By Ismaa Viqar
Westby’s Art Gallery’s current exhibition entitled, “CROSSROADS: Determining the Authentic Visual Voice,” is a look at authenticity in art emphasized by the artist’s use of found or common objects to create an entirely new work out of the original object through mechanisms like multiplication.
According to Gallery and Exhibitions Program Director, Mary Salvante, the exhibition was a collaboration with The Philadelphia Sculptors. The artists whose work is present in the exhibition include Maria Anasazi, Tom Bendtsen, Catherine Martens Betz, Brent Crothers, Ted Prescott and Warren Holzman.
Anasazi's "Tell Me More Stories". (Photo by Josh Gager)
Maria Anasazi’s work, “Tell Me More Stories” is a child-size white bed frame wrapped in a quilt made up of old fairy tale pages. Anasazi uses objects found from yard sales and thrift shops, objects which no longer hold any value to their owners.
In making this piece, Anasazi found inspiration from children’s stories and fairy tales from studying children’s literature in graduate school. It had an impact on her, explained Salvante, because as a child growing up in Greece, Anasazi was from a very poor family.
“They had no books. I suppose the books she did have access to were either in school or a library but she felt that she missed out on this whole time of growing up, when fairy tales are a very important part of a child’s way to be able to make sense of the world,” said Salvante.
Bendtsen's "Conversation #3". (Photo by Josh Gager)
“Conversation 3” is a piece made up of almost 4,000 books that are strategically piled up to the ceiling into the shape of a nuclear power plant, the side of which displays a pixellated nature scene. The piece, created by Tom Bendtsen, a professor of sculpture at Rowan, conveys how nuclear power plants have become a part of our landscape and this work shows their contrast to nature in the sense that they’re a threat to nature. The entire work took over 50 hours to rebuild.
Bendstein originally began arranging the books by topic ten years ago, when he was struck with the idea to play with colors.
“I kind of liked how the random subjects and topics were placed in relation to each other when I chose color, rather than indexing it in terms of subject, like Greek mythology beside western philosophy. When I threw them into color relations, you get kind of awkward and strange connections between titles,” explained Bendstein.
Catherine Marten Betz showcased two works at the exhibition. Her first piece, “e,” is a massive group of matchbooks arranged in concentric circles, piled over each other smaller and smaller until they form a dome. Her other work, “Vacant” is a large circle of keys held together by rope.
Betz's "Vacant" (Photo by Josh Gager)
Betz, originally from New Orleans, said that the keys used in “Vacant” were symbolic to all the homes that were lost after Hurricane Katrina hit the region in 2005. None of the keys were actually in use; they were all miscut and are actually the same key, duplicated, which is why the contour of the teeth is the same on each key.
“e” is representative of the Superdome which at the time, was given the nickname “Dante’s Inferno,” hence the matches.
Even though both works have historical significance, Betz herself works solely with multiples, whether it’s multiples of things she makes, finds or buys.
Betz's "e" (Photo by Josh Gager)
“It always is about the structure and the function of that object, and I try to exploit the function of that object,” said Betz.
Betz explained that although she does consider her work as a commentary on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, she does not feel that her audience needs the back-story to appreciate her work.
“It’s about a beautiful object that’s multiplied and it changes that initial object into something different by multiplying it so many times. So it’s about changing the object. It just started from a back-story,” said Betz.
Brent Crothers showcased two works which incorporate found objects. “Synergy” was made from recycled copper pipes and “Water Wars #2,” comprised of used garden hoses and transformed them into an oval, egg-like shape. The two pieces are a part of a series called “Water Wars,” which is a commentary on our overuse of fresh water and the lack of fresh water to be used in the future.
Crothers' "Water Wars #2" (Photo by Josh Gager)
“These are all part of a series I’m doing on questioning our use and not taking care of freshwater, because that’s what the real wars are going to be about, and not about oil because you can’t drink . So that’s kind of the energy behind it,” explained Crothers.
The hoses from “Water Wars #2” are held together with nothing more than simple knots and the occasional stainless steel screw to stick them in place. The recycled copper pipe used in “Synergy” is held together in a similar fashion, and the actual copper pipe is soddered.
Crothers' "Synergy" (Photo by Josh Gager)
The two works were created over the course of five years, at a time when the artist had serious health issues. Both pieces were things that Crothers could do a little bit at a time when he had some physical energy.
Holzman’s “Culturally Relevant Identity Object." (Photo by Josh Gager)
Warren Holzman’s work was “Culturally Relevant Identity Object,” an object which is characteristic of a tank made from aluminum, steel and wood.
According to Salvante, Holzman was very interested in mechanical objects, the mechanical age, and metalworking. He takes a very sterile, static kind of object and humanizes it in a way by bringing out the whimsical, playful qualities of objects.
“In this case, he’s taking a shape that is reminiscent of a tank but by softening the edges, making them more egg-like, more playful, what we’re left with is this very sort of larger than life pull toy that is a very accessible and no longer has the characteristics of a tank, which just suggests war and violence and those kinds of ideas,” said Salvante.
Prescott's "Dirty Thought". (Photo by Josh Gager)
The use of the color yellow was an integral part of the piece for the artist.
“He felt a passion…feeling that yellow is a spiritual color and felt it was appropriate to use on his apple branch. That’s essentially his motivation for this piece,” said Salvante.
At the end of the opening reception, Salvante spoke to the crowd, explaining that when we think of an authentic visual voice in terms of the theme of this show, the discussion is really about ownership.
“Ownership of a concept, ownership of materials, to the extent where artists are taking pre-existing material, objects, materials and having redefined idea when one confronts them to create something new and something different out of them once the artist has a hand on them,” said Salvante.
“CROSSROADS: Determining the Authentic Visual Voice,” is free and open to the public on Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The exhibit will be on display until March 12.
Article also found on Rowan on the Record’s Web site here.
