Dan's Papers -February 27, 2009 - Art Commentary - Talking Heads at Tulla Booth, "Love and Desire" at Pamela Williams

Although it's somewhat of a stretch to compare love and politics in Tulla Booth's current show for Valentine's Day, the exhibit works on another, more intriguing level. That is particularly true about Michael Cardacino's montage of snapshots featuring political figures. Our bet is that each person, like Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Bill Clinton, were captured at a specific event; the photographer then arranged the images in a grid-like shape to resemble "mug" shots (or "talking heads" in TV jargon).

There are similarities in this view we are presented: most of the politicians are smiling (naturally,) with Sarah Palin being the most animated (naturally.) The "eyes" and "lips" carry the most weight in this study of facial expressions. Biden is the exception. He uses an open mouth and lips to express his thoughts, whatever they may be.

Which gets us to the most salient point here. The viewer is trying to imagine what set off these expressions, trying to guess the context and the possible "story" behind these visual responses. Was President Clinton being asked a humorous question to evoke his smile? Where was he when these pictures were taken? A little background information would have perhaps been helpful.

There's no such obvious ambiguity at Pamela Williams' present exhibit, yet on second thought, we believe there most certainly is. That ambiguity does not always relate to the works' meaning and context, however, but to a larger "picture."

This concept has primarily to do with how the show, "Love and Desire," is curated. In fact, the presentation is about the curating as much as it is about the art itself. Williams is to be congratulated for her skill and taste in this regard.

Simply put, we are often seeing pieces that we have never seen before, that are not normally associated with the artists' "oeuvre." This fact alone makes us begin to reinterpret their more contemporary works. For example, Ralph Carpentier's rendition of Honolulu's Red Light District during the 1950s is a far cry from his present landscapes in style and perspective. Is there a bit of ambiguity in these landscapes that we have missed?

Cynthia Knott's "Plato and Persephone" and "Siren" are also far removed from her signature cloudscapes. They are, instead, figurative, narrative and mythic, yet also passionate. Come to think of it, so are her cloudscapes (except they're not human figures.) Photographer Ken Robbins also throws us for a loop with his sensual female figure, "Lydia." It's apparently not like his landscapes with their surreal, iconic touch. Even so, we can see a connection.

Eric Ernst also stops us in our tracks with his "Distant Echoes," also using a female image as perhaps a metaphor. Again, the style is not what we expected, far from his often geometric, abstract shapes. Which leaves us with the most ambiguous image of all: What does the woman represent? The artist's fading memory (the figure is about to enter a door and disappear)? The illusive presence of female sensibility?

Maybe the idea is not to solve the ambiguity at all.

The shows at Sag Harbor's Tulla Booth Gallery and Amagansett's Pamela William's Gallery will be on view until March 30 and mid-March, respectively.