Honoring

originally published November 7, 2007

The Inner Beast: “Animal Instincts: Allegory and Anthropomorphism” is still on view at the Athens Institute for Contemporary Art (ATHICA). The gallery space is dominated by Billie Grace Lynn’s 30-foot inflatable “Dead Mouse,” a “reinterpretation of an American icon” as a war casualty, wearing camouflaged pants and lying in a pool of blood. Though the subject matter is quite serious, Lynn, a resident of Miami, FL, manages to keep a light-hearted, comic approach.

The size of “Dead Mouse” creates a corridor effect in the space. Viewers are required to become intimate with the other works in the show, engaging with them at close range. This proximity is of benefit to Jacqueline Meeks’ “Shark Boy,” a small, delicate and intriguing drawing in ink on paper. The anatomy of a shark makes up the torso, while the legs and feet are those of a man. Margi Weir’s large vinyl cut-out “Tapestry of Flight” juxtaposes missiles, airplanes, astronauts and hot air balloons with insects, butterflies and birds, reminding us who flew first. Andrew Cayce’s acrylic paintings imbue animals with human qualities. “Bunch o’ Bears” shows bears lined up in formation as though being controlled by the robots in the painting. Rosemary Mendicino’s ceramics are combined with electronics and found objects, which look once-loved but now forgotten and discarded. Santa Monica, CA resident Diane Meyer’s playful and bizarrely provocative photos are of men in mascot costumes holding the costumes’ heads under their arms. The only recognizable human form in each is the face peering out above the costume.

One of two paintings by local cartoonist and Flagpole contributor Joe Havasy is “Buzz Off,” showing a girl in a flowered dress chased by a bee in a metaphor for human interaction. Kenny Aguar, whose stage persona is the 8-Track Gorilla (see below), creates collages full of animal lust and campy imagery. In “Impossible?” a bare-chested woman clothed in skin-tight leopard-print pants seems to contemplate an existence in the animal world. Louise Zjawin Francke, from St. Louis, MO, paints endangered animals as icons of art history. Dan Smith, an Athens-area elementary school art teacher, illustrates a dancing hippo, a gorilla as a hairdo, and a monster with a horn on his head. A cartoon dialogue bubble from the monster in “I am not a unicorn, I am not a narwhal, I am not a rhinoceros, for I am not a hero” shows words as faces, an imaginative approach to the riddle of animal language. Matt Blanks’ palette is subdued but vibrant with contrasts. In “Cockatrice and the Bear King of Sadness,” a sad bear sits nestled in the dream of a rooster. And in “Teodor, Winged Rabbit (Guardian the First),“ a winged creature with big ears remorsefully gazes at the viewer.

Jessica May’s spring 2007 project, dressing roadkill in human clothes and leaving them for motorists to see, is documented with photographs. One raccoon in a satin dress reads like a mother. An opossum in a blue blazer looks like a dignified young man. Jeffrey Whittle’s birds, fish and turtles are created with aeronautical and oceanographic maps and paint. Heidi Jensen’s rabbits are part human, with jackrabbit legs, long ears and furry tails under and over human faces and upper bodies. Ellen Jantzen and Beth Thompson display digital prints. Jantzen manipulates images of flowers and fish. Thompson is reinterpreting a full deck of tarot cards. In Jill Carnes’ “What Shall I Wear?” the main character hangs clothes on a line, while bird-like creatures sing and fly overhead. Carnes uses large ruled children’s paper, accentuating the animals’ role as playful elements, like characters in a children’s book. Blake Sanders’ lithographic print juxtaposes a pterodactyl and instructions on how to tie a necktie. In “New Neighbor,” a beaver holds a ”sold“ sign, moving his dam next to a human home. Dorothy Schultz has contributed a video of hermit crabs in tank-like shells. “Animal Instincts” will be on display through Nov. 11. Be sure to check out details on the closing day events in the calendar section of this week’s Flagpole. ATHICA is located in the Chase Street Warehouses, Unit 4, at 160 Tracy St., and online at www.athica.org.

---

The Outer Gorilla: The debut screening of Tracking the Gorilla, a documentary film on the 8-Track Gorilla by Diane M. Campese, will be at ATHICA on Nov. 9 (doors at 7:30 p.m., screening at 8). Campese chose not to reveal the 8-Track Gorilla’s identity in the film. She says, “It’s a guy in a gorilla suit singing over eight-tracks and karaoke versions of songs with backup dancers in a small Southern college town, and to me, that is so bizarrely charming that revealing the truth behind the legend would do a disservice to the near decade-long cultivation of amusement and lore.” Dan Aguar, local filmmaker and brother to Kenny, provided Campese with hours of archival 8-Track footage utilized in the 30 minute film. Campese moved to Athens from San Francisco in February 2006 to make the film, having been introduced to the 8-Track Gorilla while living in New York. There is a suggested donation of $3 to $7 for the screening, which is followed by a dance party. (See p. 41.)

---

Collective: Members of the Lamar Dodd School of Art Board of Visitors are exhibiting work at the Broad Street Gallery until Nov. 9. The Board of Visitors (BOV) consists of alumni, artists, arts professionals and patrons who act as advocates and advisors for the School of Art. The diversity of artists on the BOV allows for an eclectic exhibit. Of special note is Gibby Waitzkin’s digital photograph on handmade paper titled “Judy,” with slogans such as “Worry is a misuse of the imagination” arranged around a central photograph of the late artist Judy Jones. CORRECTION: A photo of Waitzkin's work was mistakenly attributed to Kathy Prescott in last week's calendar, apologies to both artists for the error. Broad Street Gallery (www.visart.uga.edu) is located at 257 W. Broad Street. Up next is work by R.G. Brown, with an opening on Nov. 15.

Beth Sale

Send me yr art notes at calendar@flagpole.com, and always put “Art Notes” in the subject line.