Other World at Eleanor Harwood Gallery

Something must have guided Mary and me to the Eleanor Harwood Gallery (1295 Alabama Street in the Mission, San Francisco) just at the moment when Christine Shields, curator and Eleanor were contemplating pieces for their Other World show, (opening Saturday, December 2 closing January 1). Spread all over the floor were works on paper from 13 artists, all exploring mysteries of the spirit world in refreshing ways. Like magnets, they drew us in. Not a believer in the occult? Skeptical about ghosts? You’ve undoubtedly never been to a family reunion, but don’t fret darling, this show will give you a glimpse of “truth is stranger than” brought to you through the active imaginations of a collection of the most skillful and intuitive among us. We feel honored to act as messengers. Never fear. If Other World doesn’t raise your spirits, you can always go back to sleep; but take a peek. If nothing else, you'll enjoy the visual surprises.

Look at one of Colter Jacobsen’s memory drawings (double drawings mounted side by side, one copied directly from a photograph and the other drawn from memory afterward). A figure is embracing a stream of light or is (s)he reaching for a ghost? Silvery, shadowed and solemn both drawings are understated and gentle, bringing home the mesmerizing, hypnotic effect of the artist’s personal narrative. The two images are the same yet subtly different. We could look at them for a long long time, years. Their strength is in their meditative, relaxing effect produced by the muted greys and blurred edges. Is this what a guardian looks like?

J's God Daughter

“Beardslee Castle”is from Donal Mosher’s series of spirit photos taken at MiddleVille cemetery in upstate New York each Halloween over the last six years, shot with a disposable camera. His aunt, Denice Brown is a ghost hunter who taught him the guidelines for spirit photography, mostly involving showing respect for the dead and stepping aside to let the spirits show themselves. There is a beautiful plainness about the photo, a glimpse of a subtlety rarely made visible. The most important visual elements are the glowing orbs, white, almost phosphorous, encircling the trees Whether you believe in ghosts or not, these orbs are visible. We can’t deny their energy, allowing us to be more fully engaged, at least just now.

Ghost Hunter's Diary

“What did I do wrong?” asks the woman playing a harp made of swinging wine bottles. She has no wings, she ain't no angel. Georganne Deen, an influential LA artist, excels at superceding the tasteful, successfully blending Cinderella fantasy and bad ass street smarts to evoke comic books and surrealism, with an eerie message from the beyond. “What did I do wrong?” The juxtaposition of a pretty surface with gothic fierceness challenges us to find connections between text, story, surface and images in a uniquely personal way. We love Deen’s irreverence. Who was it that said “if you're not living on the edge you're taking up too much space?”

A Baroque Prayer

Talking about ferocity, "feral empress of the underworld" by Christine Shields, is a wild creature inspired by the dream worlds in a red gown, boots with spurs and boxing gloves, drawn with cell vinyl on paper. Though only about 5” x7”, Ms. Avenging Empress is huge in effect with eyes that can boar holes through your teeth. She feels like a totem pole, at least 40 feet high. There she hovers, in full command of her space, scrappy, with a dangerous edge and a poetic soul in her brilliant feathered dress, guarding whom?

feral empress of the underworld

"Sedgewick" by Jovi Schnell is a gouache painting on paper incorporating stamped collage. A senior lecturer at California College of the Arts and the San Francisco Art Institute, Schnell integrates symbols of nature (an owl, the sun, the tree of life), technology (a heavy metal machine, cranked up and ready) and humanity. With hooded eyes keeping vigil and one hand on the crank this creature is ready for anything. Standing on one leg, we can see that stability is iffy yet the Rube Goldberg like machine is solid, a fortress, invincible, unstoppable. Tight lines and high contrasts build repeated shapes moving them through the space and bringing to mind Mayan sculpture, cubism, and in a strange way, art deco. Who is Sedgewick? How about a vote for Andy Warhol’s superstar, Edie, a spirit whose message might well be the inevitability of endings? Schnell’s little Sedgie looks simple, perhaps akin to a Willie Wonka chocolate machine from afar but reveals itself to be a complex and sinister system close up. We’re till thinking about it days later. That’s a good thing.

Sedgewick

Mary will attend the 2006 Art Basel/Miami in December. She will share her sights and insights on the whole shebang in our December newsletter: who to watch, what galleries are moving and shaking and what art world folk have been up to.

By the way, the idea to create this newsletter was inspired by our friend and mentor Joanne Mattera, a New York artist who writes "biased, myopic, incomplete and journalistically suspect" art fair reviews that are always interesting. Thanks Joanne.