in one hour
One thing (among many) about Nashville that is dramatically different from Boston is that one hour is actually enough time to do something (or many things). I can leave my house, travel to an art opening, get back home, cook myself dinner. Granted, the opening was small, not a lot of art to cover, but this time thing still amazes me.
I went to an opening at the Tennessee Art Commission on Saturday. I did not know many people- which is something I am enjoying in Nashville. I can attend an opening and actually look at the art undisturbed. Two artists were exhibiting- one was Jason Briggs, sculptor.
Jason makes these "teeny tiny" (what i had in my notes from the show) intestine-like ceramic pieces. Oddly, they reference in my mind the butcher shop, the abject and a dentist's office. Most of the creatures/objects sit on rubber pillow-like objects which then rest on steel boxes. The objects are fleshy in palette, pinks and creams and buttery to grey cooler tones (think Lucien Frued in a small, contained sculpture). The textures of the ceramic, however, is remarkably restrained- allowing the porcelain matte surface to pervade most of the work- dimissing the abject suggestions in the forms. He's crafted the ceramic so that it looks like thin veils of latex have been stretched over the objects, holding them together. Then you'll find a tiny steel pin (think urban tribe stuff) puncturing the side and poking the vessel. In some cases he saturates the sculpture with small dollops of oily color (or maybe just varnish) contained inside the holes or punctures, revealing more intestine-like inside stuff.
The works are funny, however not without ambition or craft. They are made well enough to laugh at themselves, these tiny little creations. The works seem to fly in the face of the work one sees so much now--the illustration, graffiti-like work that has little invested but image or identity. But they are still works- I did not feel like he was trying to make these look alive or pulsing (the matte surface negated that). I enjoyed them.
I went to an opening at the Tennessee Art Commission on Saturday. I did not know many people- which is something I am enjoying in Nashville. I can attend an opening and actually look at the art undisturbed. Two artists were exhibiting- one was Jason Briggs, sculptor.
Jason makes these "teeny tiny" (what i had in my notes from the show) intestine-like ceramic pieces. Oddly, they reference in my mind the butcher shop, the abject and a dentist's office. Most of the creatures/objects sit on rubber pillow-like objects which then rest on steel boxes. The objects are fleshy in palette, pinks and creams and buttery to grey cooler tones (think Lucien Frued in a small, contained sculpture). The textures of the ceramic, however, is remarkably restrained- allowing the porcelain matte surface to pervade most of the work- dimissing the abject suggestions in the forms. He's crafted the ceramic so that it looks like thin veils of latex have been stretched over the objects, holding them together. Then you'll find a tiny steel pin (think urban tribe stuff) puncturing the side and poking the vessel. In some cases he saturates the sculpture with small dollops of oily color (or maybe just varnish) contained inside the holes or punctures, revealing more intestine-like inside stuff.
The works are funny, however not without ambition or craft. They are made well enough to laugh at themselves, these tiny little creations. The works seem to fly in the face of the work one sees so much now--the illustration, graffiti-like work that has little invested but image or identity. But they are still works- I did not feel like he was trying to make these look alive or pulsing (the matte surface negated that). I enjoyed them.
posted by missustn at 12:34 PM
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