El Sueño de la Razón, 2007, pigmented ink on canvas, 56 x 29 inches.

 
(New) Disasters of War
Simon Zalkind presents a timely group show based on Goya’s work.
By Michael Paglia 



A specialty of the Mizel Center for Arts and Culture is presenting multi-disciplinary projects that combine art shows, films, lectures and panel discussions. The Mizel's current creative and intellectual enterprise focuses on war -- quite timely in the context of what's going on in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The art exhibition, (New) Disasters of War, is displayed in the Singer Gallery and was organized by director Simon Zalkind. The title refers to a series of etchings done in the early nineteenth century by Spanish artist Francisco de Goya called "Los Desastres de la Guerra," or "The Disasters of War." These etchings are the Old Master version of photojournalism, with Goya depicting the tragedies associated with Napoleon's savage occupation of Spain in 1808.

Goya's etchings were both an obvious and an interesting choice for Zalkind. Obvious because of the connection between the war Goya witnessed and the armed struggles of our own time; interesting because Goya's style set the stage for the rise of modernism a half-century later. Goya's loose and smeary technique leads directly to impressionism and, in that way, abstraction.

Zalkind began organizing the show by putting together a list of artists, most of whom work in the area, and contacting them with his idea. A few refused, but most accepted his offer to use Goya's "Disasters" as a reference for their own work. The artists selected create pieces that mostly fall into one of the following types: realist, figural abstractions or cartoon-based paintings and drawings, and postmodern photos.

More than any other style, contemporary realism predominates in (New) Disasters, with the show including pieces by some of the most important artists in the area working in this manner. At the top of nearly everyone's list in this regard is John Hull, whose acrylic-on-canvas "Rebels in the Sierra de Tardienta" seems to perfectly reflect his oeuvre and at the same time fully satisfy Zalkind's desire that the pieces refer to Goya's series. Hull, whose work has been described as a cross between Corot and Quentin Tarantino, paints scenes that have the narrative content of a crime novel. In this painting, set in Latin America, a group of men, some of them masked, are holding two rebels as prisoners, making them squat on the ground. You don't need much of an imagination to see that the rebels are about to be executed. As you'd expect, the painting is dark in mood and chillingly brutal.

Hull will be leaving the area soon to head up the art department of the College of Charleston in South Carolina. When that happens, Denver's painting scene will be notably diminished.

Also noteworthy as an accomplished realist is Jerry Kunkel, who is represented by the multi-part painting "Verso." Kunkel depicts different vignettes on separate panels, and the imagery -- a man with his arms tied, a doctor's bag, and even a Goya etching -- has a fairly obtuse meaning. Collectively, however, the images suggest a sense of danger.

Pushing that foreboding feeling further is the painting by Margaretta Gilboy, another representational artist. Her "Cry Havoc! Let Slip the Dogs of War" is a triptych with the outline of a baby in the center flanked by portraits of vicious dogs. The dogs, which are barely held back by their unseen masters, seem to be on the verge of leaping out of the edges of the picture.

Among those doing figural abstraction is Bill Stockman, whose ten untitled drawings noticeably refer to Goya's suite. There are military scenes in the Stockmans, and the depictions of death have an enigmatic quality. He conveys the imagery through complicated drafting, using smears of charcoal to blur some of the details. They are signature Stockmans, and it's good to see him working up to speed again after a several-year hiatus.

Other figural abstractionists include Margaret Neumann and Steven Altman, both of whom incorporate the human form as the basis for otherwise abstract works. In Neumann's painting, a dark outline of a figure looms over a pile of shoes, the subject inspired by an exhibit at the United States Holocaust Museum. A standing figure of an old man takes the center of Altman's "Knowledge Is Bad, Birth Is Dirty and Death Is Holy," with other images -- including a baby being speared by a bayonet -- surrounding him. Appearance aside, it is based on an actual Goya.

It may seem unexpected that some artists in the show would respond with pieces related to cartoons, but it could in fact be argued that Goya's originals have a cartoon-like quality, as they are simplified renderings that appear to be sequential. No artist in (New) Disasters makes this point as clearly as Enrique Chagoya, whose cartoon-like prints are based on specific Goya originals. Chagoya is the only internationally famous artist here, and his prints were not done specifically for this show. However, Zalkind felt that their relevance to his effort made them a natural addition. He was right.

A little further afield is another cartoon-like set of works on paper, watercolors by Eric Zimmer. These fanciful pieces are vaguely Middle Eastern in subject, with insurgents, soldiers, tanks and airplanes mixing freely with whimsical elements such as dinosaurs. Zimmer's style looks mid-century-modern in the way he applies color in broad, expressive strokes and in the way he references Mad Magazine-style characters.

Finally, there are those who work in photography, and some of the most striking pieces in the show come from this group -- as do those that most closely fulfill Zalkind's vision. An example is the battle scene "French, Mohawk, British and Colonists," which is done in a large inkjet print by newcomer-to-town Edie Winograde. This photo is part of a large body of work in which Winograde photographs historic reenactments of battles, something that's earned her some national attention. Because what she photographs is fake, her topic is rife with postmodernist content that raises questions about the nature of reality versus simulation. Winograde has lived in New York for many years and still maintains her apartment there, but she's spending more time in Colorado, with the idea of relocating here. Clearly, she'd make a sophisticated addition to the scene.

Another photographer in the show who has plenty to say is Jimmy Sellars. The pieces in (New) Disasters reflect his longstanding interest in photographing G.I. Joe figures. Though he typically poses the dolls in homoerotic positions, they're seen here on an imaginary battlefield that Sellars has constructed. The two digital prints, both based on the same image, show one G.I. Joe being taken prisoner by the other. Hung side by side, they're very elegant.

