Dwayne Butcher at David Lusk

Dropped by David Lusk yesterday afternoon to scope out the new work of Dwayne Butcher. Unfortunately, Butcher's work is hidden in the back half of the gallery while the boring and blended color-oriented work of Robert Rector hangs in the front of the gallery. I'm sure Rector's work sells well to places like hotels, so I get Lusk's strategy as a commercial gallerist. However, Butcher's work is far more thought-provoking and challenges many of the convensions of what is considered art. The pairing of Butcher and Rector is an odd one.

Working with the risky medium of text art, Butcher displayed a series of scripted statements and short letters painted on high-glossed canvas. His small white "Letters" on 8"x10" cavas are appropriately sized to read visually as paper and ink though clearly made of paint and canvas. Displayed in a grid, each one-liner is interesting to pick from the group. Some are witty, some bland, some funny. Finding each type of letter in the group creates a strong holistic view of thoughts revolving around identity and social interactions. The larger statement paintings (36"x48") are more direct statements toward a type of person, usually cutting in nature. They are less successful than the letters, likely because they lack the cohesion of the group that is created by the grid of "Letters". The larger paintings such as "It's a Bloody Mary morning" seem lackluster and superflous, begging the question, did Butcher paint these just to paint on large canvas? Perhaps Butcher should reconsider size in the effectiveness of his message.

Also on view are videos, including "Watermelon", a real-time sequence of the artist and another figure, both shirtless in the heat of summer, eating watermelon. At first intriguing, the lack of action soon wanes interest. Do they eat the whole watermelon? I won't watch to find out. The only sounds of the video are the slurping of melon and lazy croak of cicadas.

Hidden on the other side of the wall behind the reception desk, "Red Head", a three screen video projection graces three TV sets placed upon end tables. The middle end table is propped up with blue blocks to allow all three screens to be in line. A nit-picky note, perhaps tables of the same height should have been procured ahead of time as the discrepancy in height is clearly not an intentional part of the display. Table height aside, the center screen displays a poem with commentary on society, reality TV, and red headed women, bookended with more of the same statements as the large paintings, but in digital format. The pacing of the scrolling poem is appropriate. Butcher has hit an interesting way to display poetry as art which neither demands the critique of art nor of poetry, but exists on a level of its own. I get the feeling the poem could say anything and I would be interested as it slowly scrolls across the screen.

Butcher has tackled text without succumbing to cheesiness or overt display of opinions. The text used is for a purpose and it both simple and heavy, questioning identity, social groups, and the individual's place in these spaces. I'll watch again.

Santa Cruz hangs loose, lacks gravity in art

Santa Cruz is small - 60,000 people reside in the city that boasts surf and UCSC. As such a small city, I held small expectations for the caliber of art. Santa Cruz held to my assumptions based on the two art venues visited. First, a member of AAM (which should say something), I visisted the Museum of Art and History at the McPherson Center in downtown Santa Cruz. Half of the museum contained the history of Santa Cruz, a cute and quaint visit through the town's settlement and major events. Without an extensive attention span at that time, I breezed through that section and into the contemporary art galleries.

The strongest art was by Victoria May, an explorer of the soft materials of fabric and felt in a fashion fusing fluxus and color fields. Some work evoked Eva Hesse, others Joseph Beuys. The pieces were unique enough to stand as a successful riff on previous art while leaving some potential for forward movement. Her most definitive work was a mop with felt for the mop head, which reads visually as a finished one-liner. Other works evoke the massive potential for exploration of space, medium, and materials.

One of MAH's galleries featured local artist Futzie Nutzle, demanding that he not be taken seriously by the nature of his name. His work is sketchy, cartoonish. A series of redrawn Artforum covers were wrapped in plastic, appearing as if on sale, displayed on a rack. His lightness toward life and art is evident in these covers of covers. Nutzle is more of a social cartoonist than fine artist. Cute, sometimes humorous, but rarely thought provoking beyond a one-liner, Nutzle is the cartoonist of former alternative weekly press in Santa Cruz. His 3-d object "Big Fly" evokes chuckles, but means nothing beyond a visual one-line joke. The piece is one of the stronger in the show, but devalues itself by display on a checkerboard shelf, clearly not belonging in a museum and better suited for a shop of cultural oddities.

On Saturday the Santa Cruz Art League hosted an opening reception for "Art Bites Back", a showcase of local artists commenting on politics. The collection of submitted works were of the overt nature intended to beat the artist's message into the viewer. Looking at the pieces was like a visual arsenal, attempting to indoctrinate the viewer in as little time possible. The oppressive and obnoxious nature of the much-too-obvious works was unsuccessful and unappealing. On top of the too-oppinionated politics, the caliber of technical skill was depraved. Some pedestal box displays used board games and other kitsch to construct a diorama intended to be playful but instead become unappetizing with its play money too-clearly speaking about the opinions of the artist regarding the state of the economy. Political art is risky; this exhibit exemplifies unrefined opinions blurted out like the extremist uncle at a family reunion.

