Daniel Canogar for Art Papers Live!

***Sorry for lack of images. My computer will not let me put any in here right now.***

Daniel Canogar deals wtih a lot of big concepts in his work. His pieces address topics from phantasmagorias and the history of humans fascination with the spectacle, to consumerism, to identity in the technological age. What's impressive is that he does all of it well. For me, the most salient portions of the lecture were the works that dealt with identity and the incorporation of technology as a way to assess and shape it.

During the lecture he brought up the still from Kubrick's 2001: Space Odyssey. Much like Kubrick, Canogar's work addressed both the historical and contemporary attempts to visualize the impossible. His work presents the limitations and abilties of technology in his depiction of self. I was alost disappointed that Canogar didn't use the scene from 2001 where Bowman is experiencing a surreal fast-forward of his life before his eyes. I think that Canogar's work acheives a similar sense by incorporating the viewer into the work. As the viewer experiences being envelopped within the layers of projections on the walls, having a somewhat out-of-body experience as you view yourself become part of the work, you are simultaneously aware of your actual self watching this projected view. Even more appropriately, the fact that Kubrick ends his projection of Bowman's character in a room surrounded by objects from the Rococo period so does Canogar in many ways, and perhaps this is why he so aptly titled his lecure, "Electronic Baroque." It would seem that in the same way that these periods experienced an influx of cultural stimuli (granted Rococo's being much more vapid than the Baroque and Kubrick's critique was a bit more pointed at the wasteland of flash and nothingness in the Rococo as would be in the future) it seems Canogar plays off of this mentality of overloading the senses and discovering ones identity through the mediation of a projection within a larger context.

Canogar discussed his search for a background at decent length, which I think also played into his idea of layers exposing ones identity. Cultural background certainly defines a person, whether for better or worse, and Canogar's pieces bring up the issue of whether or not we know the extent to how it defines ones identity. I like that as Canogar's pieces and the viewer adapt to each other through his projections, it allows the viewer to question as well how their own culture has imprinted an identity on them.

This also brings to mind the Prada dressing room in Soho. For you that have not been (or had the luxury of writing a final paper on said dressing room) it is very similar to Canogar's pieces in theory. The customer is given the ability to see themselves in the items they are trying on by cameras that shoot them in the dressing room. By having the ability to completely envision yourself as a Prada labeled customer you are given the ability to choose how you wish for your identity to play out. Canogar's work is the same. The piece is interactive in how it lets you, as the subject, become involved and to what extent.

I hope some of you were able to make it to Solomon Projects today or the super secret post-lecture fete last night to rack his brain some more. I was quite disappointed that my ball and chain kept me from going to either.

What do tooth fairies bring to puppies?

Today, my sweet puglet, Orson Emmanuel Bean Darrow lost his first baby tooth. Yes, he is becoming a man. It was the back left top molar. I am so excited. My roommate found it next to her on the couch this evening. She was not as excited as I was. It is now safely in a jewelry box on my dresser. My little man is growing up!

Throwin dubs with the big shots

I should preface this post, by saying that on the way to the MOCA Gala last night I had a remarkable invitation to throw dubs on Camp Creek Parkway. As I was making my way down Northside in hellacious basketball game traffic I looked over and saw a girl signalling me to roll down my window. To my surprise and delight, she thought I looked like someone acceptable to invite to her party. Apparently Lil' Wayne and someone else whose name I missed was there. She promised me that they would have liquor and green and of course, celebrity sightings galore. To my dismay, when I woke up this morning I realized that in my morning-after a free-booze event stupor I forgot to go.

MOCA's Gala was a stunning example of what an difference a new space can make. The old exhibition space at Peachtree and 15th Street was terribly restrictive, not allowing for installations much larger than Sang-Wook Lee's ramen fortress (and even that seemed stunted by the ceiling height limitations). The new space, located in the old Lowe Gallery space, has been completey remodeled and is finally starting to look like a museum. The Gala last night was a good sign of things to come. The auction showcased 109 pieces by Georgia artists, and good pieces at that. Unlike Art Papers auction this year, which seemed to have gotten the scraps of every show in Atlanta last year, MOCA was able to get some stunning new pieces from around the state. Last night, the museum announced the next line-up for the Working Artist Project. I was super excited to hear that they chose Matt Haffner and Maria Artemis. I think Marcia Cohen is totally deserving of the grant, but I am curious to see the ArtNEWS reaction on account of the fact that she was just chosen for their multiples project in August.


This isn't the piece form the show, but I have to upload my images from last night still...

Matt Haffner's piece from his "Project for a Revolution" series was gorgeous. I love the pulp fiction quality of the images and the fact that he owns up to it entirely, reinventing scene compositions from classic film noir and comic book scenarios. Laura Noel's piece from her "Car Wash" series was a complete departure from her carefully considered portrait series she has worked on for the last few years. The piece from the show was actually several years old, but seemed to be one of the most fresh ones there. The image was an abstracted mesh of blues and greens, resembling a Rothko more than a photograph of a car wash. Danielle Roney's fluid architecture composition which she completed through her current grant from MOCA's Working Artist Project showed that they are getting their money's worth. The dynamic piece was easily one of the most captivating from the live auction, followed closely by Lucinda Bunnen and Susan Cofer. Peter Bahouth's sterescopic viewer had a gloriously voyeuristic quality to it, that could certainly let any Peeping Tom get his kicks out in a more benign manner. The scene captures a moment that seems to be just as a young woman wakes in the morning and is lazing in bed.

