Adjani “AJ” Williams is a 21-year-old senior at Valdosta State University, originally from College Park, GA. Williams works in multimedia and chose to display a variety of different styles of art in this exhibition. His works are divided between photography, oil painting, and encaustic, but all reflect the same overall motive. When I asked Williams to describe his work in one word, he chose “evocative”, and explained that all of the things he displays are reflective of some kind of ego death. Ego death is in reference to the rebirth of a person from self reflection. Williams summed it up his ego death as having “a renewed focus on painting what I feel- painting ideas or concepts that I cannot explain with words.”
“My work is for the people that are a little eccentric,” said Gloria Townsend as she answered questions in preparation to show work in the Valdosta State Senior exhibition. Townsend is graduating from Valdosta State University in 2022. She, along with many other art students, have had the pressure of balancing school life and creating their art. When in a classroom Townsend works at her own pace and world. Often found to be quiet while working with her headphones on; she will still have a friendly conversation with anyone who approaches. Her slight awkwardness is endearing as she is asked what she is working on and asks back the same question with sincerity. Townsend may be shy in person but her art is not. Her interest in horror, fantasy and representation shine through. She identifies as a queer black artist and is inspired by stories, fiction, animation, and providing representation for people like her.
Those who claim perfection know nothing and those who embrace their imperfections reach a level of beauty that could never be found otherwise. The exhibition, Cute and Creepy, seems to have stumbled its way into that beauty like an earth worm turning the earth bringing life to our planet. Continue reading A Cute & Creepy Life
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. Continue reading The Monsters of Our Imagination
Curator and artist Carrie Ann Baade reeked of mystery and curiosity as she expressed her passion for “monsters” at the opening of the “Cute and Creepy” exhibition, shown at the Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery in October 2017. Her dark Victorian Gothic appearance matched the surrounding artwork, intriguing the audience to learn more. Continue reading Unsure of What to Think, Unable to Look Away
Carrie Ann Baade, A Three Headed Tiger Cursing Heaven, 2010, oil on panel, 18 x 12 inches
Cute and Creepy, a show curated by Carrie Ann Baade, traveled to the Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery at Valdosta State University this fall. Perfectly timed for Halloween vibes, the exhibition opened mid-October and ran until early November. The original show, which debuted in 2011 at Florida State University, was larger with more artists. Continue reading The Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery at VSU Gets Into the Halloween Spirit
The latest exhibition held at the Dedo Maranville art gallery at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia entitled, Cute and Creepy, was a very exciting show for me to go see. Pop Surrealism has always been a favorite of mine and I was very much looking forward to this show all semester long. The show did not disappoint. Currated by Carrie Ann Baade, artist and associate professor at Florida State University, the layout of each work and how each artist was scattered throughout the gallery made it extremely easy to walk around and keep walking around without getting bored of a specific section in the gallery. The artists that were chosen to exhibit their works in this show came from all over the country and each artist, while all being pop surrealist artist, all had their own different styles and approaches to their works. One artist in particular that I’d love to dive into is Chris Mars.
Mars had multiple oil paintings displayed throughout the gallery and it was very easy for me to be able to identify his works. His paintings by far were the ones I was most drawn to in the gallery. I found myself going back and forth to each of his paintings and admiring the intricate detail work that he does.
Chris Mars, Reconstruction Machine, Oil on Panel
His paintings almost told a story and had a narrative behind them, rather than just being portraits of some creepy person or creature, like other works in the show. What really drew me to Mars’ works was the similarities that I saw in his works and the works of my favorite artist, Mark Ryden. Ryden has been a favorite of mine for quite some time now and I immediately thought of him when looking at Mars’ works. They both have very unique, different styles of painting, but the detail and narrative behind their paintings are very similar. Ryden also uses very ornate frames for his paintings just like Mars does in his work, Reconstruction Machine, in this exhibition.
Paintings were not the only thing on display at the Cute and Creepy show. There were also many 3D works on display that dazzled in the spotlight just as much. Jessica Joslin, an artist from Chicago, Illinois had a few of her grotesque animal skeleton looking sculptures on display. Joslin’s sculptures are very interesting and cool to look at. They almost look mechanical yet realistic, almost like you’re looking at the inside skeleton of a toy animal and a real life animal combined, very interesting and very original. She’s definitely an artist I would love to go see again in the future.
There was not one aspect of this show that I did not enjoy, from the wide variety of styles and the wide variety of paintings to 3D works, the show even had an animated work on a screen for you to check out. Pop Surrealism showed up and showed out at Valdosta State Universities, Dedo Maranville art gallery.
Zack Di Zillo is a senior at Valdosta State University studying Fine Arts with an emphasis in Graphic Design.
While the apparent contradiction of the name may deter some, the Cute & Creepy exhibit is nothing to fear. The works included are so interesting and explore a corner of our world we often hide away; the monsters, the dark, the utterly unsettling. However, for those who adore the creepy – myself included – this is exactly the exhibit we’ve been waiting for.
