 Allison Smith Victory Hall Bellwether is proud to present, "Victory Hall" a gallery installation of new work by Allison Smith. In this installation, Smith presents over one hundred wooden rifles wall-mounted in decorative patterns, in the spirit of an arms exposition hall. On the floor lays a row of 8 unique commemorative dolls in the artist's image at life scale. Formally based on the construction of 19th-century porcelain dolls, each doll body is comprised of stuffed linen, with head and limbs made by Smith at a ceramics atelier in southern France. The doll costumes represent obscure historical figures and amateur citizen soldiers of the American Civil War. The exhibition also includes a public address, written in calligraphic script, and a series of small gouaches. In many ways, this exhibition explores a fusion of tensions, both historical and contemporary, regarding notions of subjectivity, as Smith continues her investigation of the role of craft in the construction of national identity. Combining the adult versions of toys traditionally associated with boys and girls, historical references to both North and South as well as the red and blue states of the recent presidential elections, the dead-or-alive uncanniness of porcelain dolls, and an ambiguous range of gender identities, Smith's installation provokes a compelling reverie. The wooden rifles, sabers, pistols and side knives on display are based on weapons used during the Civil War. Their emblematic arrangement as decorative elements, as well as their toy-like appearance, contradicts their projected function as life-threatening firearms. Whereas, the dolls, rather than being functionless "trophies" of a different sort, suggest a form of uncanny agency due to their scale and Smith's particular historical references to the ambiguous geographic, racial, and gender affiliations of "Zouaves" and "Vivandieres". Smith recently organized and directed "The Muster", a gathering of the troops in her artistic and queer communities, generated by the question "What are you fighting for?". Inspired by the aesthetic and performative qualities of American Civil War reenactments, Smith created a festive setting for ecstatic proclamation on the Fort Jay marching grounds of Governors Island. Smith sent out a "call to arms and art", enlisting an army of participants who fashioned uniforms, built campsites, and declared their causes publicly to an audience of spectators. "The Muster" was a project of the Public Art Fund. Other recent exhibitions include her performative installation "Armory", at The Armory Show: International Fair of New Art, and P.S.1's Greater New York 2005. She has upcoming artist residencies at Grizedale Arts in the Lakes District, England, and ArtPace, in San Antonio, Texas. Allison Smith was born in Manassas, Virginia in 1972. She received a BA in psychology from the New School for Social Research (1995), a BFA from Parsons School of Design (1995), and an MFA from Yale University School of Art (1999). She participated in the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program (1999-2000). Notes about Zouaves and Vivandieres Zouaves were fighting regiments in both Union and Confederate armies of the American Civil War. Their colorful uniform, precise maneuvers, effectiveness in combat and steady bearing under fire, won them respect and recognition as tough, dashing, roistering daredevils - the heroes of many a hard-fought battle. Vivandières, sometimes known also as cantinières, were women who served with Zouave outfits, most traveling with soldiers for little or no pay as sutlers (peddlers), mascots or nurses, while others fought bravely alongside their male counterparts. Most Zouave regiments were organized as independent companies of troops, raised in local areas. Some of these companies selected their own uniforms and accoutrements without regard to regular army practice. Likewise, there was no standardization of uniforms for the non-official post of Vivandiere. In fact, Zouave and Vivandiere uniforms were so eccentric that it is hard to imagine that they would not have been moving targets. The origins of the Zouave uniform can be traced to that of the famed French colonial troops who had adopted the native dress and fearless tactics of the Zouaoua, a fiercely independent Kabyli tribe living in the rocky hills of Algeria and Morocco, encountered by the French in the 1830s. Until the Franco-Prussian War of 1871-72, Napoleonic tactics, uniforms, and practices were the model by which all other western countries patterned their own armies, and the influence of French military practices was clearly apparent in the army of the United States throughout the first half of the 19th century. A derivation of traditional North African dress, the Zouave uniform is usually comprised of a short braided jacket, sleeveless vest, voluminous trousers, sash, leggings, and a tasseled fez or turban. Vivandière uniforms generally consisted of self-styled jackets adapted from those of their units. They wore men's pants under a knee-length skirt, similar to the Bloomer costume promoted by Suffragettes in the dress reform movement, and carried a trademark cask, often filled with brandy or wine. Exhibition: May 26 - June 25, 2005 Gallery hours: Tues-Sat 11 am - 6 pm Bellwether Gallery 134 Tenth Avenue (between 18th and 19th Streets) USA-New York, NY 10011 Telephone +1 212 929 5959 Email becky@bellwethergallery.com www.bellwethergallery.com |
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