New Gallery: Checkered House
This article reprinted from the John T Unger Weblog. The original article can be found online:
http://blog.johntunger.com/2005/10/new_gallery_che.html
© 2008, John T Unger
On my last trip to Chicago, I finally got all the gear that I left behind out of storage. It turned out to be pretty good timing, because one of Britt's friends is starting a new outsider art gallery, Checkered House, and I was able to consign most of my remaining early works to her for the gallery. For the present, it'll be an online gallery only, but I think there are some plans for a show or two around the holidays and eventually a physical space. For now, it's kind of an underground thing.
Anyway, the following works will be available exclusively through Tess at Checkered House. If you're a fan of the work I did in this style while I lived in Pilsen then now is the time to buy. There won't be any more work in this vein for a long time, if ever. Just for the record, I absolutely love this work… There's a fair number of pieces that I'm keeping for my own collection. I stopped making mixed media work during the transition from Chicago to my current digs mostly because it was impossible to stockpile enough objects to have a decent selection while I was traveling. Oddly enough, I found it easier to do monumental size ironwork during that period than to do collage. But then, if you think about it, to find the right six objects for a mixed media piece, you pretty much need to have 6000 objects to choose from. It was easier at the time to just call a supply house and order half a ton of new steel. Who'd'a thunk?
Another reason for the change in my work was that, when I first started making art I felt most people were oblivious to how dangerous the world really is. So I made spookier stuff to remind them of the sharp edges. Then, after 9/11, it seemed people were completely obssessed with how scary the world was. That's an incomplete picture too, so I began focusing on more joyous subject matter to remind them that the world is full of beauty as well. My favorite pieces are the ones that capture both the beauty and the horror of the world.
There are definitely still reprises of some of the themes from the early work. For instance, the Anima Sola/Marinette Altar I did last year etc. I still like to use a wide variety of materials and incorporate as much recycled content as possible. But I now focus a lot more on design, portability, permanence, etc. This early work has a raw edge to it that I love— direct, unfettered, and full of spirit.
Give Tess a call if you see something you like. Because you'll probably only get just the one chance.
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Underground |
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Figure with Flames & Moon The figure and moon are carved out of the painted glass in reverse. The flames and the scythe-like shape in the left corner are paper on the front of the glass. |
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Papa Ghede Belle garçon The song that gives this piece it's name translates to: It refers to an event in Haitian history when a group of houngans possessed by the spirit of Ghede stormed the palace demanding money for the poor. They got it because even the president can't refuse the god of death. |
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Rootworker The portrait was done in chalk, conté and acrylic worked over a xerox of a photo taken by Sergei Eisentstein in Mexico. |
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Crossed Crossed draws from various Hoodoo folk magics. The pods at the top are locust beans, which suggest the biblical plagues. The poster that forms the top element of the collage was used as found. The hanging phrase seems more ominous than any finished sentence would be. |
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Detroit Icon Both the photo of Jesus and the one of a damaged brake drum were found in the garbage at a Kinkos in Ann Arbor, MI. They went together perfectly to produce a hybrid holy image for the rust belt. |
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Two Eyed Jack of Bones |
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Jubilee Crucifix |
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He's Got the Book of Circles |
Do you have questions or comments?
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