By Kim Taylor
Halloween came early for the Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery located in the Fine Arts Building of Valdosta State University. On October 16th, the exhibition titled “Cute and Creepy” had its opening reception. This show is a smaller version of the original which was displayed in Florida State University’s Museum of Fine Arts several years earlier. During the artist talk before the exhibition opening, curator Carrie Ann Baade stated that seven of the original twenty-four artists are in this exhibition for VSU. There is a theme tying the exhibition together that is reflected in the name of the show. That theme was all things cute and creepy, and it was evident as I walked around the gallery. There are paintings on the walls of little pink bunnies, and free-standing sculptures made from animal bones and metal. Some pieces are even both cute and creepy.
The gallery space is set up very openly. Most of the works are paintings and drawings hung on the wall. However, there are two sculptures which served as floor centerpieces as well as a sculpture that hung from the ceiling. The ceiling piece is the closest to the entrance door on the left. Viewers can still walk entirely around these sculptures. In the back of the space, there are two pedestals both supporting a small free-standing sculpture. A television screen is projecting a video piece in the far-left corner. The works are not organized by artist, although size or color might be what categorizes them. For example, on the back wall, there are three paintings. The largest of the three is in the center and the smaller two on either side. Several works caught my attention and stood out to me, but I will discuss only two of those artworks.
I have recently experienced metal works in the art field, and as a result, I have been seeking out artwork made of metal. Naturally, this curiosity drew me to Jessica Joslin’s sculpture titled Gage which was created using the following materials: antique hardware and lamp parts, bone, brass, velvet, painted steel, glove leather, and glass eyes. The artwork is in the back of the gallery, placed on the tallest of the two pedestals. The work is of a small skeletal animal figure standing on a ball. The skeleton is part real bones and part metal. The skull of this little creature had decorative pieces of metal attached to it and black glass eyes. The ball this little guy is standing on is larger than it, but not by much. It is a white ball with its centerline marked by a thick red line with two thinning lines on either side of it. The opposite sides of the center are marked with eight-pointed stars in the center of two thin lines. The ball is placed on the pedestal at an angle; however, the skeletal animal figure is parallel with the pedestal surface.
Perhaps it is due to the patterning on the ball, but this piece recalls circus animals. It is almost like the animal is performing in the gallery. After looking at the work more and letting my mind wander, those thoughts took me to the abuse faced by animals in captivity, specifically those in the circus. Animals in zoos are treated with respect most of the time; however, circuses are known for their mistreatment of animals to get them to perform tricks. Some of these neglectful mistreatments have led to the deaths of these animals. The public started hearing of these instances years ago, and most circuses have cleaned up their acts, but it is still a huge issue. The artist gave the piece a name, Gage and on the smaller pedestal is Max made of similar materials. I feel that these sculptures serve as a reminder that these animals are living creatures too.
Lauri Hogin’s set of paintings, Women’s Work, caught my attention from across the gallery. As I walked around Joslin’s artworks, I saw these five small pink pieces. The works are arranged in a cross pattern on the wall, with one panel in the center and the other four placed at the cardinal directions. From a distance, they looked like photographs of bunnies taken with a pink filter; however, upon walking over, I found that they are not photographs at all but oil paintings. Each bunny is inside a small panel, and after reading the label next to the series, I discovered that the artist made the frames by hand. Hogin also painted the frame red and silver with glitter and metallic paints. The bunnies take up much of the space on their surfaces, with nothing in the backgrounds in any of the picture planes. There is something off about these pink bunnies, I thought. That something is their facial expressions. Each had a varying level of anger on its face, starting with the southernmost panel moving up and the angriest of the five at left and right of center. These five are not the cute bunnies the audience members would expect.
At first, I did not understand why the series was titled Women’s Work until I started to think about what is defined as women’s work. In the world of art, only recently have women artists been professional artists. For much of history, women were viewed as hobbyists and their work not taken seriously. This series makes me feel like the bunnies were created as a response to this. It made me feel like the artist was challenging the idea of women’s work altogether.
“Cute and Creepy” is very different than other exhibitions I have ever attended. Other exhibitions I have seen were more traditional themes and styles. During several of these past exhibits, the artists were present for the reception; however, they were not present during this show. Overall, I enjoyed the show and its take on things that make most people uncomfortable. Many people in our society are creeped out by the strange and unusual, mainly because they do not understand it. This exhibition brings the peculiar and unique to the audience, and just in time for Halloween.
Kim Taylor, from St. Marys, GA, is a senior at Valdosta State University majoring in Fine Arts. Kim is focusing on ceramics.