This past weekend I was in Lancaster, PA, as a stopover on my way to a wedding in Baltimore. While in Lancaster, my friends Andrea and Troy took me to an exhibit of work by local artists -- any work submitted was accepted so long as you paid the entry fee. This meant the quality of work displayed varied greatly, tottering between good and bad like a child walking in her mother's high heels. There was also work so "interesting" that it completely transcended notions of "good" or "bad."
In addition to the work itself, the titles the artists chose were an indication of how seriously they wanted to be taken seriously. My favorites are below. I should point out that just because something had a bad title doesn't mean it was bad art, although the odds are pretty good.
All titles are genuine. I am not making any of these up.
1. The Apparatus of Self-Evidant Truths
2. Flash Bulb Girl Daydreams About Her Boyfriend
3. The Sacrifice of Rationality Commodified
4. Angela's Favorite Past Time
5. Walk Towards The Light
6. Hands of War
7. Transcendental Tulip
8. May The Gourd Bless You
9. "Sam Sara," Attached to Illusion and Delusion, He Sees Not The Light
10. Clowns On Parade
5 comments:
John, next to the piece titled "Walk Toward the Light" was there another piece that was titled, "This House Is Clean"? just wondering...
Also, have you ever been to the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore?? SO SO great...
Man, I wish I were that imaginative! I usually just name things after the model, which is a problem since I tend to use the same models over and over. "This is Eric in front of the house, this is Eric coming around the side of the house..."
If I ever start a band, I'm so naming it Transcendental Tulip.
You were in Baltimore for a wedding and you didn't even call your sister -- who has a birthday present for you that she has yet to get to the evil Pikesville post office!?
Oh man, I'm sure Dante found a circle in Hell for people who don't call their siblings when in town (we wouldn't have minded if you just pulled up in an ambulance to use our bathroom -- it's been done)
Honorable Sister Number 2:
I was only in Bmore for about eight hours. Had I been there any longer I would have definitely called, and not just because of the birthday present.
Speaking of Baltimore - have you seen "The Wire" yet? It's a cop show on HBO set in Baltimore, created by the guy who did "Homicide" and has a similiar, though bleaker, feel.
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