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  Janet Kastner |
Janet Kastner, Joseph Janson, and Brad Ellis Janet
Kastner, Joseph Janson, and Brad Ellis By Jacqueline May At first glance, you might not think these three artists' works have that much to do with one another. But with extended looking, a number of commonalities emerge in this interesting exhibit. Janet Kastner's acrylic and mixed-media works on paper feature words which blend in and out of the related imagery superimposed upon them. For example, in the piece titled Vertigo, the term "vasovagal syncope" is buried within and beneath a jellyfish image, tilted onto its side. The term refers to a particular type of fainting, which might make the person experiencing it feel kind of like, well, a jellyfish. The collage and encaustic works of Brad Ellis' "Currents" pieces refer, through art history, to the works of Pop artists such as Jasper Johns, but incorporate an Abstract Expressionist element through the use of overall nonreferential calligraphic brushstrokes. These are superimposed on a series of stripes or concentric squares that are alternately opaque and translucent, revealing collaged text. The brushstrokes and the use of text via collage provide a space for dialogue between Ellis' works and Kastner's, although Kastner's works use the text for content whereas Ellis' use it simply for texture. Ellis' use of the grid provides a common point of departure for his work and Joseph Janson's. Janson's works are primarily grid-based, with small squares, individually painted with biologically oriented images. In several cases, diagrammatic lines visually connect these squares/images. Diagrammatic imagery has been of interest to artists for some time now, and it's hard to look at some of Janson's work without thinking of the diagrams that interested now-deceased artist Mark Lombardi, although Janson's work makes much heavier use of color and underlying imagery. In Migration, for example, a map is superimposed on squares containing such images as flower bulbs, a paper wasp's nest, bales of hay, and so on. Between these squares, and relating to the blue map diagram beneath, are drawn red arrow-lines pointing from position to position. The little squares, as much as the superimposed lines, are painted with delicacy and sensitivity. The colors in the artist's work provide a connection point with Kastner's. |
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 Michelle Mayer |
Home Front By Madeline Irvine The seemingly simple word "home" is a repository for whatever we choose to put in it, individually and as a culture. Artist Michelle Mayer has taken on the changing ideas that make up our new model of "home" since 9/11 and the advent of war in Iraq. "Open House" is Mayer's first solo exhibition at Women & Their Work, and it shows a complete vision that is rare in an emerging artist. Austin Chronicle: So how did you end up making this work? Michelle Mayer: I had a problem to deal with. I had all these paintings I wanted to do, videos I wanted to show. They all had a similar theme. How could I make them all interact and work together? So I came up with putting them in a house, then the house itself became its own work. It became the installation, with subspaces. A house envelops you; it is a comforting space to be in. I wanted to make works for each room. AC: What made you have this vision of home, traditionally a place of comfort and refuge, now under siege? MM: I think in most of my pieces there is a duality. It is to bring out an idea. Instead of just showing one thing, I choose to show both at once, so you can feel the full effect – you see both sides at once. Having opposing images or ideas creates a tension. I think that is what you feel as an underlying anxiety in the house, which is a reflection of the anxiety in the world, the lack of peace. AC: Did 9/11 have an impact onthis work? MM: After 9/11, I became more sensitive to what was happening – especially in the world of media. There was a fear campaign that started with 9/11 and hasn't stopped. It inspired a lot of my thoughts that turned into this work. It is not the only thing. I want the images that people see in their daily lives to speak the truth. [In Anthem], here is an image of bombing in Baghdad – everyone saw the images over and over. And almost everyone sees fireworks. Here are those two images together, along with the national anthem – how does that make you feel? AC: The words "This is not happening so wake up" are barely discernible in the painting Alarm. They are painted the color of the air they float in. Just what do you mean by that phrase? MM: I wanted that to be something that came at you slowly, like an idea will come to you. You won't see it at first, but once you do, you can't deny it. I wanted to emphasize the dreamlike state most of us are in. It's drawing attention to the fact that a lot of people are putting their fingers in their ears and closing their eyes about things that might feel wrong rather than react. Michelle Mayer: Open House runs through Feb.12 at Women & Their Work Gallery, 1710 Lavaca. For more information, call 477-1064 or visit www.womenandtheirwork.org. |
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