There's an excellent catalogue accompanying this show with an example of each artist's work paired with individual statements written by them, giving viewers insight into how the pieces relate to Goya's originals. For further explication, the Mizel is presenting a discussion with artists Jerry Kunkel, Gabriel Liston, Gary Emrich and Edie Winograde this Sunday, February 25, at 3 p.m. in the Pluss Theatre. The talk will be moderated by Lisa Tamaris Becker, director of the University of Colorado's Sibell Wolle Gallery in Boulder.

Zalkind is one of the most respected curators in the area, and I think a reason for this is that he's so good at scouting up local talent for his exhibits. He's decided to tap artists in the community because he sees opportunities for them disappearing. With Denver gaining a higher national profile, some social-climbing curators are hot to feature the work of international artists while pretending there aren't any worthy players right under their noses. Another reason for Zalkind's ongoing success is that his shows are always grounded in history and politics, as evidenced by his encouraging artists to use Goya as a vehicle for their own anti-war messages.

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In the handsome and chaste main gallery, furnished in mid-century modern pieces that could have come off the set of the original Star Trek, Weil presents New Work by Jimmy Sellars, which is dominated by a group of provocative if beautiful male nudes. Sellars has made a name for himself with digital images of GI Joe dolls in lieu of actual models. The resulting works have the quality of pornographic beefcake pictures even though the dolls are not anatomically correct. That's not the case with the computer-enabled drawings at weilworks, which are executed in giclée prints: In each, the main attraction is a penis, which is placed in the center of the composition. The images look as though they are appropriated, but Sellars claims that although they were inspired by photos or web shots, he drew them by hand instead of simply copying them.

It's interesting, considering all of the references to porn, that the resulting giclées also evoke the work of Matisse, with the reclining figures set in detail-filled rooms covered with patterns, as in "Estevan's Blue Sheets".

In the exhibition tower, an innovative use of the weilworks stairway that leads up to the open-air observation deck, there's New Work by Ayn Toppin, featuring contemporary figural painting with an edgy gender-bending twist. The paintings are striking and somewhat jarring, as in the self-portrait in which the artist sports a mustache. This show marks Toppin's Denver debut, with the twenty-something having only recently graduated from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, where she still lives.

The unusual solos by Jimmy Sellars and Ayn Toppin at weilworks close on July 21, with a send-off party scheduled for that night from 6 to 9 p.m.

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For Float, Gibbons created a group of installations. Hanging on the walls are small, beautifully glazed bas-reliefs depicting fanciful sea creatures. On the floor is the title piece, "Float" (detail above), an evocation of a swimming pool filled with bathers -- fifty self-portrait heads. Gibbons chose the number fifty because that's her age, and each head indicates a different stage of her life. She's "submerged" the heads at various "depths," though it's all an illusion since the "water" is made of tile and nothing will actually sink into it.

In Dive, Sellars continues his exploration of gay politics through GI Joe action figures photographed in sexually evocative poses. Sellars uses a black background in these works that, when combined with the gray color of the figures, results in an extremely dignified presentation despite the inherent levity of beefcake shots of dolls.

Sadly, these may be among the last shows in what Phil Bender, the co-op's guiding light, calls "Big Pirate" -- as opposed to the "Little Pirate" that is coming on line. Landlords Chandler Romeo and Reed Weimer are reconfiguring the space so they can rent out the portion beyond the current front door as a separate unit (at a jacked-up rent). Too bad.

Float and Dive are on view through July 3 at what's still the Big Pirate. See it -- and them -- while you can.

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Sellars uses digital photography to create elegant, pseudo-figure studies focusing on G.I. Joe dolls in lieu of live models. The photos could almost be beefcake shots, if not for the fact that the subjects are made of plastic rather than flesh. The dolls, which are not anatomically accurate, are shown naked in a variety of homoerotic poses, both alone and in pairs, sort of like soft-core porn. The most amazing thing about these works is how easy it is to forget that the subjects are dolls, and instead read them as real men.

As you might expect, given the homoerotic approach here, Sellars is addressing his own gay identity. As a child, he would project his feelings on to his G.I. Joes and have the little soldiers act them out at his direction. In a way, that's the same thing he's doing with these figure studies at Pirate. While the idea of photographing naked dolls might seem like a one-liner, Sellars makes it much more. He gets as wide a range of images as he would using live models -- maybe more, because he has total control over his subjects.

With the holidays, there's just one day left to see New Work by Jimmy Sellars: the day it closes, December 26.

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The current solo at weilworks, Unstitched: A Voyeur's Idiom, features the work of Jimmy Sellars and is heavily laden with timely political content. Sellars creates photo-based pieces that depict G.I. Joe dolls in couples, as in "Unstitched Diaries" (pictured). "It's a new space, so I wanted to push the envelope and be a little confrontational," Weil says. "But the pieces are not only political, they're also beautiful; people can come in and see that for themselves."

Weil is right: Sellars's works are both confrontational and beautiful, which is a very difficult combination to pull off. Because they are GI Joes, the topic of gays in the military is suggested, as is same-sex marriage, since they're pictured in couples. Sellars says he wanted to address his own life in this work because when he was a child, he played with GI Joes and transferred his own thoughts and feelings onto the toy soldiers. He points out an interesting contradiction about them in his artist's statement: The dolls are macho and neutered at the same time.

The Sellers pieces are installed in the main space on the ground floor and in the stairway of the observation tower. On a landing at the second floor are four tiny installations by guest artist Kelan Smith, part of a mini-exhibit called Women of Hitchcock. Smith dressed vintage Barbie dolls in costumes from Hitchcock movies and then stood them in front of painted backdrops evocative of the particular film that's being referenced.

The weilworks gallery is only open on weekends, so there are just a couple of days left to catch these two interesting shows before they come down this Sunday, July 11.