Once in a
generation an exhibition comes along that sums up an age that we are living. The
Masters Series: Marshall Arisman at the School of Visual Arts is a rare exhibition that
elicits a welcome visceral reaction. The lack of identifying labels,
statements or titles in this multi-media exhibition serves to usher in a new
era where the artist’s visual journey narrates the mythology of our time. The
formal introduction of poetry further transforms the gallery space into a
lyrical dreamscape.
The
wallpapered lobby is where print media fights to dominate art. Original
illustrations are presented on opposite walls along with their original
location – newspaper or magazine articles. A rack of publication covers
displays the shadowy figures that are the Arisman stock in trade. Among his
demonic portraits are Jim Jones, Hitler, Darth Vader, an abusive priest,
androids and human faces covered with gas masks. Above the reception desk is a
framed poster advertising the School of Visual Arts with an Arisman monkey
holding a pencil. On the opposite wall are three writhing figures in bodily
torment bursting the bounds of the picture frame.
Applying
pigment with combs, Arisman presents the human figure in a space where form
converges with emotion. The emptiness within the interior is where spirit is
denied. The obsessive combing depicts the toxicity of matter armored against
feeling. This distinct style pushes linear composition into the spiral to
depict the unseen realm of the chakras, or energy centers of the body. By
formally containing energy in the figure, Arisman defines the paradigm shift
from linear time to cyclical motion. On a wall beside his magazine
illustrations is an airbrushed portrait covered with mesh, which takes the
two-dimensional into three. Here the human figure is at a turning point.
Arisman is
also dedicated to penetrating the fourth dimension on a flat surface. This
process reflects his preoccupation with the animistic spirit that either guides
us to our destiny or delivers us to our fate. Just beyond the rack of magazine
covers that contain his signature imagery is the entrance to the gallery. Here
we find a favorite Arisman motif: the Sacred Monkey whose vibrating aura
consists of multicolored strings of resonance. In the center of this magical
space is an installation of three sculpted primates. Such symbols of repressed
human instinct are thereby reclaimed. Arisman acts as an alchemist intent on
infusing spirit into matter.
Hope is
contained in mystical imagery where herds of buffalo present the natural order.
Human metamorphosis is transmitted through waving electrical currents
containing and filling the space of the canvas. The antler tips of the sacred
stag is illuminated. How do we know these animals are holy? They have a
golden aura. These shamanistic figures can lead us to our destiny to become
whole, if only we let them, says Arisman with the masterful stroke of his
alchemic brush. The alternative lies on another wall, where a series of
portraits reveals flesh morphing into machine – the metallic masks of the
technological age.
“I have
given my all to the sun…all but my shadow.” This quote from Apollinaire illuminates
a painting of a fallen angel bathed in a golden glow. Behind him are crosses
strung together with the double waving line of the Aquarian glyph and at the
front is the mystical Yod. The convergence of symbols provides a metaphor for
the crossroads of the contemporary human condition – we can either consciously
absorb the animistic power to make us whole or project our shadow onto
society’s scapegoats. We can either bow down to the false media idols that
dominate our consciousness or surrender to the unconscious power of a masterful
work of art. The choice is ours, says the master of forms, and our decision
will determine our course.
The
Masters Series: Marshall Arisman is a human shriek in the sterile desert of our media saturated
culture. The visceral force fusing the multiple Arisman perspectives awakens
us to a crucial moment in time – the present moment. Art forces us to look
within while the media keeps us looking without. The artist/shaman operating
in the world disguised as illustrator of society’s ills presents a holistic
picture but the vantage point we choose is ultimately our own.
The
Masters Series: Marshall Arisman will be on view until November 22 at the
School of Visual Arts. |
