We Can’t Paint Blog » Blog Archive » Non-Photography Friday #1

I did a post on non-photographic art last week, which turned out to be a hit, so I’m making it a regular thing. Although this new feature will be similar to the format of the artist profiles I feature each day, “Non-Photography Friday” will lump a group of artists together who are connected under a loose theme or circumstance. Enjoy!

(I even have the original advertisement)

Back in 2004 there was an exhibition titled “Scream: 10 artists x 10 writers x 10 scary movies” at the Anton Kern Gallery in New York. While the show itself was considered a bit of a flop, besides its refreshing line-up and self-referential presence (no one really bought into the neo-gothic thing), some of the artists who were included showed great promise. Banks Violette (briefly mentioned here and here) was certinally one of them.

© Banks Violette

Violette’s work includes sculptures, drawings, paintings and installations which are all influenced by, amongst other things, Heavy Metal culture and Minimalist art. Where other artists sometimes construct horror-like situations (particularly staged photography), Violette draws directly from the very disturbing and all too real source. This aspect can be seen in his installation titled Untitled (Church), 2005, a massive recreation of a burned out church cast in salt and placed on a glossy reflective stage.

© Banks Violette

Untitled (Church) was in influenced by the much publicized rash of church burnings in Norway during the early 90’s. For the installation Violette contracted Thorns Ltd to compose an ambient musical work which played on a loop for the remainder of the exhibition.

If your interested in Violette’s practice then check out this interview here and an article from the NY Times here.

As with Violette, minimalist form and horror aesthetics are again the focus of inspiration for Canadian artist David Altmejd. Originally from Montréal and now based out of New York, Altmejd constructs werewolves, giants, and miniature structures which are not so much rotting, but growing. Faux crystals, fungi, and foliage are mixed with taxidermy squirrels and birds in these romanticized constructions.

© David Altmejd

Altmejd’s impressive installation for the Canadian pavilion at the 52nd Venice Biennale fused these elements into a work that successfully fit the notoriously difficult space. “The Index” shows us the detailed and prolific mastermind behind Altmejd’s practice.

Here are some shots from Altmejd’s recent show at Andrea Rosen:

The last two artists for Non-Photography #1 are Matt Greene (his work is a bit hard to find) and Sue de Beer. Greene’s work often presents painted and drawn worlds where figures interact, and intersect, in anarchistic-like gangbangs. These are drippy organic plums, filled with gender defying humanoids in goth inspired landscapes.

Like Greene, De Beer’s work surrounds ideas of contemporary goth culture, but as opposed to a purely fantastical presentation, she frequently uses the subculture as a proxy for larger issues. In De Beer’s video installation titled “The Dark Hearts”, teenage identity and love explore ideas of transition into adulthood.