If First Thursday read the personals
Our downtown art scene wears her hair up, has a long, olive-skinned neck, and wears hoop earrings. She is gorgeous, even when she leans into the bar and confidently orders Tater Tots, half a grilled cheese sandwich, jambalaya and a pint of locally brewed amber beer. If you are lucky, you just might rub hips with her as you slide effortlessly and open-mindedly through this month’s art shows.
One of this month’s best solo shows hangs high at Reading Frenzy (921 S.W. Oak St.). Cathy Pitters has assembled countless shrines and tiny monuments for mothers and children. The Christmas tinsel-covered crucifix theme has less to do with Mr. Jesus Christ and more to do with his mother. Pitters has titled her show “Conceived Without Sin,” which is rather intriguing and worth spending some consideration on. When mothers relate stories of honeymoon conceptions, I’m a little grossed out, so the “without sin” idea is easy to approach. The artwork is pure collage assembled with fantastic black-and-white photos of romanticized mother and childhoods. Framed with treasured plastic vintage pi�ata toys, little old boxes and Christmas decorations, the collages walk a fine line between religious exuberance and domestic comfort. Pitters captures moments and memories that living rooms and backyards cling to on stormy nights.
In a nondescript building, Shawna Ferreira presents her PNCA thesis “Home Sweet Lean-To” (608 N.W. 13th Ave., 3rd floor). The installation falls into the multimedia category, but if you take the annoying screeching ambient noise and digital video projector away – far, far away – you’ve got a totally rad painting that engulfs the whole space. Extreme personal attention has been spent on each line, curve and sketchy scaled pattern. Ferreira’s painting style reminds the viewer that it’s not what you do, but how you do it. There is such a disconnect between people and nature within the installation that at times the two seem perfectly juxtaposed as simply amusement for each other. Expect Ferreira to work great things out in the future after she gets clear of art school thought-processes and limitations.
Imagine all the candy wrappers you must have discarded since 1997. Now imagine someone who has kept all those wrappers and made art with them. David Chandler presents his “Intuitive Collections” at the Starling Gallery (625 N.W. Everett St. #102). By “intuitive” I think Chandler intends to reflect on his motion without thought. When asked why, the artist/junk-collector said he just wanted to do something with the unrecyclable wrappers. It’s a simple yet affective pinky-to-chin gesture aimed at consumerism and our cultural breadcrumb trail.
This month’s art scene eats a heavy order of Tater Tots and drinks a full pitcher of beer. She doesn’t mind the way her engorged backside engulfs the bar stool because there is plenty of room to maneuver. She wears her hair up in a bun under her camouflage mesh trucker hat proudly embroidered with white old-English lettering that reads, “Stimulating.”
