Dan's Papers - May 9, 2008 - Art Commentary with Marion Wolberg Weiss

While we have to think a bit about the significance of Sara Nightingale's latest show, namely the ambiguous title, "Maker/Taker," the challenge of figuring it out is a positive one. And so is the challenge of the conceptual art that this venue presents. To be really honest, it's the only local gallery that exhibits such works, except for Riverhead's Art Sites. It doesn't much matter if some people find this work "funky" or not even art. It's still striking. It's still thought-provoking. And it's still good. The current show features three artists who have similar intentions, although, again, their themes may be ambiguous. First and foremost, they are all excellent craftsmen, making material and detail an arresting part of their aesthetics. Curiously, the artists all employ wearing apparel as an expressive mode.

Jennie Nichols' shoes are smashing examples of design and creativity, bringing to mind other shoes used as subjects, like Andy Warhol's early ads featuring designer shoes. Local artist Steve Miller is also known for his footwear. This critic can't help but recall classic cinema references as well, including The Red Shoes.

Nichols' shoes, made from diverse, imaginative materials ( like cardboard, wire, wax, and fabric ) are so quaint and curious that we wonder if we would actually wear such shoes on the street. After all, clowns and jesters of the French Court wore oversized, exaggerated shoes. Simply put, Nichols' works evoke some historical references. And some political points, too, with her high-heels containing tacks inside. (These specific shoes signify deception: beautiful on the outside, harmful on the inside.)

Christa Maiwald uses other pieces of clothing, notably aprons, to convey political messages. Here, the aprons become canvases where embroidered portraits of Courtney Ross, Martha Stewart and Hillary Clinton (among others) represent individuals who are tough, demanding bosses. The aprons are used as ironical statements about servitude. It must be noted that Maiwald embroiders men on her aprons, too, but women convey more potency.

Finally, Laurence Hegarty's hats and hat boxes also seem to fit in most appropriately with the other two artists' work. For example, the idea that the outside and the inside of an object may be incongruous (like Nichols' shoe) stands as a fascinating observation. The hat's outside appears "normal" and safe; the inside reveals a photograph of Samuel Beckett, its significance being somewhat disconcerting.

In fact, "disconcerting" is a good word to describe many of the pieces here. Disconcerting is good.

"Maker/Taker" will be on view at Watermill's Sara Nightingale Gallery until May 15. Call 631-726-0096.