next >
reviews criticism

Gray Matters? The first thing I noticed about this BODY of work was the titles. Often witty enough on the surface to garner an out loud laugh, they also alluded to the social commentary underlying the work. The piece "of course i trust you" has the signature line of an official document, in an obvious statement that we often say one thing and then act towards an entirely different purpose. Having recently ended a long relationship, I am attracted to what I see as some bitter and cynical stabs at the complicated world of relationships. (As in `monogamy' and `probably not') The next thing that peaked my interest was the seemingly purposeful masking of the artist's gender. The substitution of the women's heads take on an entirely different meaning for me, the viewer, if I think the artist is a man. If the artist is a woman, I can rest assured in the knowledge that she is simply stating a type of objectification that she has witnessed in our society. If however, the artist is a man, I wonder what right he has to make such statements about women. Is he pointing out something he has noticed, or is he perpetuating the societal objectification of the female body? After several reviews of the work, I find the images more and more benign. Grey Matters was originally disturbing to me, with its severed heads and repeating image of the nude, topped with clear envelopes filled with garbage. Are women so transparent? Are our heads filled with garbage? At least, I thought, the body isn't some anorexic fashion plate nude. At least, she has some meat on her bones. But where is the hair? Yet as I looked again, I thought how simple, really, gimmicky the lines and pieces were. Where IS the meat? I was prepared to be offended. I was prepared to find the answer to some deeper question. Instead I am now just wondering why? Gray Matters? -By Cynthia Gaub MA; Artist and Educator