October 03, 2005
Wood Metal Water
BY MJB
Wood Metal Water, an exhibition of physical sculpture, installation and video, opened Thursday evening, September 29 at the redhead gallery. The new exhibition space is located in a corporate building in the financial district of Lower Manhattan. Several works from the show are on view (and available for interaction!) in the lobby of the building, 125 Maiden Lane.
Guest curated by artist Jamie Allen and sponsored by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the opening of the exhibition was celebrated with a performance by Daniel Perlin. Through the use of a screw gun, microphone and a laptop, Perlin recorded digital sound files, repeated in layers, while furiously screwing away at two pieces of wood placed on a worktable.
A series of sculptures by Paul Davies inspired by the spirit and desires of the champion of a 1980s video game, Defender. Three pieces of Victorian-inspired furniture were lacquered black and modified to cook hotdogs or play any AC/DC track with the shift of a truck transmission gear (My favorite was the end table tricked out with a water fountain streaming fresh Jack Daniels). The coupling of romantic, aesthetically mannered Old America with newer, heavy metal Middle America--along with the smell of roasting dogs-- delighted the senses on several levels.
Jeff Degolier's sculptures, composed of various materials with motorized elements, hung quietly and a bit vulnerably from the exposed beams and pipes running through the ceiling of the gallery. Many of the works featured invited touch and interaction. Ian Curry's electronically-assisted shrubbery shied away from my inquisitive glance. Megan Trainor's tactile sculptures were mounted from one wall. Viewers were able to touch and scrape the large graphite coated plumbs hanging from sturdy chains along the pristine white walls of the gallery.
The unconventional space, in conjunction with the performance during the opening, generated a feeling of a happening from the 1960's¦. or, you know, what I imagine a happening must have been like. (READERS: If anyone has been to an authentic happening, please check in, add your comments to this posting and set us straight.) I guess what I mean is that there is an overall sense of freshness and exploration to this exhibition, an openness and temporality that lacked pretension.
For great images of the exhibition (including the performance and
especially the Defender series!), visit:
here.
Wood Metal Water is on view from September 29 to November 5,
2005.
Posted by jk at October 3, 2005 12:58 PM