The above was the only semi-successful piece visually with a less obvious message. While I commend Santa Cruz for its attempt, please, try again.

The Long Now at U of O (Eugene, OR)

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art seemed the only art venue in Eugene, OR, worth seeking out for visual contemplation. With a small but comprehensive permanant collection and a strong faculty art exhibit, it was worth the visit. The permanent collection was pleasing in its display of works of major art movements by artists not primarily known in their respective movements; for instance, a wall held a color field painting by someone I have never heard of. Other walls held small works by Alice Neel and Andy Warhol, but lesser known works. The collection created a lesson in the unrecognized art of history, a refreshing change from the quintessential and iconic works of various eras.

Robert Rauchenberg's "Cardbird 1" (1971) was a never before seen (for me) treat of play on household materials and pop art. Allegedly the edition of 75 is an object that resembles a bird and contains handprinted text. The bird is an abstract stretch, similar to cloud spotting. Rather, I find the interest in this piece lies in its use of banal materials in a kiddish fashion, like a childhood craft in a playroom. Its bulky nature draws interest versus its wall neighbors of refined paintings and framed pieces.

Rick Bartow's "Owl" (1994) in a plexiglass pedistol display seemed appropriate for the showing of an artifact but looked of folk art categorization. The Native American Oregonean used carved wood for the body and scrap metal for the wings, creating a fusion of nature and man-made material.


In "The Long Now" exhibit of Universit of Oregon art department faculty, Amanda Wojick's "Hawtorn (for Ellis)" created this year combined welded steel and acrylic-colored paint to create what visually reads as a flimsy sculpture of dowel rods and cut paper but is sturdy steel in its actuality. The trick of the eye created by using a hard material to create the feel of soft materials in interesting and clever, however, as the piece reads like cheap materials craftily pasted together, the piece is playfully unimpressive visually rectified only by the knowledge of its actual material.

Colin's Ives' "Beautiful Isle of Somewhere" film of ants decomposing a lolipop was displayed with an interactive twist. A motion sensor detects movement of viewers when standing under a circle of light and triggers the film to speed up. The exploration of time and decomposition is deceptively simple for its captivating visual qualities.

Michael Salter's styrofoam shark (photo at top) was impressive in size and choice of medium. Using recycled styrofoam (white bead variety), the artist assembled a clunky shark that held its own presence and welcomed the viewer to prod and poke the figure with the eye in astonishment. Works like these prove the possibility of using scrap to produce successful and impressive artwork.

Art-lanta

Pop Quiz: Art or scaffolding?

The High Museum in Atlanta is a wooden-floor creaking maze. I had to ask directions at least 4 times in my 40-minute breeze visit. Though winding and fragmented due to two separate sections not well connected, the museum is expansive and offers an immense amount of space for large scale paintings and sculpture, which they give ample space such as the introspective constructions of Anish Kapoor and the sullen complexity of an enormous 2001 painting entitled "Dragon" by Anselm Keifer (which was made using oil emulsion and is astonishingly severely cracked due to its thickness - up to 2" in some areas of the painting).

Anish Kapor, Marsupial 2006 (two views below)

The folk art collection features the eccentric Howard Finster's paintings, garden, and "gospel bike" which resembles a ghost bike with Finster's signiture text and childlike figures.

On special exhibit Bill Traylor's pencil and crayon Drawings speak to the influence of primitive symbols in his animals. His human forms are more geometric, shapely, obscured.

Catching up on Memphis Exhibitions

Facts, Fictions, and Figures at MCA's Hyde Gallery downtown Memphis (477 S. Main) operates under the premise of exploration of the monolithic construction of blackness. Well curated, it provides a succinct and dynamic snippet of identity construction. Lauren Kelley's video was a hilarious mix of play, claymation stop motion and kid-friendly gore (at one point a doll's head "explodes" by turning into a stream of play-doh. The film also includes two male dolls (barbie dolls) fighting over a female in a library situation. In the scene, the males grow wings, symbolizing a cock fight. "Upside" (2008) is a double-hit tongue in cheek take on black life.

Sheila Pree Bright's "Untitled #14" (shown above) from her plastic bodies series joins a doll's face with a human face with just enough of the seems left visible to notice the transition while providing an initially convincing portrait. With an obvious comment on identity and a nod to the conventions of perceived beauty, both Bright and Kelley speak to the socialization received during child and adolescent formation.

Memphis artist Lester Merriweather's work reflects identity construction through pop culture techniques using magazine cut outs and masking tape. The images are simple in conceptual construction but show meticulous care and precision in execution. Accessible and dynamic, Merriweather has something important to say and does so without over-explanation or over-complication.

The show features a model house of Yinka Shonibare, part of the Peter Norton Christmas gift collection. It is cute yet quizzical with a concave roof, indicating some domestic turmoil. Other works chosen were well-executed and create a cohesive whole. The MCA graduate school's gallery has been on a winning streak with pointant exhibitions; this is surely worth multiple visits (especially when the audio for the videos can be heard - check it out during the hours before its Trolly tour reception the last Friday of February).

