Art questions if spirit matters

In "Spirituality and Materialism," nine artists use a variety of techniques to depict viewpoints in a philosophical debate with no ultimate conclusion.

By Susan King, Special to the Times
Published November 22, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG

The current show at C. Emerson Fine Arts is small in physical scale, but it invites major ponderings. Can spirituality and materialism exist together? Or are they contradictory strivings? What is the role of spirituality in these materialistic times?

The nine featured artists delve into the topic in different ways, tackling themes that range from the environmental impact of our consumer society to seeking the spiritual in ethereal landscapes.

Topanga Canyon Altar by Oregon artist Phyllis Davidson juxtaposes the sacred and profane, creating a kitschy East meets West tableau. Mother Mary presides over this scene with a backdrop of hot-pink flowers and Chinese figures painted on silk. A nude dipped in gold with Medusalike hair, and a candleholder with the body of an exotic woman flank the Japanese god of long life.

St. Petersburg artist Frank Strunk III constructs a big piece of shiny money out of aluminum and invites viewer participation. Push a button and a lazy mechanical device polishes the almighty dollar. It's about owning more and showing off.

Material possessions and issues of identity merge with psychological subtlety in mixed media installations by Betsy Orbe Lester, also of St. Petersburg. What could be more quotidian than shoes and home? Instead of Dorothy's ruby slippers, she presents papier-mache pumps covered in butterfly designs and redheaded sewing pins. The surreal footwear displays itself on an upside-down doll house roof.

In Open to Change, local artist Chalet Comellas employs silhouettes of tree frogs repeated on several panels. An outline of a delicate frog faces the ground, possibly reminding us that we share the earth.

Bay area artist Leslie Neumann's meditative landscapes invite the experience of being present. Forget about the "monkey mind" and those chores and holiday shopping lists. Melt into her encaustic paintings, made from a process in which hot wax meets oil paint. Like some of the sublime, edgier paintings by English landscape artist J. M. W. Turner, land and sea border on the abstract. Enter the white light of Amorphous, take in the golden and stormy in Summer Skies or absorb the energy that crackles in Electrical Storm. Get lost in the texture, drips and colors of earth, fire, sky and sea.

A group show lends itself to juxtapositions. You can hunt for the affirmative "yes" scratched into the wax in Neumann's paintings, then glance to your right to see Wendy Dickinson's three big black X's called Girl Marks. Dickinson's collograph has X's stamped onto wood with a design fashioned out of stockings.

They face off with a photo of a prostitute's grave, Louise the Unfortunate by Diana Lucas Leavengood of St. Petersburg. Photographer Margaret Steward presents us with rows of little Buddhas, blurring as they get closer in Buddha's March.

In brushstrokes that are sure and varied, Colorado artist Lee Lee paints a figure that exudes strength and spirit in Angkor Shrine. In her next four canvases she depicts the impact of unbridled materialism. In Pine, burnt orange and red loosely painted on various views of trees look like raging fires. But the rusty substance is created by beetles that multiply with rapidly warming temperatures, destroying the pines.

Susan King is a St. Petersburg writer completing her master's in art history at USF. She may be reached at susanking2006@tampabay.rr.com.

REVIEW

Spirituality and Materialism

Continues through Saturday at C. Emerson Fine Arts, 909 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday;noon to 8 p.m. Saturday. 727 898-6068.

[Last modified November 20, 2007, 18:36:41]