Good Citizen Gallery: Friday, 18 January 2012
Daniel McGrath: Dark Star
January 18 - February 16, 2013
Opening Reception Friday, January 18 6-10 PM
Daniel McGrath's series of sculptures, drawings and large mural installation for the exhibition Dark Star are inspired by reportage on the riots in London, and other recent disturbances in Paris and around the world. In the UK, a neighborhood's peaceful protest demanding an inquiry into a police shooting swiftly devolved into an orgy of looting by roaming gangs of hooded youths. The 'hoodie' is now firmly entrenched in the popular imagination as a shadowy, ominous signifier of cultural disintegration and revolt. As an icon of anarchistic street style and conservative 'bete noire' the 'hoodie' has become something more than comfy apparel. It represents a seizing of anonymity and a self-exemption from identification. The sculptures resemble Kouros statuary, one of the first heroic figurative traditions in the West. However McGrath's subjects, be they texting, uploading "Knock Down King" videos or in flash-mob expeditions--are anti-heroic. In essence, the work is about a broad historical shift in figuration, given the very anonymity of the hoodie, which resists socialization.
Gallery Hours Fri., Sat. Noon - 5 PM and by appointment
Good Citizen Gallery
2247 Gravois Ave,
St. Louis MO, 63104-2852
314-348-4587
January 18 - February 16, 2013
Opening Reception Friday, January 18 6-10 PM
Daniel McGrath's series of sculptures, drawings and large mural installation for the exhibition Dark Star are inspired by reportage on the riots in London, and other recent disturbances in Paris and around the world. In the UK, a neighborhood's peaceful protest demanding an inquiry into a police shooting swiftly devolved into an orgy of looting by roaming gangs of hooded youths. The 'hoodie' is now firmly entrenched in the popular imagination as a shadowy, ominous signifier of cultural disintegration and revolt. As an icon of anarchistic street style and conservative 'bete noire' the 'hoodie' has become something more than comfy apparel. It represents a seizing of anonymity and a self-exemption from identification. The sculptures resemble Kouros statuary, one of the first heroic figurative traditions in the West. However McGrath's subjects, be they texting, uploading "Knock Down King" videos or in flash-mob expeditions--are anti-heroic. In essence, the work is about a broad historical shift in figuration, given the very anonymity of the hoodie, which resists socialization.
Gallery Hours Fri., Sat. Noon - 5 PM and by appointment
Good Citizen Gallery
2247 Gravois Ave,
St. Louis MO, 63104-2852
314-348-4587
posted by Bill Barrett at 11:41 AM
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