Art

From the benign to the sinister

CAC’s new juried show exhibits a strange unity

Susanne Forestieri

Sometimes in choosing works, jurors manage to tell a coherent story that connects even the most divergent pieces. Marjorie Vecchio has accomplished this difficult task, but with a result darker than she may have intended, as even benign subject matter takes on a sinister glow by virtue of the company it keeps.

A video by Anthony Alston of a man having his beard removed with tweezers was unwatchable. Kyla Hansen’s fascinating (in a ghoulish way), cryptically titled “Delaun and Delores,” with a small patch of carpet netting into which human hair (I’m guessing Delaun’s and Delores’) has been sewn and pasted, was reminiscent of lamp shades made of human flesh.

Vecchio has a way of juxtaposing pieces that give each an added resonance. Adjacent to the carpet swatch is Justin Favela’s “Baby,” a paper effigy of a common baby doll. The use of delicate material adds a poignancy that is reinforced by subtle red and black smudges that suggest singeing. The frayed fibers where the leg is becoming detached suggest neglect, and the hollow eyes and parted lips, which can be interpreted as a smile or scream, add to the sense of horror.

In “Sprung Out,” Paul Logan gives innocent, traditional women’s work a sinister twist. A giant clothespin with a spring detached is mounted on a calico fabric with an embroidered, unfinished figure of a small girl, the needle still hanging from the thread. I can think of several feminist interpretations involving women’s release from traditional roles, but they all seem too pat for the disturbing effect this work had on me.

Marty Walsh’s paintings of vintage kitchen appliances are tongue-in-cheek critiques of the ’50s postwar movement to commercialize the home and glorify the “homemaker.” They are mostly benign and gently humorous, but her gigantic can-opener “Tap Boy” is much taller than the surrounding trees and conveys a menace not associated with domestic bliss.

In such company even a subject as innocuous as a pineapple takes on a sinister hue. Josue Fred’s masterfully detailed painting emphasizes the texture of the hard prickly surface, like so many needles ready to prick.

Adele Hanas’ surface is literally prickly as slides of Amargosa Valley are projected on the wall of a small room, the floor of which is covered with broken glass. In her artist statement Hanas says, “The starkness and lack of culture and thus predetermined reality allude to reality in flux.” I have no idea what that means, but I was intrigued by the idea of art as tactile, auditory (the crunch of glass underfoot) and dangerous (the glimmer of sharp shards at my feet).

The floor also plays a role in Carlos De Las Heras’ “Take One?” where a mound of shredded paper is accumulating at the foot of his mixed-media interactive piece. You are invited to add a shredded, photocopied flier of Einstein and Jesus with text that reads “THOSE WHO SEEK THE TRUTH DOUBT THOSE WHO FIND IT” to the pile. De Las Heras encourages a healthy skepticism of all versions of the “truth.” You can disagree with this idea, and the shredded paper is the documentation.

Whereas De Las Heras tackles ontological questions in a cerebral manner, Jess Deverse sees painting as a metaphysical enterprise—“My small evanescent existence falls away as my internal book of secrets manifests on canvas as an eternal universe of mystery”—annoying and pretentious if he hadn’t delivered the goods in his painting “Sun Soul,” where “the crown of fire” that “purifies the land” burns up the canvas with an intense passion.

Jorge Catoni’s digital print “More than an Offer, More than a Demand, A State of Survival” is midway between the passion of “Sun Soul” and the coolness of “Take One?” Workers in the port cities of Catoni’s native Chile are seen in their daily survival rituals. Catoni would like the viewer to identify with their struggles; but his photos—arranged to emphasize their graphic-design quality and set against a searing chrome yellow background—make this work too beautiful to have to worry about the suffering masses.

Paul Logan’s mixed-media piece “Elmers Unglued” is formatted like a poster. The flat orange background, the brand name at the top and the smiling bull’s-head logo are all reproduced perfectly. That the bull has been decapitated is evidenced by the lifeless body at the bottom of the canvas. The work is a wry bit of humor which resonates eerily with other pieces in the show.

At times I enjoyed thinking about the show more than looking at it. (Conceptual bias in the contemporary art world is a given.) That said, all in all, I found the show exceptionally thought-provoking.

Contemporary Arts Collective 19th Annual Juried Show

***

Through April 26

Reception: April 3, 6-10 p.m.

382-3886

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