Vibrant Colors and Silver Allusions at the Pentimenti Gallery

From a Thousand Pages...
(November 2 - January 25 ?)
Pentimenti Gallery
145 North Second Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106



Untitled from the "Project for a Revolution Series" #6
Matt Haffner
13 x 30 in.
Silver leaf, vinyl, and spray enamel on panel

"Here's looking at you, kid." Those famous words from the indelible Casablanca (1942) were the first that came to mind upon viewing Matt Haffner's Project for a Revolution Series. It wasn't hard to get from silver leaf to the silver screen due to the dramatic narratives and the "widescreen" format. I started yelling, "Don't Go!" at the work until I realized I was still in a gallery and the representative was glaring at me.

Allusions to classic movies weren't the only cogs spinning in these sleek junctions however, Haffner put an illustrative twist on my filmic impressions reminiscent of the recent cinema/comic hybrid Sin City (2005, Miller/Rodriguez/Tarantino). Both Haffner's work and Sin City are highly stylized, unapologetically melodramatic, and all the better for it.

Mischief

Glenn Fischer
40 x 30 in.
Collage on panel

The insect, plant, and animal pictures scattered through Mischief, along with the typed "entries" underneath the ovals led me to an encyclopedic reading (which I temporarily enjoyed) but instead of categorizing and systematizing, Fischer seemed to be flaunting randomness and utter confusion. Feeling hopelessly perplexed, I sought the gallery statement out...maybe it would shed some light.

It reads, "Fischer's work focuses on the convergence between our conscious and subconscious thought [dreams?]. He attempts to offer a visual dialog [who doesn't?], filled with images and text that connects one's past with one's life [memory]. These images and their coupling have been placed together with the intention to provoke [provoke what? color burn?]." Whatever Fischer's intention, the vibrant, seemingly arbitrary (or not) colors are off-putting and they drown the subjects. The amount of images and ovals strewn about cause eye jitters and not in a good, Op-art way. I did get a genuine interest in "things" from the work, though, and I just wish I could've immersed myself in the curiosity.

Armada #5
Nate Moore
42 x 62 in
Origami planes on graphite grid on museum board

Japanese origami evolved from folding paper and letters for functional purposes to "an exquisite and beautiful form of art" in the 1600's (1) and since the question of "function" is prevalent in the art world, it's always interesting to see it pop up in different contexts.

Moore's origami is inspired by science fiction novels (according to the gallery statement. I would never have known otherwise) and he's crafted "thousands...in the same manner he has used in his childhood." Since the "a lot" aesthetic is rampant through the contemporary art scene, a work really has to demand multiplicity to justify its use and Nate Moore's repetitive, origami jets do accomplish this task. What better time for "many" than through origami (due to its inherent simplicity and natural succession)? But similarly to Fischer's work, Moore's use of color is unrestrained and since his images are so incredibly diverse, there's no cohesiveness to the content. The grid and the jet-form serve as firm constraints for discord (more effectively than Fischer's ovals), but what good is a frame without readable content? Maybe that's the point and I'm missing it...

Actually, chaotic content with a sturdy framework is a really great metaphor for a successful government's relationship to society, if it's what he intended...the gallery statement does mention that Moore sees the grid as related to "power." And if the grid represents power, it could be seen as a Patriot Act-like structure which frames every detail for the scrutinizing eye. But for me, that association is too much of a stretch and is not really in the work. It's more like a string of loose associations..."Oh, a grid represents structure and as structure it can signify government which holds power." And how does that relate to origami jets? The jets could symbolize the army. But if the jets represent the army, that reading defeats the anarchical interpretation because the jets can't simultaneously stand for societal pandemonium and the army. If his sign (origami jet) implies both order and discord, Moore's vocabulary breaks down (does it?). Then again, maybe the form is discipline and the content a free-for-all? Now, we're back where we began but not really. How does the childlike perspective fit into all this? Are the jets more representative of a child's toy than their actual counterpart? And if this interpretation is true, like the gallery statement would suggest, how does that change the governmental control estimation?

I'm certainly over-interpreting but this situation arose out of an honest attempt to make sense of the work.


The more I consider the similarities between Fischer and Moore's work, the more I wonder why Haffner's art was grouped in with them. Haffner's color-drained cinematic experiences have seemingly nothing in common with Fischer and Moore's tension between form and content.

Anyway, I enjoyed the show, especially Haffner's AMC-like engagement, and even the challenges posed by the saturated colors and disparate "subjects."

One final note: There was a fourth part of the show that included Rebecca Rothfus' work but the gallery was already preparing for First Friday next week (which I intend to attend and then report on in next Monday's blog), i.e. some of her stuff was already down and the space was disheveled.

-----------------------------------------

(1) "The Art of Japan" Think Quest 1999 http://library.thinkquest.org/27458/nf/origami/history.html