Arting Out Five and Six of 5

For the most recent--and final--edition of arting out we (my girl Jeilenn and I) decided to support our fellow art students and went to two graduating shows.  The first was the MFA show for Memphis College of Art.  Four artists had graduating projects on display: one of which being my friend Maggie Russel and another being our own Dwayne Butcher's wife Gatsby.  Maggie's work in this show, primarily in charcoal on paper, deals with the concept of identity.  The drawings illustrate the concept that we all depend on one another but wall off our sense of self behind cages or nests, sometimes to our detriment.  Gatsby's work, in mixed media, was initially a bit of an enigma to me.  After thinking on it the impression I was left with is one of playful contempt for backwoods, southern society (ie, rednecks).  The repurposed Little Tikes equipment quite literally symbolize that play and her scathing assessment of common vermin, and why it is important that they be eradicated... and possibly eaten (those vicious deer eat our flowers!!), paint the picture of the culture she artfully pokes fun at.

Our second event was the BFA show for University of Memphis at Marshall Arts Studio.  There were quite a few exhibitioners here--11 by my recollection with 7 being photographers.  The piece that really stuck with me, though, was a found wood and pastel sculpture by Holly Cole.  The wood itself almost created an optical illusion of an unending Mobius strip.  The real focus, though, was the play of shadows on the wall behind.  Holly used multi-colored pastels to highlight existing shadows as well as building new ones creating a dance of color and line to contrast with the stark, unfinished wood.