Artists’ Exhibit: “Feathered and Tarred”
Not every relationship is meant to work out. Master of Fine Arts candidates Janie Askew and David Calton’s twenty-four piece exhibit, “Feathered and Tarred,” serves as the perfect reminder of this familiar aphorism. Unfortunately, only Calton holds up his part of the bargain in the creative partnership.
With its nudity and compromising positioning, “Feathered and Tarred” is best described as daring, irreverent, and even a bit scandalous. Calton’s collection, outrageous in its depictions of decadence, is uniquely refreshing. His Francisco Goya-inspired prints play with both empty, stark white space and corners crowded with details. The thematic narrative appears to be humankind’s bonds with beasts, or more specifically, our bestiality.
His message is best embodied by a single terracotta sculpture “Degrees of Separation.” An armless figure of imperceptible gender sits on a rock. Behind the rock lies a dog. On his website, Calton describes his work “as a metaphor in illustrating the characteristics that are present in both animal and human worlds.”
Animal-headed humans and human-bodied animals are portrayed with the stunning detail afforded by drypoint and aquatint printmaking techniques. Copious amounts of dead animals sprinkled throughout –dogs, deer, bunnies–stir up even more discomfort. But this very discomfort forces viewers to acknowledge Calton’s victory. The same cannot be said for Askew’s work.
Undoubtedly a skilled printmaker, Askew simulates both depth and texture in her flat graphite prints. The figures exude presence, invading your personal space as you peer into the work. But where Calton’s vivid portrayal of body parts pulls you in, Askew’s go overboard, seemingly existing more for shock value than to extend the work’s narrative.
The online “Flagpole Magazine” tagline describing Askew’s work as “raw, uncomfortable narratives on race” must be a misprint. Swollen lips and engorged loins aren’t strong enough to carry a thought-provoking narrative on race. In using recurring imagery Askew tries her hardest to make some profound social commentary, but she never makes it.
Orgasmic titles like “Facial,” “Sexual Eruption,” or “Trill Spill” lack the needed subtlety to tease the reader into reflection. What is Askew trying to get at, anyway? Is it that sexuality is beautifully complex? Or maybe it is a comment on the grotesqueness of sex. The ambiguous message defies the mark of good art: let it speak for itself. Calton’s work does just that. Askew’s screams– except it’s all a bunch of jibberish. Instead of being thematic, the sexual references feel cliche. Her work reminds you of a giggly, teenage boy playing with his father’s highly-coveted, dirty magazines: frantic and immature.
It’s too bad Askew’s artistic mediocrity is underscored next to Calton’s cohesive, imaginative body of work. But for art fans who find themselves at “Feathered and Tarred,” be confident that Calton’s work alone makes the trip worthwhile. Before exiting, make that one last internal note: Yeah, sometimes the best thing really is for folks to go their separate ways.
“Feathered and Tarred” appeared throughout the month of October and November in the Suite Gallery at the Lamar Dodd School of Art, University of Georgia; (706) 542-1511, art.uga.edu.
