M is for man, and M is for Michigan. Put them together and you have Critical Conditions: Contemporary Art from Wayne, Michigan. The exhibit is the product of two fourth-year fine arts students, John Murnaghan and Darryl Bank, who are both taking a stab at curatorial duties for the Union Gallery.
The pieces of the exhibit are all supposedly by Michigan male artists, and predominately deal with, are inspired by or are a commentary on matters of Michigan. Both Murnaghan and Bank claim that the decision to focus on Wayne, Michigan, was completely arbitrary but disclose mysteriously few details about how they came upon the town and its artwork. However, I shall leave it up to the viewer to decide if they indeed succeeded in tapping into the city’s hidden talents, or if they simply tapped into the small-town eccentricities which are usually better left in the garages and basements they came from.
One thing that struck me while walking amongst the explosion of artwork that lies on the floor and drips from the walls is that while Canadians struggle to think of and create symbols of their cultural identity, cultural identity is not an issue that Michigan natives have any difficulty in realizing. Every piece in the Union Gallery at present represents a different aspect of life in Michigan, be it personal, social or political. The question is whether or not to be envious of the symbols these artists chose to represent the state—sports like football and baseball, the automotive industry, fast food, alcohol and Motown music. I agree that Motown is something that anyone could and should be proud to call a part of his culture, but it’s ironic that this reference came from a native Alaskan who moved to Michigan later in life. The others, who have apparently lived in Michigan for all of their lives, are responsible for bringing the other representations to the gallery.
In pieces such as Paul Bruttlip’s Let’s Cruise the Main Strip, the automotive (among other) industries are represented by a hodge-podge of logos painted on bright blue tarps. The tarps hang like flags on either side of a video piece that depicts a boy wearing a baseball jersey and cap and controlling a small remote racecar. In front of the screen lies a Blue Jays jersey with the Detroit logo placed over top. Whether this is merely a lack of intended materials or an intentional commentary on the state of sports I could not begin to guess. The rest of the piece I find neither inspiring nor endearing, and its militant intention simply seems utilitarian. It does, however, fit right in with the rest of the exhibit.
Gord McCurny’s Dope Swamp is a 3-D installation made in response to reported teenage drug use in Wayne. It combines video footage from the ’80s classic cult film Swamp Thing juxtaposed against 3-D elements to create a bewildering piece, and it is difficult to discern whether or not the piece was for or against drug use. The most entertaining and equally irritating aspect of the piece is the slowed audio accompanying the video, which is something akin to an experimental song by the rock duo Ween. Critical Conditions is, on the whole, overshadowed by the large, craft-like pieces that are littered about the gallery. The viewer can choose to focus more on pieces like the small-scale installation Family Ballantines by Larry Saginaw, which has a certain quality the others are lacking. Saginaw’s piece is simple, yet rich in meaning. Pictures of boys and men have been taken from their family photographs and placed onto empty bottles of Ballantine’s alcohol, speaking to the role that alcohol plays in some men’s lives.
Perhaps my lack of appreciation for the symbolic representations of this exhibit stems from my lack of interest in the subjects of their symbols. Even so I cannot say that there were numerable redeeming qualities, if any.
The curators refer to the art of Critical Conditions as “fast and fun,” and as I cannot begin to imagine how much time was put into making these objects, I can only take their word for it that it was indeed fast. Fun? In what sense of the word? In the sense that the assemblages which predominate the exhibit consist of recycled or reinterpreted objects? Sure, I’ll give them that.
Overall, I find the art in this exhibit to be based on the pastimes and pursuits of the stereotypical American male, which—when lent to the great state of Michigan as symbols—fall short of doing justice to both the state and the men alike.
Critical Conditions: Contemporary Art from Wayne, Michigan, curated by John Murnaghan and Darryl Bank, is on at Union Gallery until Feb. 7.
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