Art Notes
Exit Signs
originally published December 8, 2004
EXITING STAGE LEFT. A series of Senior Exit shows at the Lamar Dodd School of Art has been dazzling Athens for several weeks. Students graduating with a BFA in Printmaking, Photography or Painting, have worked busily over the fall semester on material worthy of a final exhibition. The latest exit show is Painting. Eleven people have work up in the halls of Lamar Dodd School of Art; and, it took creativity to fit the amount of work on display into the space allocated for the show.
EXIT INSPIRED BY GOD: Jessica Shirley has biblically inspired paintings with intentionally obscure references. She uses the symbolic importance of the pregnant figure to refer to the cycle of life, a topic also addressed by her choice of materials. Her use of newsprint as paint support allows her paintings to "return to dust." Judson Duke's paintings have more direct biblical subjects. "The Beast Beckons" illustrates worship of the golden calf from Exodus 32:1—35.
EXIT PEOPLE AND PLACES: Upon entering the school through the main doors, we see Emily Duncan's bold portraits of friends, created from photographs. Two paintings are from the artist's appearance on "The Rikki Lake Show," when a friend pretended to surprise her by being a drag queen. This history adds immensely to the enjoyment of the work. Emily Duncan has painted on bead board to simulate interference for her portraits from the television appearance. Joe Havasy, whose work was seen recently at Transmetropolitan and is featured in the comic section of the Flagpole each week, has storyboard-style designs telling tales of comic misfortune. His paintings continue the tale of innocence gone awry, adding the demise of a skydiver in a compelling vertical composition. Lori Gibbons has several surrealistic paintings, with titles like "Dreams of Reason," and one large-scale drawing on display. The untitled drawing shows a surprisingly sophisticated use of color, in opposition to the oil paintings, with untraditional materials like Kool-Aid, chili powder, and tea. Elaine Thillen's texturally rich landscapes, portraits and still-lifes cross the line between surface and reality. She has crowned a wine bottle in one of her thickly painted still-lifes with an actual cork. In addition to her paintings, Thillen has two books on display. The '50s-style caricatures of Jennifer Keim's oil pastels compliment her large-scale painting "Fun Photo," which shows a couple with their heads through a fairground-style cardboard cut-out of a hunk and a bikini-clad woman.
EXIT WITH A BANG AND A CLICKETY CLACK: Trevor Reese has placed his delicately doodled, intuitively sparse paintings among wooden constructions, and allowed the two media to converse. Katie Middendorf has intricate and slightly psychedelic watercolors referencing topographical maps. Eric Hancock has work up at the Krauss Gallery in Atlanta, as well as the Lamar Dodd School of Art. His work is eclectic and exploratory, with media varying from digital prints of paintings to old wooden boards and felt collages. Explosion is the underlying current that runs through this work. Not only is his entire installation an explosion of sorts, but the theme of explosion is present in almost every work. Last, but opposite of least, is the work of Rachel Jobe. Her interestingly titled paintings are layered with painterly overlapping text and vaguely recognizable symbols. Alarm clocks collide with internal organs and become known as "like cultural history, biological history has been episodic, (circumnavigate)." Another painting is titled "the premise that agricultural is unnatural." Hurry over to the university, the show comes down on December 9.
Benjamin Jones
JONESING FOR ART. Also up at UGA, until December 17, are playful drawings by Atlanta's Benjamin Jones. These drawings are part of the work that serves to bridge the gap between outsider and fine art at Barbara Archer's Gallery in Atlanta, according to gallery coordinator Robin Dana. The role is evident in the work. Jones uses an innocent hand, with influences seemingly gathered as much from children's art as from any contemporary artists. However, references within the drawings give away the artist's informed position, revealing exposure to fine art not found in the world of true outsider art. One such piece, "Venus of Milo," is the artist's personal version of the tragically delimbed beauty. Jones opens a window to his travel experiences in "Paris is" and "Paris/Amsterdam." Both are executed in Jones' stylistically messy, simple hand, reminiscent of Cy Twombly. Most of the medium-format drawings have figures in them, such as "Unfinished Life," whose main character wears a garment only half-drawn in graphite.
TOUR ATHENS ARTS. Athens' first Arts Tour was December 3—4. It included the Lyndon House Arts Center, Elements Original Fine Art Gallery, Aurum Studios, Borders, Georgia Museum of Art, and Mercury Art Works. Expect another Tour of Athens Arts the second full weekend in March. The March Tour Athens Arts will focus on youth art, and will include ATHICA.
ENDNOTES. Andy Cherewick has work up at Flicker again. His thick textural oil paintings are a favorite of Athens, for good reason. Noah Mendelson's work was up all over town last month. If you somehow missed his energetic landscapes, check out his website, www.leafgallery.com. Kim Nyugen's elegant collages were up at Borders during November. This month at Borders is Jacob Wenzka. And Julian Koster has drawings in the window at Thai of Athens.
Beth Sale
Let me know what's going on. Email outthere@flagpole.com and put "Art Notes" in the subject line.
Beth Sale
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Art Notes
More Art Around Athens
originally published November 17, 2004
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