Stations of the Cross coming down
I managed to get by Xnihilo Gallery this week to see the unveiled final piece in their Stations of the Cross show. J and Tyndall Wakeham are the artists on the resurrection station (which isn't part of the traditional stations of the cross and is an Xnihilo innovation) and it's a large computer generated print of either a sunrise or else just a sunburst through clouds, as one might see from an airplane. I couldn't tell which, but that's not exactly the point. It's photograph of a burst of light, yellows and reds and darker hues from the clouds, and on top of it are superimposed four contemporary faces. Honestly, I only recognized Bill Maher but the artists' statement identified the others as Margot Kidder, Jeffrey Skilling, and an unknown face from the street.
I'm tempted to leave it at that and let you puzzle about those faces. In fact, I think I will for now. It's one of those pieces that works best with the artists' statement beside it, and I'm not sure that means it works at all. But I'll try to remember to come back in a couple of days to reveal what the artists said about those faces and see if anyone has responses to those faces in an art piece about the resurrection.
In the meantime, if you're in Houston, stop by Xnhilo and take a look yourself. The show is only up through this weekend, so hurry! 2115 Taft St. (And have a beverage at the coffe house and browse their bookstore while you're there!)
I'm tempted to leave it at that and let you puzzle about those faces. In fact, I think I will for now. It's one of those pieces that works best with the artists' statement beside it, and I'm not sure that means it works at all. But I'll try to remember to come back in a couple of days to reveal what the artists said about those faces and see if anyone has responses to those faces in an art piece about the resurrection.
In the meantime, if you're in Houston, stop by Xnhilo and take a look yourself. The show is only up through this weekend, so hurry! 2115 Taft St. (And have a beverage at the coffe house and browse their bookstore while you're there!)
posted by Neil Ellis Orts at 7:54 AM
2 Comments:
So a disillusioned atheist, Superman's girlfriend, a corporate crook, and Everyman, walk into a bar...or maybe a church?
Sort of forgot about this. :)
The artist statement identified Maher as Paul, the persecutor of the church, Skilling as Matthew, the corrupt businessman (tax collector in Matthew's case), Kidder as Mary Madgalene, the woman possessed with many demons, and the "nobody" as Peter, the blue-collar worker. Her question was: who would believe any of these people if they started spouting the Gospel?
It's a bit heavy handed. It's skillfully done created, but not sure how successful it is as "art." Probably thought provoking to a certain audience. I find the ideas interesting, if not subtle.
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