Upside-down houses, abstract paintings and mutated Barbie dolls – oh my! All this and more awaits unsuspecting gallery-going Dorothies at the Cambridge Art Association’s latest show entitled ‘Spectral Works.’ Housed in the University Place Gallery in Cambridge (or rather the large lobby of the office building at 124 Mount Auburn St.), this exhibit features the work of three Boston artists: Cindy Crossley, Suzanne Gainer and Gwendolyn Holbrow.
A multitude of Barbie Dolls in the center of the lobby is the first thing to catch one’s attention. These works by Holbrow, and the various Barbie parts, appear in many clever and unusual poses that act as a commentary on conventional female roles in society. There is a giant Barbie as King Kong with Ken in an ape suit, as well as 12 Barbie heads that fit neatly into an egg carton. In the words of Holbrow, Barbie is ‘a cultural icon, she packs a lot of power in a few ounces of plastic.’
Perhaps the funniest of Holbrow’s contributions to the exhibit is the ‘Barbie Missile.’ It is a small scale-model of a missile with a clear plastic top through which you can see Barbie’s smiling blonde head. The piece is in reaction to an Iranian toy store manager’s comment to CNN in which he reportedly commented, ‘Every Barbie is more dangerous than an American missile.’ The artist would love to sell these to President Bush for a mere $750 apiece.
Barbie dolls, however, are not the only provocative pieces found at this exhibit. Gainer’s works make you think in an unconventional, startling way. Some of her pictures, which combine technology and traditional photography, show the aforementioned upside-down houses as a reaction to a tornado the artist experienced at the age of nine. Gainer is interested in showing the ‘precarious relationship between the home and its environment.’
Other works take probing looks at the human body. A series of ghostly black and white photographs, ‘Inner Landscapes,’ challenges the viewer to figure out if the wiry arms depicted are barren trees in a forest or human veins. Other works show close up views of bones from various parts of the body including the arms, head and spine.
The third artist, Crossley, also enjoys playing with convention. Her works are by far the most abstract – they are mostly simple collages of color and texture. Some pieces are red and blue patches of color intersected with thick black lines, while others are off-white and pink creations that incorporate everyday objects blended in.
To Crossley, color, texture and drawing are more important than the actual subject of the artwork is. Titles such as ‘Drawing Into Being’ and ‘Ah!’ leave her works open to interpretation. This is especially the case since there doesn’t seem to be anyone from either the University Place Gallery or the Cambridge Art Association present to ever discuss the art with you – only a book about the exhibit and artists, as well as the guest book.
Regardless, anyone who happens to find him or herself in Harvard Square this month should take an afternoon to experience this free exhibit. The show may seem small at first, but the large lobby and adjacent hallway offer many treats for art fans. Barbies in a bird cage, anyone?
The University Place Gallery is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. ‘Spectral Works’ runs from Nov. 5 through 30, 2002. Call the Cambridge Art Association at 617-876-0246 or email cambridgeart@cambridgeart.org for more information.
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