MJL Detectives

Comment

Comment by Morgan Jesse Lappin on January 29, 2013 at 1:47pm

Richard, I don't use photo shop.. I only use the physical cut and paste method. I don't believe in photoshop.

Comment by Resident Curator on January 23, 2013 at 12:32pm

Curator’s Comment:

 

The campy, tongue in cheek quality of these collages is very smart.  While there is virtually no attempt to hide the dividing lines of the disparate imagery composing the individual works, the result is authentic and engaging.  They also appear to be skillfully crafted.  I particularly like (MJL) Detectives because of the ironic black and white figures on a faintly colored, fantastical landscape.  With their hybrid wild animal heads, they don’t attempt to blend or assimilate into conventional terrain.  The intense open mouthed expression of the tiger is a humorous foil to the smooth gray flannel business suit; similarly, the even more preposterous squid head flows over the second figure’s slick gangster posture.  Mambo’s Jambo is considerably more acerbic in its cultural inferences.  The Western-Anglo female line dancers are obviously not in the same place as the African tribesmen, but the implication of them joining the dance is a striking affront to contemporary cultural understanding.  I don’t know if this piece intends to challenge political correctness, or simply highlight the gap in societal mores.  It makes me uncomfortable to like it, which I believe is a strength of the piece.