Tucson, AZ -- PCC
Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery, under the direction of David Andres, presents
"Rearranging the Sands," featuring the works of Barbara Penn,
Benjamin McKee and Joe Dal Pra. The exhibit runs Jan. 28 through March 8, 2013
A gallery talk is scheduled
for Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 1:30 p.m. followed by a reception from 5–7 p.m. and a
video screening of “The Shadows of Men”
by Jason Stone at 6:30 p.m. in the Center for the Arts Recital Hall.
From the gallery press
release: The expression “rearranging the
sands,” has been used recently to euphemistically refer to various ineffective
U.S. military excursions in the Middle East, insinuating that these are
exercises in futility, belittling the real impact of war. In broader usage,
this expression alludes to impermanence and the transitory nature of material
life.
I am definitely
working from the broader usage mentioned above.
My piece for the show:
Collapse, sculptural
installation, plywood, steel, urethane plastic, paint and medium density
fiberboard, variable dimensions (approx.
80" x 156" x 156"), 2013.
More details about my
piece: It is stylized and an attention
to a faux surface has become more about creating a rich pattern than emulating
actual wear. The fragmented bases have
been finished, or I should say unfinished, to create an awkward tension. Fragmented truss like support structures are
bent and falling. Parts are collapsing
and shattered. Figures are set in this landscape, but their scale is varied. They do not appear to be acting in the
destruction or protection of their environment, but are spectators to the
collapse around them. They are impacted
by it, but not to the point of action.
Three other figures
are present. Their images reference
super heroines and weaponry. I am
exploring destruction presented with the fantasy of invulnerability and perhaps
seduction. They also reference the three
graces, although beauty, charm and joy here heads turned into bombs.
So that is the piece
as I see it, trying to create an uneasiness, although one in a controlled space.
My Gallery Talk notes:
My first thought for
this show, in thinking of issues of the last 12 years, was to tear the sheet
rock walls of the gallery down to the floor, perhaps ceiling as well. This would be inspired in part from Hans
Haacke's Germania (1993).
Story goes, the German
Pavilion of the Biennale in Venice was redesigned in the 1930's by having the
parquet floor replaced with marble slabs and Nazi version of the German eagle
with wreath and swastika placed above the entrance. Haacke addressed the history of the space and
his country of origin by upturning the marble slabs and smashing them. This referenced the upheaval of Germany and
Europe in the 20th century and the institutions that existed
throughout the period. When I first saw
the piece reproduced in a book I saw it as an intense thing to do and creating
a simple and direct experience for the viewer.
The idea of coming into a space to see and artwork and having the entire
floor destroyed in a very intense and aggressive way was like having someone
yelling at you and creating an overwhelming discomfort.
The significance to me
is in it happening in the actual space, creating a disruption in the space that
the viewer has to be in. The experience
in your own space, the breakdown of what you thought would hold together and
should be there, is a powerful experience.
That it happens in relatively contained and controlled art space of a
museum or gallery tempers it.
There have been/are
artists that explore the line with the real world and disrupt the traditional
museum/gallery space and the idea of what is art. Examples: Duchamp's readymade urinal,
performance and installation art by Allan Kaprow and social sculpture such as
Joseph Beuys 7000 oaks. At this point the
art world is pretty much inclusive of disruptive acts. Most of these originally disruptive activities
have been absorbed into the art world, consumer/entertainment art market. They are taught as part of university programs
such as Art and social practice or public practice. Things just seem to progress that way. Current artists pushing new boundaries may be
online or on the street or both. The Gorilla
style works by the Guerrilla Girls or Ron English billboards may still be out
there as well. I also see it in music as
the traditional system is disrupted through the activities of online
availability.
The piece I have done
for the show is an artifice, theatrical recreation for a gallery space. There
is a frame of reference for the viewer to feel this is an art installation and
not actually intruding into their life. It
is from this place it can be experienced. People that will experience it
can be curious about what they have looked at and reflect on it and how it
relates to them. I like to think of the gallery space in the same way as the space of
a book or a song that is meant to create an experience. My favorite artist to create a space and make
me think is the writer Kurt Vonnegut.
There is sometimes the
question of why in relation to my work.
The Idea of creating an experience/space is usually my best answer to
this. There are more motivations to
making work, some of which I may not completely realize myself. There were two movies about artists I saw
when I was young, The Agony and the Ecstasy with Charlton Heston as
Michelangelo and Lust for Life with Kurt Douglas as Vincent van Gogh. So perhaps the artist as hero was/is attractive
as a role in life.
Some times this
question of why is broader than just my own work and refers to work that does
not seem to some to serve a purpose or any economical gain. I am very glad when
things I have made sell, and from time to time I happen to make objects that
are attractive to some. I hope my work
entertains in some way and I am often thinking of making some product line of
my work, so I have no problem with the idea.
This type of art has a
purpose. Looking at your world, asking
questions about it or trying to make sense of it and sharing that with others
is an important activity. We need to reflect
on things, see them from different points of view to grow and better understand
our existence. Not that I succeed, but
that the goal is one of value.
Sometimes work like this
becomes didactic in a preachy way or is so simplistic in the understanding of
things that it reveals nothing. I often think of this as "fire prevention
week posters." When I was in grade
school, we were given the chore to make posters for fire prevention week. We may well need those, but they are limited.
I hope not to do this, but sometimes it is not until there has been some space you
see things that you were close to before.
I remember in writings
by artist/writer Joseph Kosuth how he saw the role of the artist as an anthropologist
engaged in their own culture, trying to learn from and understand it at the
same time having an impact on it. This
is a difficult but valuable goal.
I see art as a big
thing, meaning all the things people think art can be. It can be decoration, used for propaganda, to
sell goods, to entertain, make people happy and forget their woes. It can fit
into a niche, find a market and create a commodity. The need of an income is a
practical value and part of ones survival.
Art, design, music, dance, and theater -- all have this part. They also can question, comment on and try to
understand our world and ourselves. The
most valuable things an artist can do are to ask question their world and search
for answers. That is the value of the
artist.
