 Greg Stone: Little Bang Theory Paper and Tar on Wood, 40" x 30" Approaching Perfection Nancy Braver, Hovey Brock, Benicia Gantner, Robin Hill, Theodora Jones, Mery Lynn McCorkle, Barbara Nathanson, Katherine Powers, Greg Stone, Robert Winkler, Eric Zammitt Lawns say a great deal about the owner. Perfect lawns – no stray leaves, no weeds or bugs, everything water, fertilized, manicured – are generally owned by conservatives (or the wealthy).This kind of perfection is about control, the dominance of man over nature. Perfection is also what advertisers sell. The perfect car, the perfect soap, the perfect attire, all leading to the perfect body. This perfection is also a form of control – control over what others think. Control over any signs of mortality. The art selected for this exhibit explores a different kind of perfection, an attempt to achieve harmony. Perfect harmony requires a constancy not really possible in the constant changes of life. That's probably why harmony is essential in religious art and of less significance in our secular world. Art critics and historians tend to be somewhat embarrassed by any incursion of the religious into contemporary art which for the last century and a half has been expected to explode bourgeois conventions. Mondrian's profound influence by Mme. Blavatsky's cosmology is hardly mentioned. But I do think Mondrian's approach makes sense. Geometry is the last of the universally recognized symbolism not co-opted by advertising. It provides a way of talking about mass and energy without resorting to their ordinary manifestations. The artists in this show are not creating religious art but are trying to offer the viewer a meditative zone. If you give the work a chance, more time than the usual glance, they will try to take you to the sublime or at least offer a respite from the unrelenting haste of daily life. A place for perspective. This show was conceived during the build-up to the war with Iraq as an antidote to the vitriolics. The eleven sculptors and painters in this show puzzle with harmony, working to create a dynamic calm from abstract elements. The pursuit of harmony is a search for perfection, for a state of peace which of course is impossible in life, yet essential for life. Each artist's work in this show can be described as meditative or obsessive, yet each is dramatically different from the others. Organized by Mery Lynn McCorkle. October 4 - November 7, 2003 Hours: Fri-Sun, 12 – 5pm the Brewery Project 676 South Ave. 21 #33 USA-Los Angeles, CA 90031 Telephone +1 (323) 222-0222 |
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