Adam Farmer

Tracking back further in exhibition history, Adam Farmer had his way with Material Art Space January 27, 2012. A box of crayons threw up on materials walls. Even though the prevalence of colors was to me Austin,TX circa 2008-9 (Memphis does tens to run behind), Farmer's work was accessibly obnoxious. The price points were overly affordable ($30-$300) but understandable due to the sheer volume of salon style paintings and Farmer's recent B.F.A. Some of the compositions were kaleidoscopic and others were more rickety in representation. The one-room gallery walls were completely filled with the work completed in 2012 (with one month into the year, Farmer has been busy. His work is clearly influenced by Royal Art Lodge stylistic fashion with loud colors and naive techniques. Farmer is a perfect example of contemporary artists adopting folk art techniques.

Elsewhere on the 27th, "South of Hell" at PLA(I)N(E) gallery, University of Memphis's new student run division of contemporary art, showcased cinema style gore film motivated as a backlash to the culture of Cookeville where the movies were filmed. Ironically some Christians approached the filmmakers, Logan Myers and James Dale, to do a Christian film. The cinematic eye was appreciated through the anthesis of religion filmed in their feature length work excerpted at the exhibition. It is very DIY, very counterculture. An odd choice for the inaugural show, the film drew mixed appreciation and horror from the crowd. The gallery itself is a nice small space with one extra-long wall in its rectangular area. Stay tuned for more emerging art, henceforth from University of Memphis students. Next up February 17 nearly-graduated MFA candidate Chris Wallace is anticipated to surprise.

MCA's main campus mounted a retrospective for painting professor Robert Riseling with work from 1974-present. Riseling has had a prolific career with flat color friends composed into abstracted landscapes. His color schemes are at times boisterous and commanding while others follow more traditional cool schematics. Riseling demonstrates a power to reinvent the landscape in an explosion of forms like paper cut-outs such as "Pink Clouds Over Green Mountains/Vermont" or "Green Mountains/Vermont" (above). His strongest work is landscape color field with a hippie twist. Other works of crosses, abstract geometry, and architectural forms is blase, but the landscapes pull his work into notable status.

Lost Feminist Work

A year ago I spent 4 months researching feminism. The cannon centered around one Judy Chicago, who inserted herself forcefully and without talent into art history primarily for being radical. Much of the feminist art in the 1970s was sub-par work and did not help the cause of equalizing women and men in exhibition space. It was often crude, brash, tasteless, and angry. This is the feminism we rational females resist; the radical essentialist who insist every painting is a vagina or a penis dissuade anyone from adopting the term "feminist".

And yet one woman wittingly working in the 1970s missed insertion in the cannon of feminism. Probably because she was Yugoslavian. Sanja Ivekovic's display on view at the MoMA through March 26, 2012, utilizes some of the same techniques of other feminist work, such as household materials and appropriated media imagery. Much of her work bitterly scalds the media's exploitation of feminine beauty (models, magazine images, actresses) through collage and recontextualization.

For instance, video piece "Instructions No. 1" has a direct and simplistic punch-hit to the viewer by drawing lines on the face as instructions for cosmetic surgery.

The 1975-6 "Diary" (top image) shows magazine page models in congunction with used makeup cotton balls read as the detritus of that model's required persona of beauty. Whether the cotton balls were literally those of the model shown is unimportant; the point of a certain caliber of beauty requisite for women is a message delivered clearly. Ivekovic holds the power to convey direct and succint messages without over-use of essential imagery or feminist rants. Only the accompanying crumpled red sheets of paper showing "Treaty for the Rights of Women" crosses the line to pushiness. This woman is one I want to assert my rights and declare equality. Sensible, poignant, and wry, her work is what feminism should have been.

Dixon's Contemporary Photographers

This Must Be the Place

The Dixon Gallery and Gardens always puts together an opening equally balanced between contemporary Memphis culture and elegant Southern tradition. The building and grounds elevate the status and greeters' smiles open the elite status to all who attend. Serving contemporary BBQ at a reception does wonders to unify the crowd in Memphis and with full tummies and ears tuned to live music, patrons are more apt to warmly receive artwork.

Thursday, Jan 19, opened the exhibit of contemporary photographers "This Must Be the Place". The common thread of identity and place cohered to reflect the magic, whimsy, and beauty of Memphis culture, gloss-coating blight and disaster. Tommy Kha's aesthetically gorgeous portrayals of flooded streets and battered belongings took any sense of disaster from the photographs. Ian Lemmond's odd, hidden placement of white plastic toy figurines (variations on army men) are ephermeral yet humorous. Nearby, the work of Anna Hollis showed mythical figures (unicorn heads) in real wooded settings, both enchanting and humorous with an aftertaste of slight disturbance and wonder.

Frances Berry and Michael Darough just made Memphis look pretty with an Eggleston influence in tone and color evident in Berry's work. The show is small but adequately sized to portray nostolgia to true Southern times and mid-century whimsey. The show is worth the view.