By Cayla Burroughs
Valdosta State University’s Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery hosted “Cute & Creepy,” which showcased the grotesque-inspired works of seven pop surrealist and new contemporary artists. The exhibition is a recreation of the 2011 “Cute & Creepy” exhibition that was held at Florida State’s Museum of Fine Arts, which featured twenty-four artists; today it has been recreated on a smaller scale, with seven of the original artists returning to feature their work. The exhibition celebrates the idea of monsters and how they are woven into our lives and essentially become a part of us, setting out to cater to the monstrous and fantastical whimsy within our own imaginations. With its larger than life sculptural monsters in the center of the gallery, skeletal figures hanging throughout the space, and beautifully grotesque paintings and drawings along the wall space, the exhibition creates a truly transformative space that enthralls the viewer. In its entirety, the exhibition is bold and thrilling, and is worth experiencing in person.
Upon entering the gallery, the first thing I noticed was the thoughtful and effective arrangements of the paintings along the walls. Excellent measures are taken into considering the viewers’ reception of each artwork, ensuring that each painting and drawing could exist in its own space without attention being diverted away by another piece. There is a repetition of dark, large, and gaudy framed works like Chet Zar’s oil paint on canvas entitled, Fellowship, hung beside light colored, cute, smaller-scale works like Lori Field’s watercolor pencil drawing on ledger paper entitled, Tiger Dandy & Birdie Daddy; this rhythmic pattern breaks up the heaviness of the paintings, while emphasizing the “cuteness” in some and the “creepiness” in others.
Carrie Ann Baade is an excellent standout amongst the featured artists. As a contemporary painter, Baade revisits prominent moments in art history as the subject matter for her paintings. In her five paintings featured in the exhibition, Baade’s paintings combine imagery of Renaissance and Baroque architecture and clothing with surreal landscapes inhabited by unusual figures and startling monsters. Unspeakable, prominently showcases the era of Baade’s interests. Upon first glance, the painting is of a delicate and slender woman dressed in aristocratic clothing; however, the skirt of her dress reveals the mouth of a camouflaged monster that appears to be projectile vomiting. Baade creates an interesting dialogue through her intermix of regal beauty with surreal and unsettling imagery. Baade uses the large scale of the canvas to her advantage by incorporating thick and energetic brushstrokes, communicating a firm sense of liveliness and explosive movement being projected from the monster’s mouth. The bold contrast of colors is what gives the painting a unique energy that invites you to become visibly engaged in the piece.
Another standout artist is Jessica Joslin, for her mixed media sculptures of animal figures. Made up of found objects, bone, brass, metals, leather, and glass, Joslin seamlessly integrates these materials into cohesive sculptures of animal- like creatures that truly seem as if they could exist outside of one’s imagination. Her sculptures have a playful sensibility to them, which each having its own personality. The play between “cute” and “creepy” is strong in her work, but feels authentic to the aesthetic. Her three pieces, Max, Gage, and Aster are composed in a way that gives the figures a context in which they could have existed. They look quite jovial, almost like circus performers, while their exposed skeleton plays to the creepy components. Overall, her sculptures are fun engaging pieces that invite the viewer to create a story for these lively characters.
While most of the pieces in the exhibition were successful, the same cannot be said for artist Kelly Boehmer. Boehmer’s sculptures aim to create visual narratives in regard to human nature including anxieties, who we become in relationships, and fears. Kelly Boehmer describes her sculptures: the “sheer fabrics give the monsters a vulnerable facet—making them both threatening and pitiful. Seductive colors and sensual textures are juxtaposed with repulsive elements such as entrails. Kitsch components are incorporated in a sincere and visceral way.” Unfortunately, the sculptures are just unpleasant to look at. The danger of incorporating kitsch components into artwork that is not exclusively kitsch is that it can come across as substandard. Her juxtaposition of sensuality with repulsiveness is not well-received, as the repulsiveness of the sculpture is too prevalent. Arnolfini Lapdog is a mixed media assemblage on canvas of a taxidermized animal with its entrails exposed all throughout the canvas, surrounded by glittery soft yarn and faux fur. While her intention behind this piece was to “soften the blow” about anxieties such as death, the sculpture’s meaning is overshadowed by its poor composition.
Overall, “Cute & Creepy” offers a fun and engaging atmosphere that invites the viewer to embrace the idea of monsters and sparks the imagination to consider the role of monsters in our own lives.
Cayla Burroughs is majoring in art at Valdosta State University, and is originally from Atlanta, Georgia. Cayla Burroughs is focusing on computer animation and metalsmithing and plans to attend graduate school after graduating with her bachelor’s degree in art.