IN OTHER A&E:
The 1998-99 concert series waves goodbye ... with Canada's Tragically Hip

The 1998-99 concert series waves goodbye ... with Caedmon's Call

The third, final Bachelor of Fine Arts exhibition presented to visitors four developing artists, and four different conceptions of what it means to make art.

Susan Cantrell’s work divides itself between media lines, figurative drawing and ceramics. In her drawings, the subject is frozen in time while still surrounded by a narrative, such as in the aptly named “Possibilities,” where a mother cradles her newborn child. In “Probability,” the too- easy relationship of title to work breaks down, creating her most intriguing piece.

Though its technical execution is less controlled, the image nonetheless encounters the viewer more effectively. A child’s face and shoulders float ephemerally in the picture, plain, blue pastel on black paper. His face is ambiguous, leaving in doubt his identity, his age, even his race. Unable to reconcile image with title, the viewer is forced to engage the entire artwork to search for meaning.

Mark Johnson’s playful windows and mirrors take the focus off of Art with a capital “A,” and bring it to the world around us. Conventional frames are thrown out. The computer-generated transparencies are instead put on salvaged windows, doors, and mirrors. The many reflections and views invite the viewer to look and see the gallery in a new way, playfully.

After a lot of hard play, some poignant questions arise. In reflecting reality with a bit of cultural fiction, do the boundaries between the two become unclear? What about the use of comic-book heroes on broken glass windows and mirrors? Is this a commentary on the social class of a typical comic book reader? Or is it we, the viewers, who are implicated, having so neglected the playful side of life that our reality is in poor shape?

A vision of nature and its operation in the world unites the otherwise varied sculptural media of Stephen Smith. In “Growth and Decay — A Study of Life,” a small plant sprouts up from a rusted scrap of metal, and delight in the wonder of nature springs up inside the viewer. Two photographs use a sculptural vocabulary to relate the human body to the forms of a gnarled tree, identifying our place as part of creation.

Continuing the theme of humanity as created order, the installation “Centrality-Altar to God” reminds us that society, culture, and ritualized behavior lie in a created context. A series of small wooden poles surrounds a centrally placed post, all of which are covered in a melted wax. An acrid smell of treated wood intermixes with the odor of the hardened wax which, along with the rough surfaces and poured wax, recalls a cultic altar, possibly even blood sacrifice. The vision is certainly a powerful one; it affects you, draws you towards its center and away from the rest of the gallery.

In his installations and graphic prints, PJ Vander Kooij criticizes the role of computer technology in our lives. Two “Technological Jungles” appear behind a separating partition; the plants grow out of computer monitors, while a cord seems to slither up the wall behind them. Facing the “Jungles,” two victims drown, entangled in computer cords and vines. The foreboding titles “Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave” and “He Never Saw It Coming” leave no doubt as to the message — computers have exceeded their proper place in our culture. They no longer are merely tools; instead, they are the masters in a world overly reliant on technology.

Finally, on behalf of the art students, the art faculty and staff, the Calvin community at large, and Grand Rapids, I would like to thank Virginia Bullock, who will be retiring at the end of this year. We have all enjoyed many thoughtful and inspiring exhibitions thanks to her years of dedicated service as Director of Exhibitions. She is directing one final show this semester, the B.A. Art Exhibition, which starts May 7, so take the time to stop by and thank her personally for all of her work.