A Room Temperature Exhibit

The Courtyard Gallery at the Lamar Dodd School of Art came alive from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, October 30, with chatty art students, a few professors, the usual finger foods (along with some Halloween candy) and, of course, some art.

The Printmaking and Book Arts BFA Exhibition, on display until November 1^st, is intriguing both in its diversity and in the nuances of the individual art works.

From afar the brightly colored wall hangings of Nicole Haysler immediately attract the eyes. Her hand-printed wallpaper is displayed in four long panels of equal length and width. Next to each hanging is another identical hanging, but these are neatly rolled up and packaged in clear plastic with labels reading “Notable Hangings.” They appear to be ready for purchase.

While these pieces are neatly packaged and well-made, despite their visible seams, it is Laura Doll’s work that draws the viewer in for closer observation and transports the viewer into another world of quiet mystery. Doll’s display of handmade books is exquisite. One accordion book stands on a shelf with a snake skin running almost the length of the outstretched book. The faintly blue scales are surrounded by black outlines of foliage. Another more traditionally bound book stands open on a pedestal with its pages fanned out. The cover of the book is adorned by a thin piece of wood with “Once Upon a Time” carved into it. The pages are blank and range in color from pale yellow to pastel red and back to the original yellow. All of Doll’s pieces seem to be relics of some fantasy land she has imagined. One of the most captivating pieces in the exhibition is Doll’s wooden box titled The Art of Unraveling. The word “unraveling” suggests an accident or mistake, but the artfully made object and the full title “The Art of Unraveling” imply an intentionality to this unraveling, as though it might reveal something beautiful. The box, about five inches in length, breadth and depth is locked with a dark metal latch. The top of the box has an image of a golden ball of yarn surrounded by the title of the piece. The sides have various images rendered in pale greens and golds, including a two-headed snake and a moth. Spilling out from the box is golden yarn and thin, golden ribbon with words including “unraveling” printed on it in dark, simple type. The box has handles on each side that look like cranks suggesting the box has some kind of function. Perhaps turning the handles will unravel the yarn and ribbon farther.

The third artist to present her work at the show was Kate Schönke, who chose to give a performance while a few of her prints hung on the wall behind her. The prints contained minimal color and bold outlines. One depicted a group of arms, almost plant-like, reaching up with outstretched fingers. Schönke’s performance, The Houseplant Grew a Heart (She learned to thrive at room temperature), began in the middle of the reception at 8 p.m. Opening with Schönke slithering around the set with gliding footsteps and swaying hips to water various houseplants, the performance progressed into a complicated act ranging from talking and singing to playing the keyboard. Schönke’s mood changed from sulky and dull to chatty and peppy. The show ended with a lonesome figure, her back to the audience, sitting in front of a keyboard. Disjointed and ambiguous, the performance left the audience with questions. At one point Schönke stared out into the audience and asks sullenly “You know what I mean?” Based on the perplexed expressions on many of the viewers’ faces, probably not. Nevertheless, it was a bold performance from a complex and promising artist, and hopefully with time Schönke will learn to connect more with her audience and make her ideas slightly more transparent.

The Printmaking and Book Arts BFA Exhibition gave viewers a lot to take in: intricate, handmade books that seemed to focus on originality and the hand of the artist, neatly packaged wallpaper that seemed determined to transcend the hand of the artist and produce a marketable, commercial product, and an eccentric song-and-dance performance, all at room temperature.

By Krista Franks