the cluster show

featuring work by dallas artists zachary broadhurst and rachel rodenkirk and brooklyn based artist crisman liverman

l.p. - Crisman, I’ve known your work through a variety of iterations, made in a variety of circumstances, and made for various purposes but there are always certainly things that remain. For instance, your use of materials and the aesthetic that informs that use has always felt familiar to me. Could you talk about your approach to the mundane?

c.l.- The idea of ordinary is purely subjective.
An everyday object that was created for one purpose can always have multiple purposes, but people may not have the time to see these possibilities. Maybe they believe they are unimaginative (mundane), but they’re just not taking enough time to put things into perspective. I think people (including myself) get bogged down with what they perceive are the banalities of the world: daily activities, unimaginative people, common objects, etc. However, I would like to think that I have a bit more respect for and faith in the world to not believe in the mundane.
In my work I give new life to common objects by giving them an uncommon purpose. I also like dealing with the idea of ritual. Just because some action is formulaic and repetitious does not make it less important. I love the ambiguity in the possibilities.

l.p. - And does this approach to common objects relate to an idea of making more from less? Is this something that you consciously do or is it an obvious out-growth of your thought process?

c.l. - It is all about saving objects from complete obscurity. Dragging things off the street and out of the trash. Cleaning them up and then figuring out what I can do with them. Saving paper shopping bags and paper place mats to be used as drawing paper. The overhead is low. I hardly shop at art stores, which are insanely overpriced.
The objects and drawings I make feel so decadent to me. They are indulgent and beautiful but made out of cast-aside objects. I like the idea of a cobbled aesthetic that also incorporates the real beauty in the types of found material I use. Even though my materials are found I still stick to a certain aesthetic.

l.p. - This seems to bring up an interesting and slightly incongruous direction your work often takes. Could you speak a bit more about the importance of ritual and indulgence in your work?

c.l. - Well, the situations I present in my work seem to be appropriate for and carried out by individuals that have plenty of time on their hands. I really like thinking about the leisure class and what that consists of. What about the old retired recluse that can spend his/her time as they he/she pleases? I think that old recluse can be considered as much a part of the leisure class as Jay Gatsby. What does your life become when you don't have the driving factor of necessity to keep you focused on concrete goals? The indulgent and sometimes kinky situations I present can easily become ritual for someone who has nothing else to do. Once they become ritual does the pleasure of the indulgence remain or does it become an almost masochistic act?

l.p. - In thinking about the history of rituals, the idea that indulgences or rituals are necessarily only for the leisure class seems to be an overgeneralization. But I see how that idea has a prominent place in your work with the decadence and commonness at play. I wonder, how you reconcile these seemingly disparate themes in your work?

c.l. - I'm not saying that indulgence is only for the leisure class, it just seems to be more common place. The working stiff does not have the time to let his wants take over. By using found materials that are not of high value I am taking these indulgent ritualistic acts down a few class levels. Also, my definition of the leisure class is very loose. It not only incorporates the insanely wealthy. It can and does consist of anyone who can afford time to let their mind wonder.

The ambiguity of time is inspiration for Rachel Rodenkirk’s newer works, now on view at Bows and Arrows, Dallas. The uncertainty of the future and man’s inability to measure the present moment, which is fleeting, are reflected in Rodenkirk’s photography. The only constant in time is change, and the individual’s personal landscape, subjective and objective, is constantly altered by the unpredictability of time. Rodenkirk often chooses the city as subject matter, wherein the city is associated with her own personal landscape and reflects the constant movement of individuals through temporal dimensions at a rate too hurried to readily recognize transformation. The city, like the individual’s life and sense of self, is transformed, but so quickly that it is difficult to easily discern the transformation. One is transformed by the present moment, but the present moment does not allow for one to recognize the transformation. It is only in the future, looking back at the past, that one can reflect upon change. In a sense, then, one is never truly present in the present moment and existence at any point in time is merely recognition of what has already occurred. Rodenkirk’s work, however, captures not only the present moment but also the movement of time in an attempt to more closely examine how change occurs.

Further emphasizing the theme of time and change is the presentation of Rodenkirk’s earlier work on view with her newer work, showing the change in the individual as artist, wherein individual change is reflected in subject matter, medium, and materials. The artist’s earlier screen prints often focus on America’s media coverage, reflected in screen prints of Ken Lay of Enron and Martha Stewart. Rodenkirk was inspired by the mass coverage of seemingly trivial and transitory events in America that attracted the attention of the public while more momentous events were happening both at home and abroad. Rodenkirk’s etchings resulted from her travels through Europe and time studying in Germany. Photo etchings of the old-world features of cities are presented with bustling, modern cityscapes, not only allowing the viewer to observe the passage of time but also merging an old-world printing process with the newer, modern process of print. The resulting pieces evoke an atmosphere that is at once haunting and contemporary.

Rodenkirk is presently focusing on photography and painting, though her paintings are not currently exhibited. The camera’s ability to capture the present moment and stop the transition of time dictates her choice of photography as a medium and is translated to the canvas in her paintings. Regardless of medium, the transformation of the individual, the city, and other subject matter is continually captured through Rodenkirk’s gaze, engaging the viewer to more acutely observe the temporal and spatial dimensions of the everyday and the transformation each individual must yield to through time.

The Cluster Show

In lieu of I formal artist's statement, I'd like to give an introduction to the group show titled "The Cluster Show" and give some background on some of the ideas which spawned what you are likely to witness. With most group shows, the dynamic between the diverse bodies of work are sometimes difficult to negotiate. From my own perspective, the work chosen to be included in The Cluster Show ranged from work produced many years ago to work which was only recently framed and ready to display.In addition to this, the artwork is a cross-section of many intertwined mediums and disciplines. What Rachel, Crisman and I first agreed on was that the work needed to make sense together. We realized quickly that this couldn't be achieved by formal or conventional gallery curatorial practices, but was more likely to be successful if we approached the problem from a more casual position. I think we have reached some harmony with the work at the completion of the install. The gallery space at Bows and Arrows has become an installation and almost a piece of art itself, divided into small sectors or clusters of work in which individual pieces seem to gravitate towards one another. Almost counter-intuitively, the clusters, or groupings don't seem to detract from the individual pieces which compose them. In fact, all of the work seems stronger in the presence of its brethren. At its completion, The Cluster Show is a mutation of traditional, salon style installations and draws one closer to the art, demanding uncomfortable intimacy from the viewer.

- Zachary Broadhurst