Reprinted
from Go-Go
Magazine
November 22-December 5, 2001issue
Gallery
Review
by Renna Shesso
WAR
AND PEACE @
CORE NEW ART SPACE
2045 Larimer St.
303-297-8428
through Dec. 2
As the
weeks have passed since the terrorist plane crashes, people have
been finding ways to express their feelings about this major shift
in Life-As-We-Know-It. Mourning, fear, anger-the autumn of 2001
has become one long Dia de los Muertos for many of us, and the artistic
response is a vital part of that. The current show at Core, "War
and Peace," lets us see some of those artistic reactions.
There may be strong reactions to work in this exhibit. Organizing
Core-member Harusami chose to make "War and Peace"
a totally open show without jurying the submissions. The intent
was to create a forum where artists could express whatever they
needed to express in these strange times, and thankfully, by using
this title, the results are not simply a display of carnage and
destruction. There is great diversity here. The call-for-entries
went out in late September, and over 70 artists are represented
by more than 100 pieces.
Not too surprisingly, "War and Peace" has plenty
of flags, although the motivation this time around surely has a
different, more compelling spin. One of the strongest flag-works
is Malcolm Phillips, huge wooden "America:
Work in Progress." Roughly eight by twelve feet, this
flag has a section out of alignment, as if still under construction.
Clear idea, clearly expressed.
Far more subtle (and prescient-the piece was done before the attacks)
is Sember Weinman's beautiful "Icarus
I." Weinman fashioned
a pair of ethereal wings cut from newspaper. On close inspection,
you will see she has used the stock pages. There are plenty of eerie
parallels here with the Icarus legend, the idea of going too. high,
too close to the sun, and burning up, falling to earth as a result.
Virginia Unseld's
"Nuclear War" uses a real book mounted on board
and open to a page showing the text, "How would a nuclear war
begin?" Unseld has cut into the pages and inserted a door-bell
buzzer from the hardware store, its push-button painted red. Clever
and clear.
S. M. Hennessy's watercolor "It
starts with your thoughts" is impressive in its own
way. A simple human face is shown with spiraling columns of words
rising up from the head-honesty, tolerance, dialogue, community-and
other word-spirals descending-shame, indifference, rage, sarcasm.
There
are distinct hints of humor. The World Trade Center towers appear
in flames behind the two fighting tigers in Marko Marino's
powerful painting, which manages to be both graphic and enigmatic.
It's a beautiful piece. Susan Echo's
"Survivor Kit #1" packs everything from gloves
and Imodium AD to Clif bars and beer. A copy of the Declaration
of Independence is included, lest we forget the point of all this.
Harusami is represented by
"St. John," a large iconic (and ironic) statue
that is clearly John Lennon, with a gold-and jewel trimmed
45 rpm record for a halo and a small heart engraved with the word
"Imagine" in his out-stretched hand. A cluster of novena
candles heightens the effect. It may sound kind of corny, but it
looks terrific. When "St. John" appeared at an earlier
show here, Harusami occasionally found neighborhood street people
kneeling in front of the statue in prayer. "I haven't been
to church for a while," one told her. Having been burned in
effigy by righteous Christians in years past, John might be rolling
in his grave or laughing uproariously in the Afterlife over this
depiction, but I still like his dream better than many making the
rounds.
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