Time Wounds All Heels makes the audience reconsider the purpose and creation of the works that it features. Upon first glance at the gallery space, one immediately questions the unity of the ecclectic pieces presented, but upon closer examination, the link becomes clear: duplicity.
A prime example of this is Do The Right Thing, 2009 by Donelle Woolford. The piece is composed of different pieces of wood put together like a puzzle. Each piece of wood has a different thickness than the one adjacent to it, making this work more of a relief sculpture than a traditionally hung rectangular composition. What makes Woolford’s work so interesting is that it is actually the product of a fictional character created by the artist Joe Scanlan, who hires actresses to play the role of Donelle. After completing a number of wood assemblages, like the one included in Time Wounds All Heels, Scanlan felt that they did not fit within his body of work; hence, he decided to invent the alternate persona of Donelle Woolford – a young African-American female who harnesses aspects of her cultural identity to create abstract compositions. In hiring an actress to claim responsibility for the works, Scanlan makes us question the importance of artistic ownership and the role of personal identity in informing a given artwork.
The Spanish-born artist Jaime Pitarch’s Theory of Evolution, 2009 also fits perfectly into the exhibition’s exploration of duplicity. This spiral arrangement of household cleaning products on the floor of the gallery immediately catches the viewer off guard and makes one question how cleaning products can be considered art. I walked around the piece for a while before I decided to look up its name. Then it hit me: Theory of Evolution was an arrangement of cleaning products that chronicle the creation of the earth, plant, animals, and mankind. Beginning with Big Bang, the spiral finds its end with Mr. Clean.
Finally, Adam McEwen’s Untitled (Richard), 2007 is a fake obituary written for the artist Richard Prince. The odd thing is, Prince is not deceased. This faux chronicle of Prince’s life makes the viewer question McEwen’s intent when he created the work. McEwen exemplifies again how multiple meanings can inhabit the same piece. What the underlying social critique of Untitled is, I am not able to tease out; but, perhaps there is no neat punch-line in this, or any of the displayed artworks.
Time Wounds All Heels is currently on view through Saturday, February 26. For more information about this exhibition and other upcoming programs at White Flag, please visit www.whiteflagprojects.org.
Bloopers
on Sep 8th, 2011
@ 1:23 am:
Hello Mattwhiteflag,
This might be off topic, however, Example One:
After searching for the courthouse, to no avail, I decided to head in the general direction of the looming county jail (logic of the previously spotless), and voila! On my way out, I looked down and realised I had chosen a black and white striped sweater to wear that day, which was American Eagle Classic Brand, so of course the pocket also read ‘AE1974′.
Example 2:
So they’re throwing their hat into the ring now, are they? It should be fun to see what sort of tricks they have up their sleeves. Come to think of it, I have always wanted to know a few tightrope walkers and clowns. You said it yourself, though. At the end of the show, it’s all just an illusion.
Example 3:
She’s not fit to run a toy factory let alone a state.
Are these examples considered dry humour?
Thanks