Visual Art
EACH FIGURE HAS BEEN CUT INTO OR BRUISED
‘Untitled, 2003’, by Marcel Dzama
A plague of fantasies
Alexander Kennedy reviews two new shows at the CCA, and wonders what
happens when an artist’s ego shatters. he philosophical consequences of the fragmented subject have not yet been felt in visual art. it seems. There are a few options
open: one can turn away from the fascistic dictates of
the ego. thwart it at every turn and fragment it
through the prism of one's work. utilise ideas of chance. or consciously attempt to do the opposite of
what you feel driven to do. until the art work is a result of those I80 degree turns. More often the problem is ignored. and we are presented with art that is ‘business as usual’. But how to judge work that is created by an artist who thinks the world is a flat disk and his majesty the ego is enthroned at its centre'.’
The new works by Marcel Drama and Erica Eyres tackle (and suffer from) these ideas. Dzama presents vignettes of theatrical mini narratives. where the rituals and actions of everyday life are transformed into a slightly sinister pantomime. His drawings depict what look like Girl Guides and Boy Scouts. The 'boys and girls gone feral‘ theme is not new of course. neither is his slack attempt to generate effect by relying on anthropomorphisation. If the subject is split. Dzama has decided to splice it with something other. but the ‘half-man-half-animal/tree/tish‘ routine was over as soon as Bosch got his hands on a paintbrush. His drawings are of little interest. and only become engaging if you think the idea of a tree with legs is novel. The work has an air of nostalgia. like the memory of colonialism or the smell of the Rootbeer he paints with.
Eyres presents drawings of young girls and women in their late twenties. posing. smiling and trying to
36 THE LIST 10—1 7 Aug 2006
make love to the camera (you). Iiach figure. be it ‘Dana‘. bruised by Iiyres‘ wicked pen: lips seem too thin. noses too lumpy. and eyes are either too close together or too far apart. Individually. these three quarter length
portraits don't add tip to much. but as a collection of
mutated self-portraits (or portraits of selves) that have been dragged over the lacerating wit of the artist. they become snap shots of family members. a wonky brood with Iiyres as their progenitor.
Eyres' sculpture. entitled '(ireen Leather Sofa (Brook)‘. draws you in to an area covered in beige carpet. A chalky cartoon-like figure is supine on a vile green couch. looking at the viewer through eyes
that have been blinded with mascara. The sound of
‘Destiny Green' la short film) rumbles through the gallery wall. Destiny is a pre-teenage beauty queen who is used to getting her own way. If Destiny wants a tiara. mummy gets her one. If Destiny wants her nose and eyes removed so she looks more 'beautiful‘. mummy obliges. The film reads as an homage to John Waters and Cindy Sherman. a grotesque suburban melodrama with Eyres playing all the characters. When the self is pluralised and has a good hard look at itself. it doesn‘t usually like what it sees. Some artists fight it out with themselves. their art objects are the trophies of their pyrrhic victories: others hunt big game and shoot themselves in the foot.
Marcel Dzama, Tree with Roots 00 Erica Eyres, I Love You But I Hate You 0000 CCA, Glasgow, until 16 Sep.
‘Amber' or '(‘hrissy'. has been cut into or
llit
THE BEST EXHIBITIONS
* Alex Pollard Pollard recently exhibited at the 2005 Venice Biennale. showing work that simultaneously conceals and exposes the process of its own making, letting the materials he uses cover their tracks through artistry. This new series of sculptures continue his examination of the relationship between measurement, the simplified human figure and the reduced animal form. Sorcha Dal/as, Glasgow, until Sat 2 Sep. Free.
1|: Marcel Breuer - Designs and Architecture A major retrospective of the Bauhaus graduate and master's highly influential furniture designs and maquettes. The exhibition shows how his early designs drew on and developed the ideas of his teachers, before going on to become a major player in the International Style. creating internationally significant buildings. The Lighthouse, Glasgow, until 27 Aug. Free.
* Cordelia Oliver With the Edinburgh Festival stealing the limelight for the next month or so, Glasgow School of Art has temporarily become a satellite art space for the capital. Drawings by an ex Herald art critic are on display, presenting her creative take on the International Festival from 1949—1960 including sketches of dancers. artists, etc. Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, until 31 Aug. Free.
* Manfred Pernice An exhibition of new work by the German born artist. Pernice makeshift sculptures gleefully expose the cheap anti-art materials that he employs. Holes are drilled in walls. sawdust is left to gather in corners, and an anti-aesthetic aesthetic takes hold in the gallery space which is transformed into a storage area/studio. The Modem Institute, Glasgow, until 16 Sep. Free.