The crapification of materials is part of the message of Vox Populi‘s fifth annual roundup of emerging art, Vox V. The other part is the antithesis–tradition.
This is not to say the show is schizo. This year’s exhibit, curated by superstar video artist Ryan Trecartin and Cerealart jefe Larry Mangel, is lots of fun, hitting the main important points in what’s happening in contemporary art here and everywhere, in subject matter and media experimentation.
To add to Roberta’s comments, especially the ones on the videos and Tyler Kline’s skulls, I have posted a bunch of pictures and comments here.
Matthew Savitsky embodies the split between crapification and traditional materials. His burnt pizza on the wall justly ranks America’s favorite take-out with manna, ambrosia and the holy family. I’m channeling visions of the Virgin Mary burnt onto a waffle here, not to mention some carbon-dated Stone Age artifact in the University of Pennsylvania museum. Savitsky also hit the other end of the materials spectrum with a Picasso-esque oil on canvas (with spray paint and enamel)–pictured in Roberta’s post!
Speaking of the holy family, Jaime Treadwell, using the most traditional of means, has transformed them into party-goers in an American fantasy backyard. I thought that was pretty swell. (Another great take on holiness, with a focus on a not so immaculate conception of a bird-ish creature was the fabulous video Into Temptation by Jonathan Monaghan.)
I loved the way Jennifer Murray’s very traditional drawing of a dog (is it, or is it a wolf) travels into a fabric sculpture tail that suggests comic motion lines and a spiritual aura trailing the pup. I haven’t seen anything with quite this kind of combo before.
On a similar note, Alexander D’Agostino mixes the number of dimensions in his lovable I’m Still Here, a flat on the floor sad bunny rabbit with his album of paintings attached to his chest. As someone who just got rid of a bunch of my grown kid’s stuffed animals, I was particularly touched (no, I did not get rid of any favorites).
The ebulliance of Zena Verda Pesta’s decorations on objects that were originally created as decorations pushed her Oh My Gawdy display into a playful zone. I thought this work was the antithesis of Jesse Greenberg’s anti-Ikea take on decoration (Roberta talked about this one).
There was bunches of homoerotic art and nude males. Adam Blumberg’s The Bull Rider was a great surprise, undressing macho, and Giacomo Fortunato’s Nature Channel Adults was also a great surprise, creating a tension between erotic nature and crunchy granola nature. This is so much more lighthearted than Justine Kurland’s portraits of nudists in nature.
Both Fortunato and Bumberg situate their work in the images of pop culture, and the mashup of tradition and pop offers some lively commentary.
There are lots more images on my Flickr set. Vox V closes August 2.
