Tickle Your Fancy

Lowery Gallery Presents "The Dildo Show"

originally published April 7, 2004

If Loop 10 is Athens-Clarke County's testicles, then Highway 29 North from the Classic City through Danielsville to the Lowery Photography and Art Gallery could be its erect penis. And how appropriate to travel the length of a long winding phallus in order to view a roomful of penis-themed art at its head.

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The majority of the beauty in "The Dildo Show" resides in the juxtaposition of the gallery's calm country setting with the exhibit's inherent racy implications. The physical location of this show appears as much a part of its content as anything else. It is unexpected, inconspicuous and a little bit tricky.
The hard part about making penises an art show's focus is the task of reconsidering, and perhaps even overcoming, cliché themes. For the most part, ideas of envy, power and greed do appear, making the show somewhat predictable, but entertaining nonetheless. Joni Younkins-Herzog commands attention with a five-foot metal penis as the gun barrel on an otherwise unimposing military tank. The anatomically correct rendering of a circumcised penis gives new meaning to the phrase, "That thing will poke your eye out." The simple wooden tank's yellow color gives the machine a relatively fleshy tone compared to its camouflaged counterpart. W's decorate the tank's midsection, transforming the sculpture from a general statement on war to an expression about America's current administration, the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism.
A series of five drawings by Wendi Flowers center around the image of a rooster, entitled "Cock." Nothing about this sketch even hints at the penis besides the picture's title. The bird stands erect in a field of white. There is no barnyard, no hens and no little chicks. Next to "Cock" hang "Wrestling Cock" and "Batman Cock."

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In both cases the subjects are fairly colorless relative to their imposing members and size-wise, Flowers is very generous in her renderings. The wrestler's red Spandex mask shrinks in comparison to his long pink cock bending up from between his legs. Meanwhile, Batman battles his thick, steel-rod-like penis, trying to beat it back into his gray Spandex uniform with a "TWUNGG!" It must be difficult to be a super-hero with a hard-on (probably causing more problems than are being solved). Flowers' drawings succeed because they are both comical and unexpected.
With her hanging sculpture, "Hand Tools," Theresa Marie Sporer gives the term hardware new meaning. Three screwdrivers, one Phillips and two flatheads with pink fleshy handles, hang on the wall. Not only are tools stereotypically associated with men, but these tools are particularly phallic too. The facts that screwdrivers screw and have heads make this piece as much a play on words as it is a visual statement. The most notable (and entertaining) things about works by C. Keen Zero and Mustapha Goldstein are the tongue-in-cheek titles and side notes accompanying the artwork. Neither Keen Zero nor Goldstein is afraid to have fun with their penises. For Keen Zero's "It Wasn't What I Thought," a little penis peeks its tiny head through the round opening of a big ceramic donut and he has also forged two pipes into penises for "Let's Get High and Fuck."
Relating to his art becomes less of a struggle because he refrains from being blatantly political or power-driven in these pieces. Goldstein approaches the subject in much the same way but has a number of pieces that play with politics. Two short, flaccid-looking penises entitled "George Bush And Dick Cheney Executive Action Paperweights" come with the directive: "Go ahead...play with them like they play with you. Feel their compassionate conservatism."
This exhibit should really be called "The Penis Show" or "Balls on the Walls." Technically, it does not involve dildos and isn't an interactive show (to the dismay of some friends), but it might just tickle your fancy anyway - depending on what turns you on. There will be a closing reception at the gallery on Sunday, April 11, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Debbie Michaud