything to envy in life: handsome, talented, successful in several careers, and recognized as a genius in his own lifetime. If his work wasn’t so beautiful, he’d be loathsome. This Spanish-born artist, engineer and architect made headlines recently when chosen to build the PATH terminal in the World Trade Center. To garner a first-hand gander at his work, bop over to the Henry Art Gallery as they present “Santiago Calatrava: The Architect’s Studio.”
A collection of sketchbooks and models of Calatrava’s designs accompany his comprehensive video exhibits. Enter Calatrava’s world: a fusion of biological inspiration and post-modernist design. The stark, minimalism of the environment well suits the clean, white concrete and steel lines of Calatrava’s buildings. While touring his works, the light and sounds of the gallery portray an animation of what appears to be the hairline bones of a bird’s wing or the fossilized remains of a long, lost, but highly evolved society. The man himself is scheduled to lecture at Kane Hall, University of Washington on Monday, November 8, at 7pm. Call the Henry at 206.543.2280 for information. “Santiago Calatrava: The Architect’s Studio,” is running currently until November 21.
God bless the Henry Art Gallery; they just keep ‘em coming! Enter “Alex Morrison” in the North Galleries/Mezzanine. After literally bringing the house down with his break-through film “Housewrecker”, (Okay, that was seriously shitty-grin cheesy, but what the hell) Alex Morrison explores the boundaries of subculture in the everywhere-ness of suburbia with his collection titled: “Poached.” The photographs of television crews filming skater-kids for a punk-ass eighties sit-com capture the duality of the exhibit’s title. To have your moves “poached” (in old-school skate lingo) means to have them broadcast in the media or copied by another skater. The previous marks the lameness of television, the latter denoting the lameness of the thieving swine.
Morrison breaches another dimension of the “meta” by poaching the poachers. However, more lies beneath the surface of Morrison’s photographs than the simple irony of the subject matter. As in his earlier works, “Poached” captures the gray banality of suburban surroundings. The once-iconoclastic zeitgeist of the stringy-haired skater stealing a pass in someone else’s swimming pool—something; which is now passé and mainstream. “Poached” shrouds the viewer with its dual message—part indictment of mediated communication, part rendering of a halcyon disenchanted youth.
Parallel to the disenfranchised skate punk theme runs Morrison’s untitled film. A re-enactment of Lindsay Anderson’s “If” (1968, featuring Malcom McDowell, in all his pre-Clockwork Orange creepiness), Morrion’s untitled work (100% McDowell Free) probes with great vigor at the roots of violent activism under the veil of non-conformity. No more will be said. Go see the film. And act quickly to catch this one as it runs until October 10. And make a donation for Pete’s sake, you cheap bastard. —Ty Garfield
The cost of admission to the gallery is $8 to the general public, $6 for seniors, free to students with valid ID. For additional information check out henryart.org or call 206.543.2280. |
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But, it Doesn’t Match the Couch
Miss Kitty: Art of Vodou
Delight Hamilton Gallery, 157 South Jackson Street (on Pioneer Square between Occidental & 2nd Street)
November-December 2004
I “luvs” Miss Kitty! In addition to being a wonderful artist with a deep sense of tradition and skill she pays a great deal of respect to her subject: Vodou Dolls and Effigies. “Shouldn’t that be Voodoo,” you ask? No, you illiterate cur! Voodoo is the Hollywood bastardization of a 10,000 year-old religion depicting West African deities synchronized with euro-Christianity. I know, because I asked.
Miss Kitty’s work combines the sacred and the secular much like the religion of its origin. The fetishes she represents are ethereal, thus no limits exist to the expression she chooses for their manifestation. Using antique fabrics and intricately laid papier-mâché Miss Kitty captures the essence of spirits such as “Papa Legba” and “Baron Samedi.” —Ty Garfield
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Kris Hoglund—Nothing
Hoglund’s series from 2002-03, “Nothing,” continues to interweave themes of the individual and the universal. Typical of his work, “Nothing” is autobiographical, beautiful, and speaks from the subconscious. When asked how his art incorporates or adapts to current issues of power, fear, and expression, Hoglund said, “My approach to art changed quite a bit after 9/11. That whole shock woke me up out of lethargy about the world around me. The first expression of that for me was still personal: revulsion, anger, a helplessness combined with a strong desire to do something.... As the push to invade Iraq escalated, I knew it was a bunch of bullshit, but I found that expression of that was really difficult and unpleasant. Remember the shit that rained down on Michael Moore at the Oscars, or the Dixie Chicks?
“In my own non-famous universe, I either took shit or was ignored completely. I am pleased that Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 is doing well now; it’s overdue. I think he's a great artist and a good American, a real American.
“Anyhow, as an artist who has strong feelings about what's happening in the world right now, it's inevitable that those ideas will come out in the work. It's not so much adaptation as assimilation of experience. The anger, the helplessness, the desire to uncover the obvious.... That last one, well that's sort of what its about, eh? That's really what artists do best when they do their best. That never really changes.” —Ty Garfield
Kris Hoglund’s painting can be viewed at weepingcherry.com.
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Aaron Jasinski
I first experienced Aaron Jasinski’s art on a business card in 2000. I’ve kept the card and refer to it once in a while. The card is a cropped image from one of Jasinski’s paintings, “Roses.” “Roses” exhibits a lyric and wistful quality. The mournful eyes of a small girl surrounded by a pastoral scene evokes mindfulness to emotional content on the scale of artist Sas Christian. Much akin to a concentrated effort to capture a daydream—the bold lines and muted colors—his images first enchant then arrest the imagination. Jasinski’s latest works demonstrate a higher degree of energy while still exploring his sepia tone dream world. His “We Played Our Souls” presents his performative side. The near cubist faces of the musicians are highly public while demonstrating the quiet internal dialog of the performer. —Ty Garfield
Aaron Jasinski’s work can be seen at aaronjasinski.com.
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