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"REVOLUTION 2012: An Exposition on Change Around the World"
Group Exhibit Featuring Local & National Artists
January 17 - February 26, 2012
OPENING RECEPTION:
Friday January 20, 2012 6-9PM
The word revolution inspires reactions and emotions of varying degrees. To some, it's fighting words. To others, it's hope. To the artists involved in the special exhibit titled "Revolution 2012", it is artistic expression. Change is constantly happening around the world, and currently the middle class worldwide is standing together to insist change happen for them, for us, for the 99%. The artwork for this exhibit portrays where artists think 2012 will take us. The artwork will be displayed in a group exhibit "Revolution 2012", at Jackson Junge Gallery, from January 17th to February 26th, 2012.
Revolutions have inspired many humanitarian forms in the past. This is perhaps why "The Protestor" was named TIME Magazine's Person of the Year. Peace, equality and fairness are common mantras in many revolutionary movements. Heroes, stories of valor and honesty are born from these movements. Change for betterment becomes a demand rather than a wish.
Often those perceived to have no power are given a stronger voice in numbers. Adding to those numbers this month are 30 artists from across the country. Mediums include painting, photography, sculpture, print work, installation, digital and fiber arts.
Artists were asked to address ideas already being expressed in the streets of many cities nationwide. They responded with subject matters including corporate greed, homelessness, economic inequality, and standing up for the middle class. This important exhibition of artwork also includes unique performances based on current events, during the opening reception held Friday, January 20th from 6–9pm.
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Exhibit Highlights:
"Foreclosed Former Selves. Portraits of Present Persons"
, Joseph Robert Knox (mixed media on wood, 24" x 48"): Row after row of characters clad in business suits adorn what, at closer examination, is a background of foreclosure listings. The heads of these characters, in the shapes of houses, are cut out of playing cards and then screwed into place. The daunting number of these unidentifiable people and lost homes play into the somber mood and perhaps a feeling of guilt as the viewer is faced with the reality of the "American dream". "What was once the 'face' of our cultural identity now carries with it a very different connotation and harsh associations", says the artist. He challenges the viewer to look upon the current crisis as an opportunity to re-evaluate not only of the idea of what it means to be American but also what defines personal identity and success.
"Citizens United vs. FEC"
, Brian Morgan (India ink, acrylic and vinyl paint on wood, 24" x 24"): A man in suit and tie, with an American flag pinned to his lapel, enjoys a glass of red wine and a very rare-cooked and bloody T-bone steak atop a tower of squished, stretched and pulled average citizens. The artists says of his painting: "While hundreds of thousands of Americans are being laid-off, or taking pay cuts, people at the top of the economic ladder are reaping record profits and sharing none of the wealth. If the Occupy Wall Street movement is about anything, it is about this economic inequality. The recent 2010 Supreme Court decision for Citizens United vs. The Federal Election Committee grants corporations the same rights as people, and therefore has opened the floodgates for corporate spending on elections. If the Supreme Court believes that a corporation is a person, then this painting is my interpretation of what that person looks like."
"People Scapes"
, Rachel Sager (oil on canvas, 42" x 62"): A mass of faceless figures are visualized in a field of red robes. One prominent figure holds up what appears to be a sign, but the rectangle is empty. The viewer must decide for themselves what these people are doing, where they are and what they are standing for. The ambiguous nature applies to a foggy foreshadow of what is to come.
"The Power to Change"
, L. Lee Junge (installation of painting and sculpture) One strong individual in a painting visually initiates a new idea. This idea is then passed on transforming the next individual down a constructed staircase. At the top of the paintings a line of individuals has formed representing the power of the masses. One side of the installation is painted in black graduating to white. The other side is painted in white graduating to black. The background is grey representing neutrality and those who go on never questioning. The artist describes the idea behind the painting as "A tribute to the individuals of the world that have the courage and strength to bring about change. The power to influence others is a necessary quality in those who wish to inspire others to begin to think differently. This influence then begins to spread and soon an army of like thinkers has formed. This new way of thinking continues to grow and multiply at a quicker pace until a whole new world exists."
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