Sexpo '97: The Last Bang
as it appeared in Capital Xtra, August 22nd, 1997
article written by Andrew Griffin
Please see the easy to read text version below.
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press clipping for Sexpo '97: The Last Bang as it appeared in Capital Xtra, August 22nd, 1997 article written by Andrew Griffin Please see the easy to read text version below. |
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| One final fuck
before we say goodbye Once upon a time a couple of perverts opened a gallery in Ottawa and they filled its walls with dirty pictures. They were pleased with their own lasciviousness; however, the Evil Witch of Fiscal Responsibility was not. She determined to drive the two Art Tarts out of business. So, this particular fairy tale comes to an end this month with Sexpo 97 - The Last Bang, the final exhibition at Creative Outlet/Gallery Co. The show features the work of 61 local artists who, in the words of the promotional material, "celebrate e-raw-tica." "We were going for 69 artists," says co-organizer Darcy Schmidt, "but some of them just couldn't get it up on time." Schmidt co-founded creative Outlet wiith Laura Margita in June 1996. The gallery was a focal point for the local arts community. While it enjoyed tremendous support from the artists themselves, it failed to attract enough buyers to pay the bills. "It's been a blast," says Schmidt in summation. As for the final exhibition itself, Sexpo 97 - The Last Bang, it is more of a sex farce than a hardcore fuckfest. None of the artists have managed to produce works that are truly, deeply erotically beautiful. The most successful have, however, managed to bring a sense of humour and playfulness to their work. This humour is evident in the silk screen of an illustration from a 1789 Dutch edition of the Marquis de Sade that Carl Stewart reproduced to promote the event: six men and women performing a piece of erotic acrobatics so elaborate that it would challenge even the Cirque de Soleil. Scott Lane & Maria Lezon used computer collages to produce filthy phony postage stamps and affix them to lewd postcards and then mail these postcards to people like Pope John Paul II, Opus Dei (the crypto-fascist Spanish Catholic organization) and Queen Elizabeth II. This trend of all humour, no eroticism reaches its pinnacle in The Dirty Dozen by Adrian Göllner and Mark Marsters, a piece of sophmoric silliness with a dozen donuts given dirty names like Butter Crotch. Eric Walker, in a series of treated photographs called Phenomena, transforms genitals in meteorological events - talk about delusions of grandeur. Eliza Griffiths has contributed a set of lino prints inspired by Brazilian comic book artist Carlos Zéfiro. For those who like their art in three dimensions, there is the masturbating robot by Tick Tock Tom entitled He's Right Handed and Erin Robertson's Orgy Deluxe mobile. The mobile hangs beside a couple of watercolours byy Mary Nunn - The Zipper Ripper and The Headache Cure - that are quite lovely. You will want to study the latter carefully so that you can enact its suggested cure the next time a migraine sets in. The best painting in the exhibition in undoubtedly Super TV Action Duets, Vol #1 Nurse on Maid by Emily J Whist (aka Rob Nelms). It is done in Whist's instantly recognizable style with the added bonus that it is in full screaming colour. As an aside, Whist currently has an exhibition of his black and white paintings on display at the Manx Pub on Elgin St. In any uncurated show of 60 plus artists, one is bound to find some dreadful dreck and Sexpo 97 - tThe Last Bang is no exception. This lack of quality control no doubt contributed to the short life span of Creative Outlet. The impulse to keep the doors of the gallery open to the widest spectrum of artists possible is admirable, but it also means you have to wade through a lot of shit to find anything interesting - something only a scat queen would find appealing. Fortunately, there is just enough work of interest in Sexpo 97 to merit a trip to Cumberland St and the Art Fag must admit that Creative Outlet/Gallery Co will be missed. Thankfully, this is not the last we will see of the gallery's two co-founders. Schmidt says that they are still interested in working with local artists to produce large group shows in temporary locations. The Art Fag sends them big sloppy kisses as they head off on their latest adventures. Sexpo '97 - The Last Bang Until Aug 27 332 Cumberland St Tue to Sat, Noon to 6pm Free Admission Info: 789-9223 |
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