Everyday objects

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

By Aaron Wallis

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-I escaped from Jackson this week to California and Mexico for a much needed respite from sub-zero temperatures and the lack of powder. Whenever I leave town, checking out some new art is always at the top of my list, right after eating fresh fish, re-upping on my doctor-prescribed medical marijuana, and buying name brand underwear.

Many of my fellow alumni from Virginia Commonwealth University have gone on to enjoy a considerable degree of success in the art world. One of whom is Tara Donovan. A retrospective of her work organized by the Institute of Contemporary Arts-Boston, and was on display at Museum of Contemporary Arts San Diego.

When we studied at VCU, Tara was beginning to develop a signature style in her work, consisting of room-filling instillations made of everyday objects to create environments –  a kind of topographical map made out of Styrofoam cups;
thousands of toothpicks formed together in a four-foot cube; thousands of feet of register tape flowing across the floor in piles upon piles and metallic plastics stacked layer over layer and illuminated from behind. It’s the kind of work that commands attention.

Unfortunately, it’s also the kind of art that we never really get to see in Jackson because it does not have Indians or Elk in it.

But perhaps that concept of taking everyday objects is one that could be applied to art in Jackson with successful results. Imagine walking into a room and being swallowed by a giant wave of mesh trucker hats.

Or we could construct the Great Wall of Jackson, a wall of old chewing tobacco cans surrounding our beloved town. Or maybe we could collect thousands of old copies of JH Weekly and construct a giant papier-mache pyramid to serve as the main attraction of Jackson’s first mini golf course.

Oh wait, I got a great idea! We could take all the elk antlers and make arches out of them. They could decorate a public park and people could stand around all day having their pictures taken under them. What a great idea!

I would imagine many people reading this article would not consider something like Styrofoam cups or toothpicks to be art. If you don’t consider everyday objects or trash to be art, that’s understandable. But think about it, most paintings in Jackson are about nothing out of the ordinary – wildlife, landscapes, Indians, winter sports, bowls of fruit – and yet these are also everyday objects or scenes.

Tara’s work directly references the everyday and isolates it so that it becomes the singular focus of the art. Things that we see on a daily basis are a part of our past. Objects we interact with can be all different kinds of art. It’s just a matter of perspective.

I should also point out that photography was strictly prohibited at the exhibition. I managed to snap a few pictures while pretending to text. I love putting one over on museum guards. But my phone is not all that and a bag of chips, so I apologize to my readers for the poor quality of the prints. JHW

Photo by AARON WALLIS
Photos of Tara Donovan’s work smuggled out of a California art gallery.

PERMALINK:
Everyday objects | Planet JH News Article: General Music Arts and Culture

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