Web Master By the time we arrived, the cake had already been destroyed. Artists and the like skulked about, covered in pink icing somewhat reminiscent of Nickolodeon game shows. The keg was petering out. The sink was clogged with cake and swelled with ominous looking water. This does not mean that the Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts’ Saturday night opening was not a success. On the contrary: it’s myriad of contemporary art was both interactive and reflective. Pieces ranged from digital photographic composites to nailpolish paintings of Iraq. And everything in between.
By “in between,” I mean Michelle Arvin’s “Self Portrait: 1996-2003” a series of slides mounted in front of a light box. The illuminated slides include multiple portraits, not necessarily of Michelle, but of various characters. Skate ramps also recur with frequency.
“In between” also means Steve “Steve-o” Mcfarland’s “Forms with Hole.” It sounds kind of suggestive, but it’s really not. Steve constructed, in a small gallery closet, a species of “camera obscura.” For the layman, the camera obscura is the predecessor of the pinhole camera, essentially a dark room into which light enters through a tiny hole. If you watch for long enough from inside, you will see the image of the outside space reassembled on the dark wall. Steve ushered viewers into the space, encouraging them to wait a good three to four minutes for their pupils to dilate. A pile of slightly muddy line drawings on the floor pinned down the images Steve saw inside the giant lens of the camera obscura. At first I saw nothing, save the pinpoint of light. However, after much delay, I saw two rectangles with a pendulum-esque shape moving eerily against the wall. Dwyer Kilcollin, who also drew her impressions of the image, explained that the rectangles I saw were the two front windows of the gallery. The pendulum is as yet unexplained.
Kim Humboldt’s “Common Moment” featured three paintings propped against an ottoman. One juxtaposed a painting of a desertscape with two photographic portraits of geriatrics. “Can I get you something from the bar?” reads the bubble caption beside the man. “It’s so lovely to see you again,” the woman responds.
Other pieces included a red ladder inserted between two mirrors in such a way that it appears to extend forever. Also memorable were “Please take one,” photographic prints mounted in wall receptacles for the taking and Randall Seifert’s digital composite trio from the “Rites of Spring” series. Seifert’s prints involved ink drawings of indigenous peoples traipsing across product maps of Latin America, human figures blocked by masks, and glade-like nature scenes to achieve a delicate and haunting visual effect. Alexa Hoyer’s “From the Grocery Series” incorporated iron rods, astro turf, and a plastic Schnuck’s bag for a space-transcending sculpture.
The Fort Gondo Compound for the arts is situated at 3151 Cherokee street, slightly off the beaten gallery track. However, since its institution in July of 2002, proprietor Galen Gondolfi and friends have brought the hordes over to the Cherokee neck of the woods with avant-garde events and community projects. Gondolfi originally intended to house a non-profit organization for dogs in the space that is now the gallery. “It was going to be pro bow-wow, fuck the arts…we’re all about dogs! But that never happened” quipped Gondolfi in his chat with Stefene Russell of The Commonspace. However, as it’s happened, the storefront spread is now home to art and ArtReach program for kids, as well as many “bow-wows.” ArtReach program works in conjunction with the graduate art program at WU to bring art to community youth. The fort, apparently, has also been home to hip-hop classes for young ones in the recent past. The growing Gondo entity is sprawling into “100 yards of chaos” including a radio station and other sundry delights. You too can visit Fort Gondo or talk to Galen at 276-2488 for details on upcoming openings and hijinx.