Specter Vs. Spectrum

Abstract

SPECTER CRG GALLERY NEW YORK CITY MAY 8, 2008 One of the challenges in curating a video program is determining how closely the works should adhere to the theme. Should the curator allow for an open range of interpretations in order to present the most diverse work possible or present a narrowly focused viewpoint, which might limit diversity but enhance cohesion? Should the curator select works that might suit the theme perfectly, but lack in technical or conceptual excellence, or choose an outstanding work that might not fit the exact thematic framework? I have encountered all of these questions during my own curatorial practice. Sometimes I have included work that beautifully embodied the topic, but was lacking in professionalism. Sometimes I have sacrificed cohesion in an effort to promote a more open-ended dialogue. It is with these questions that I approached the video program Specter, curated by Summer Guthery. Screened on May 8, 2008, at CRG Gallery in New York City, the program featured eleven videos by ten artists. According to Dictionary.com, a specter is an object or source of terror or dread, and the curator's blurb in the press release reads, Propheey, mirroring and shifts in perception are explored in this group of contemporary videos. Joined under the idea of specter, these works share a sense of being records and harbingers of uncertain and possibly ominous occurrences. While some of the videos explore the parameters of specter, the program might be better titled Spectrum: an array of entities, sharing common physical properties. Besides physical properties, many of the videos employ the common contemporary tropes of kitsch, humor, and parody. In the performative works by Ronnie Bass, Matthew Lutz-Kinoy, Julic Lequin, Matthew Morgan, and Shana Moulton, the artists explore identity and the alter ego. Lequin's split-screen work Speech Lesson (2005) portrays a female character giving a speech lesson to her other self. While there is a sense of mirroring, the perceptual shift is less about the specter and more about the inner critic housed in each of us. When I die this summer, what shirt will I be wearing? (2006) by Lutz-Kinoy features the artist performing various death poses in a meadow. In each shot, the artist wears a different shirt. Completely absurd, his prophetic death poses lack veracity, but score high in humor with a not-so-subtle comment on our society's addiction to fashion. In Bass's video Interlude (2006) two men perform (lip-sync?) a musical duet proclaiming their commitment to one another. Exuding humor and poignancy, the work hovers between parody and poetic sincerity. Moulton's Sand Saga (2008) utilizes kitsch to link culture's fascination with new-age spiritualism through product consumption. Sappy music underlies visuals, which highlight the artist in purple bathrobe applying a clay mask, combined with sand art, Georgia O'Keeffe paintings, and magnets. The narrative includes the artist meeting her new-age alter ego, who wears the O'Keeffe signature skull as a mask. A combination of mirroring effects and trippy animation results in a humorous parody. …