Mcguffy rides

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on August 15, 2014 at 8:53pm

Curator’s Comments:  

 

There’s a graceful sweetness to many of these new assemblages that moves beyond the nostalgia normally attributed to old papers and found objects.  I see a refined sensitivity to surface and color in the various juxtapositions of figurative and personal items.  Apothecary and others bear some of the hallmarks of Joseph Cornell despite the quieter grounds; perhaps that can’t be avoided with the notable repetition of subject matter.  I most enjoy McGuffy Rides, as it suggests light movement within the static vestiges of more pristine graphics. There’s a feeling these objects are vaguely utilitarian through evidence of their former wear. Of course the piece could also confer the melancholy notion that actual books will become obsolete; chased only by collectors and other costumed characters!  I view Book Bug as even more enigmatic in its splayed open pages, as the manipulation of the torn folds obscures content or meaning. I see the actual insect as a jeweled observer rather than cause of orchestrated destruction through dissection.  But the muted tones bring to mind natural processes at work. The overall soft containment of these pieces also enhances their preciousness, and imparts individual warmth that couldn’t be achieved through traditional frames or a vitrine.