Flesh Machines opened Tuesday, Sept. 19. I attended the opening and have made numerous trips back to Doane Hall since to revisit the works of Professor Morgan Green, Rebecca Forstater and Danni O’Brien.
During the opening, the discussion focused heavily on language, gender and allowing art to fester. These three topics are evident in the work and are interpreted by the artists in unique ways. The gallery is well worth spending time with and should be visited to get your own feel for how such ideas are presented in the art.
I appreciated all the pieces, but there were three that truly stood out.
The first two works are quite phallic in nature, and that theme continues with other works that currently reside in the gallery. The discussion of priapism in some of the art here is something that to me was an afterthought. I had not considered any of this when in the presence of the art. That could be more telling of me than the work. The phallicity that is apparent in certain pieces was something that I clearly saw, but mentally, did not recognize until taking a step back from the works.
The first time I saw O’Brien’s sculpture entitled “Late Bloomer” I was confused. The purposeful misuse of found objects in this piece is striking. The work combines a paperweight, gourds, a coat rack, bag clips and much more to form the final product. The mixture of seemingly unrelated items comes together to create a piece that is distinctive and peculiar.
My first impression of the sculpture was how Seussian it was. The overly complicated and unnecessary combination of objects linked together to form a hanging night-light-like sculpture. It was something I expected to see in the room of a Dr. Seuss character. That alone was fantastic, that feeling of something that should only exist in such an animated and fake world being brought to life. In a way, it gave a feeling of childlike wonder.
I strolled through the gallery, looking at the other works on display, but ended up back at “Late Bloomer.”
My return to the piece is when I noticed the shadows. The gallery lights lit the piece brightly and proudly, but the shadows that painted the wall behind it were dark and sinister. The sculpture produced three unique shadows on the wall behind it, all terrifying. Each shadow conjured up thoughts of nightmares. The shapes in the shadows were bizarre and uncomfortable. My gaze was stuck on the shadows for so long that I began to find things in them. I kept seeing snakes piled on top of each other in constant motion. The childlike wonder was leaving me and a fear of the unknown that is exclusive to children entered my body. The uneasiness that was building in me was something I didn’t expect from such a vividly colored piece of art.
The shadows of the work were awful in an amazing way. The playful and bright sculpture revealed its true colors in its own shadows. It was frighteningly lovely.
After finding such horror hidden within that piece I ventured across the gallery to “Horny Thorny Baby II.” Another fine work by O’Brien, it was also an amalgamation of found objects; combining a baby rocker, styrofoam and ceramic peppers, plumbing fixtures and a further assortment of materials O’Brien collected.
It was brightly colored and hanging, just as “Late Bloomer” was. Snakes entered my mind again when I was face to face with this piece. It faced me like a defensive cobra, poised and ready to strike me down. I wanted to investigate the shadows it produced but it faced a window, robbing me of the secrets hiding within.
The Seussian look was at play here as well. The piece comes at you first like an animal, defending its nest, but after spending some time with it, becomes friendly and curls around itself in a playful manner. You have to face the piece and sit with it before it reveals itself. Another work that excites the mind, if you let it.
Hidden inside a dark corridor across the art gallery was “Slippery Characters.” This work from Green is one I advise you to sit with and take in. The four characters on the screen are constantly morphing. I couldn’t help but see these characters as four houses. Even when I decided to change my thinking and look for letters, I swear the piece ended up spelling out “home.”
I implore you to go and experience the gallery with your own eyes. These works of art are intriguing, impressive and are hiding far more interpretations inside them.
The exhibition is running in the gallery until Nov. 23.