Hopefully the improved exhibition space will allow MOCA to become an even more important figure in shaping the Atlanta arts. For a city that lacks the number of museums of the average urban arts hub, it is good to see another institution really stepping up to the plate. I don't mean to say that MOCA was not already an important element of the Atlanta arts, but I think that the improved space will allow them to truley function as a museum now, and not just another gallery.

Harper Lee in mixed media

By the 9th grade, most have read Harper Lee's seminal, and only, novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Alongside of the horrors of the holocaust, genocides in Africa, and the bombing of Horshima, children are shown the horrors that the world is capable at an early age. On a more micro level, To Kill a Mockingbird is able to destroy that youthful innocence taught to us through Disney movies and the like through more subversive means. I know when I first read the moralistic tale at around age 8 I was infuriated by the injustice of the book. Of course, this naivete would disipate with age, but the book certainly remained a salient point in my formative years.



Red Weldon Sandlin and Mark Sandlin's I Still Hear the Mockingbird that opened at Whitespace last night illustrated the poignancy of the novel in their lives as well. The show consisted of pieces they created using pages from the book, drawings, sculptures and paintings to pay hommage to some of the more arresting passages from the novel. Although at times pieces seemed too literal, others made insightful studies into the characters' personas. In a style reminiscent of Kojo Griffin's beastial-headed children commiting wrongful acts, the Sandlin's illsutrated the characters according to the fabled characteristics they represented. The depiciton of Scout and Dill with the head of sheep was certainly not a stretch, but in the context of the show, provided a reminder of the viewers personal tendencies as well.

The strength of the show is not the depiction of various scenes from the novel, but the connection of the viewer to the text, and the elements of the text that are perhaps too much of a reminder of why the story is still an important one.

Leaps and Bounds

UGA MFA shows are tricky. The show should be one of the highlights of the year in terms of innovativeness, technical skill, and general execution. These are the young minds of the artistic community who have had time and energy dedicated exclusively to making a body of work for 3 years straight. The 2005 UGA MFA show was phenomenal; Stephanie Dotson’s installation was triumph of printmaking, fiber arts, and general Oldenberg sensibilities. Kathryn Refi’s color field paintings took 1960s abstract expressionsim and brought it into the video installation era seamlessly. In 2006 Claire Joyce exhibited a sparkle extravanganza. Unfortunately, this sabbatical from the rest of the world does not always result in the genius one would expect. Last years MFA show at UGA was a one note catastrophe. Even those whose thesis projects were worthy of praised suffered from the bad hanging job, and blandness of the majority.

Luckily, this years line-up satisfied those still with a bad taste in their mouths from the year past. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t let me take any pictures, so I’m waiting for somet o come up online to post pictures of my favorites. Here’s a short list for now: Euni Figi, John Powers, Jessica Ann Mills, and Leigh Ann Johnson Swift.

I was certainly not the only one who was completely enraptured by John Powers’ pieces. The mechanized grass in the wind was surrounded by masses of people throughout the night. Each of his pieces utilized elements of sound created by the mechanisms he created. Nothing like nature in the machine age.

I am a sucker for Jessica Mills’ work. Her thesis show was a lovely as I expected it to be. Americana prints with a twing of old photograph. Reads like a Cormac McCatrhy novel.

Euni Figi’s rice apron were absolutely gorgeous. Figi’s approach to rendering a functional item almost completely decorative is quite a feat: The train extends about five feet in front of the wearer, and the weight of the rice that fills the apron would stunt any movement that the train did not. I found the juxtaposition she created between the idea of the long train of the dress immediately signaling visions of matrimony, and of course the added domesticity of the apron, with what she mentions in her artist statement about the apron serving as a type of protective armor to be an interesting approach. Before seeing the statement I had assumed that she was using the apron in a perjorative way, and just covering it in the gorgeous construction of the apron. And maybe she still is.

I’ll post pictures when someone puts them up. They wouldn’t let me take pictures inside, but I am guessing one of the MFA students will put some up soon.

Playing catch-up

Ah, sweet blog. I feel like a bad partner who is going back to a relationship two months too late to try and make-up for lost time. Lots of reviews of shows that I have been meaning to post. I will only do the ones that are still up for relevance sake.

City Gallery East has hung its last show. For a gallery that has displayed local greats such as Wayne Kline, Mario Petrirena, and Sheila Pree Bright the final exhibit went out with a bit of a fizzle as opposed to a deserved fireworks show. Granted pin-up shows can be a bit piece-meal and at times redundant, but The Pin-Up Show #4 on top of the usual critiques, the show came across as more of an art school foundations show than a showcase of local talents. The number of figure drawings was absolutely overwhelming and smothered even those that were truly a tour de force. Because of the accompanying mass of figure studies, Tania Becker’s abstracted mixed media pieces, which are usually ethereal and transcendental came across as sophomoric and trite. Anita Arliss’ work suffered from bad placement and was completely lost in its sad corner, despite the fun, punchy colors. Stan Woodard’s piece was the only one that escaped the downward pull of the rest of the show. In his cubicled section of gallery towards the front of the exhibit, his sparsely lit topographical spread, Untitled (Dawn to Dusk) was one of the few pieces that creatively handled the task of a pin-up piece. Woodard’s piece was my choice pick for the show, because it so eloquently embraced Atlanta, whether intentionally or not through the landscape of the sculpture. For the last exhibition of a gallery that so embraced the city and supported its arts, this seemed like a sweet little farewell kiss on the cheek.
Stan Woodard,
Dawn to Dusk, 2008

I don’t know if it’s the undeniable girliness in me, but I love glitter. The more the merrier I say. If you are going to do kitsch go all the way. Despite being pushed up by a couple of months, Marianne Lambert was still able to pull off a spectacular display of glitz and gaudiness at the Swan Coach House Gallery’s current exhibition, All That Glitters. The strength in show lies entirely in the fact that every artist completely embraced the slight vulgarity of such a saccharine theme. Joni Mabes’ slightly garish glitter portraits of some of our flashiest pop icons including P.T. Barnum and Elvis in appropriate grandeur could not be more endearing. Claire Joyce’s contribution to the show was a glittertastic punch that would put any pop artist to shame. If anyone was destined for this exhibit, Joyce certainly proved that she was it. Her all-glitter psychedelic rendering of two cakes are the epitome of the show: unabashedly cutesy and blissful. Between Jim Waters pastel, Vegas Chapel-style crosses, and Sarah Emerson’s sparkling Dark Forest I can’t help that this show came just in time for spring and Easter candy cavities.
Claire Joyce, Double Birthday Explosion

Silence of the Lambs style

There is something about alternative space art shows that gets me every time. When a space can be chosen to perfectly complement the work and layer on the ambiance, nothing gets a whole lot better. Maria Watts’ Reynoldstown basement fit the bill this weekend to a T for the video-performance-installation-sound showcase, Electro-Scuro. The one-night exhibition featured the likes of Karen Tauches, Maria Watts, Jason Cochrane, Mariah Cagle, Lauren Macdonald, and Carrie Elzey. Although the ever-so reminiscent Silence of the Lambs basement night light vision scene was a bit off putting at first, as you wound your way through the basement, the echoes of each video and sound installation became a bit more haunting still and even more all-encompassing.

Maria Watts, who curated the show, showcased a new twist to her video installations. Watts’ past shows, including her piece from Mary Stanley’s 21 Under 30 show and her installation in Eyedrum’s small gallery over the summer paid homage to her relationships and a fascination with capturing the tactile elements of her day to day life. Her installation for Electro-Scuro, “Untitled: A Work in Progress”, provided a spin on her approach to the sensual from her previously unabashedly candid views into her life. The room was harshly lit, and in contrast with the darkened, damp basement was an immediate draw. The room was lined wall to wall cracked eggshells along the floor begging to be walked on. In the corner of the room a video of Maria’s feet clad in the perfect eggshell cracking Doc Marten boot stomping the ground, but without any eggshells beneath. I must say, her suggestion was a hard one to resist, considering that the lack of sound in the video was dying to be filled with the sound of my own two feet doing the favor of crushing the shells. Considering the title, it seems she intended the viewer to be the one to finish the project.

The back-most room was a sound installation by Carrie Elzey, “While My Heart’s Still Beating”, which utilized the space the most effectively by engaging the somewhat buried feeling of the basement. The room featured a window which spanned the wall of the room and looked directly onto the yard outside, but right at grass level, without much room to see what space lay beyond the span of the grass directly outside. A record player in the corner was started followed by a pulling of a cord in the ceiling which triggered an outdoor light. I honestly don’t even remember what was playing on the record player, but the sound mirrored the lives of the grass dwellers outside of the window.

Karen Tauches’ performance, “The Lines of Communication”, had a definite Twilight Zone feel to it, that I think gave me nightmares later that night. Tauches sat at a desk and recited a customer service voice message while an accompaniment attempted to order from a catalogue in the chair next to her. I don’t know whether it’s the fact that online shopping has taken the place of late-night catalogue ordering, or the fact that the installation used an old-fashioned phone which hung from the ceiling, but the otherworldliness of that act seemed more striking to me than the installation itself. The fact that the human element of things has been removed from so many aspects of our day to day life is not anything new, but Tauches presentation of it was such a caricature that it certainly brought the discourse to a head once again.

Watt’s show if nothing else confirmed for me that video installation can strike many more chords than the average art show these days. Eyedrum’s show from a few weeks ago, ReNEW, ReUSE, ReVIEW, seemed to stress that it is going to be a stretch to find the truly avant garde through traditional media. Electro-Scuro was aware and moved ahead with the trend.

Cross posted from the other blog I write on, Pecanne Log.