Walking into the Dedo Maranville Gallery at Valdosta State University the air of the gallery seems clear, most of the works have a darker, somber tone. However, this isn’t true of all pieces. On the contrary, many incorporate vibrant pinks, intense blues and other varies pigments. Two sculptural pieces made of yarn, bones and taxidermy animals stand out in the middle of the room. The energy is lighthearted despite the dark works, the opening masquerading as a costume party.
While my eyes are drawn to the sculptural yarn works that take up space in the middle of the gallery, the work of Jessica Joslin keep my attention. Joslin incorporates animal bones and different found objects into her works. Gage is one such piece. The antique hardware, lamp parts, bone, brass, velvet, and more come together to make this fantastical work. The different media form a cat-like animal balanced on a ball that seems straight out of a 1920’s circus. The creature’s ribs and backbone grow from metal frames and end in a curled tail. Her skull and legs the only actual bones used. The color differs among material as well. Gunmetal, bone white, antique gold all form the body, whilst the ball’s white base with red strips and star add a level of playfulness to the work.
The work feeds into an aesthetic that is exactly as the exhibit name describes. It is creepy hiding in cute clothing. Her eyes and movement show nothing but carefree joy. This creature, even stripped down to its bare structure, is alive. I imagine it running after the main heroine in a Tim Burton film, gleefully nipping at her heels as they go onto discover some horrific secret. Perhaps that is the point of the work, because showing this many viewers, once they see the bones, it turns them off immediately. Bones, something so interlocked with death, is hard to separate for many. Nothing with this undertone can ever be seen as more than morbid. For me, however, this is a piece I would love to own. Death is something to be seen and not hidden as we are often trained to do. This work feeds into life after death. The bones would have wasted away, forgotten in a field somewhere before turning to dust. Gage gives the creature a new life, a purpose beyond death.
Chet Zar has many pieces on display, and many keep my interest throughout the evening. I find myself returning to them several times to marvel at the content and the beautiful custom frames that adorn each painting. The technique he employs is brilliant, the vibrant color and otherworldly – maybe even underworldly – creatures bring me to a part of my childhood I miss. The weird drawings and monsters I should have feared but loved dearly. Zar brings them to life with little effort, while also discussing emotions our society shoves away.
Chet Zar, Chronic Anxiety, Oil on Canvas with Custom Frame
Chronic Anxiety is one such painting. Done with oils, the work is instantly familiar to anyone who has felt the ever-present itch of anxiety. The monster has a sickly grey-yellow completion. His muscles are pulled taut while his square head retreats into his shoulders, a face of immense tension and stress reading clearly. His white eyes seem uncertain, his mouth in a grimace as he smokes a cigarette; all the while, he clutches a bundle of nerves. This scene is laid out as the full moon rises, adding a morbid, desperate environment to the piece.
As soon as my eyes found it, I didn’t need a title because I had experienced this exact feeling far too many times. It was clear what this monster was. Anxiety is a contradiction, something that should be defeated by logic. But, it never works out that way, even though you know logically nothing is wrong, every nerve in your body is telling you to run, to freak out. Your body clenches trying to stop the reaction but it just makes it worse. This monster has become so familiar. Zar captured him well, from the coloring to the facial and body movements. It is the perfect representation of anxiety. The mass the creature clutches seem to represent a bundle of nerves. The tighter you clutch them, the more agitated they become. I am impressed with the level of thought that went into Zar’s work. The frames only add to the feeling and ambiance of the painting. This piece moved me, brought me back to so many moments of intense anxiety and worry. It did exactly what I hope art to do, to move viewers. I would be interested to know how others without anxiety related to the work. Would they have the same intense response? Would the theme not seem as relevant, only showing stress versus anxiety? Would they see stress at all?
This exhibit was by far one of the best I’ve seen at VSU. The work is an aesthetic often dismissed within the art world, as well as our culture as a whole. People don’t want to be reminded of the darkness of humanity, of death and destruction. They would rather write off the work as wrong, weird, and other. But that is an injustice to those who have seen these monsters first hand. Wrapping horrors in pretty bows, in subtleties, just lessens their effects. Adding the cuter aesthetic can soften the blow, many artists in this exhibit chose to do so, adding brighter undertones to the work. However, who are we to deny this work a platform, for a new generation to see the weird and creepy? To deny an experience that might shape their minds and art? I remember my aunt saying once that “If I don’t get it, that makes it art.” That was her entire viewpoint, her definition. Many people think that way, and so many still judge art based purely on personal preference. I think my aunt was right in a roundabout way. Art is what isn’t easily understood or accepted, and this exhibition fits into that with ease.
Ashley Smith is majoring in Fine Arts at Valdosta State University and is originally from Saint Simons Island, Georgia. She is focusing on Graphic Design and Metalsmithing, and after graduation plans to pursue a career as a Graphic Designer.
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.
Laurie Hogin, Women’s Work, Oil on panel with artist-made frame
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.
Those who claim perfection know nothing and those who embrace their imperfections reach a level of beauty that could never be found otherwise. The exhibition, Cute and Creepy, seems to have stumbled its way into that beauty like an earth worm turning the earth bringing life to our planet. 
