As The Looming and Body Doubles at Soo Visual Arts Center
come to a close, here are a few thoughts from current intern Katie Parr. Katie is a recent grad from the College of Visual Arts. She splits
her time between interning at Soo Visual Arts, photographing, biking and baking.
While meditating on the
current work on display at Soo Visual Arts Center, I am flooded with memories
of my grandmother’s kitchen; the brick red ceramic sink she bought at a thrift
store to match the shag carpet, Eric Enstrom’s ubiquitous photo Grace (you know, the one with the old
man praying over a loaf of bread), the crocheted table runner she painstakingly
made by hand, the cross-stitched Lord’s Prayer sampler that hung above the
dining room table. The air is warm and scented with vanilla and nutmeg, the
oven churning out batch after batch of glitteringly sweet crescent shaped
cookies. These memories bring me a comfort and joy that only a grandmother’s
kitchen could. For a moment I am lost in my reverie…until I realize the piece
that sent me into a trance was a seven-foot tall knit police officer in riot
gear. I am left feeling…well, off. As much I want to live in grandma’s
kitchen circa 1978, I am not allowed the pleasure. I guess I’ll have to go back
and visit soon.
The
current show at Soo Visual Arts Center features the work of artists August
Krogan-Roley, Kurtis Skaife and Amy Toscani. The work of all three artists
plays with the long contested, ever arguable idea of kitsch. Is kitsch art? Can
something so tastelessly designed be worth my time? While thinking of kitsch
one may automatically think of a cheerful Norman Rockwell painting (well, at
least I did). However, these artists bring a much deeper, and arguably darker
twist to a movement associated with ceramic angel figurines and poster images
of frightened cats dangling off tree limbs that read “Hang in there!” or “Never
give up!”. The comfort and sentimentality normally associated with kitsch is
present in the work of all three artists, even if only for a moment. Kitsch has
the amazing ability to comfort, romanticize and distract, but by doing so it
protects the viewer from a harsher truth and colder reality. Harold Rosenberg perceived in his essay Pop Culture: Kitsch Criticism: "There is no counter concept to
kitsch. Its antagonist is not an idea but reality." The
work of all three artists conjures a particular sense of nostalgia and
wistfulness, one that is centered around childhood memories and fantasies of
growing up among a Midwestern landscape littered with tea cozies and crocheted
doilies, yet at the same time has the ability to confront reality, even if
covered under a saccharin coating. The statements these artists make are worth
our time.
For more information on The Looming HERE
For more information on Body Doubles HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment