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62 individual pieces are on exhibit with several of them
arranged in groups that seem natural to have to purchase all of them, and the
red dots were numerous. Some works are made of multiple units that are all one
work, therefore one must take the time to read the titles and tags to fully
appreciate each piece as it is meant to be seen. And to NOT take the time to read
the titles (in a show based on books and texts) would be a shame. So much
intellectual creativity is hidden within them…..which is just one more layer of
this show. It is well documented that to really appreciate subtle humor, one
must be fairly intelligent. So goes our first layer….society associates “smarts”
with books…bookworms and nerdy types are depicted with their noses in scholarly
documents, always reading…..so Neff has played upon this stereotype through her
use of titles, imagery and materials…and sometimes even form, to relay her
message. A viewer can look at the creations as simply artwork on a wall or they
can truly read into each one the volume of information found within their
reconfiguration. She challenges us to think.
Overall, the gallery is a visual collage of creams, blacks, and
beiges, awash in double entendre and no matter what direction one turns,
assaulted by parody, satire and textural text. Some works such as “Tom Swift and his House on
Wheels” (which is a book), is mounted on wheels, the concept is simple, the
presentation straight forward, and funny.
So too are “Facebook”, “Rock Paper Scissors” and “A Tree Grows in
Brooklyn”. Other works require some effort to truly appreciate their meanings
such as “Weapons of Mass Creation”.
Featured on the cover of the gallery program, this piece is one of her
most compelling. With the title in mind, view the piece overall, it is a fish,
a Christian symbol, but stand back a bit and one can see an angel as well.
Above her head or its tail, is the word “prologue” meaning before or in the
beginning….. do I really need to visually spell this out for you? (Yes, that
was intentional).
Before I forget, the reason I chose “Spreading the Word” as
my title is not so you all go out and tell others to see this show, but it
would be the title I would have given her “Push Broom” piece propped in the
corner. The handle of a broom has been inserted into a converted dictionary whose
pages have been cut and fluffed into bristles. As soon as I saw it, my title clicked
and that was all she wrote, I was out the door. Only three works are untitled,
all the same type of folded paper manipulation but in three different sizes,
hung together, and sold separately. I am calling them the “Mums” because the
intricate curvilinear folds look like the petals of a mum plant and also
because…..Ha!! “Mums the word” as the saying goes…. I just can’t allow any untitled pieces,
especially in a show based on books….ever see an untitled book?
The dictionary pages were quite popular and selling fast. I
bought one too after debating and changing my mind several times over which
one. The pages are A through F of a dictionary with an image on each one that
is of that letter…case in point, I bought “Art” whose pictorial image is of a
painter’s pallet. Originally I was set on “Brushes” until I viewed the works
from across the room….how could I have missed it the first time? I had to buy
“Art” because it is a work of art, about “art”…and I know it is art because it
says so right on the picture…so it must really be ‘art” right? This way nobody
can ever accuse me of not buying art…because I bought “Art”. See what I mean about Neff’s depth of
though? Other dictionary pages feature collage images for letters R, T and P.
If you have been to her gallery space at 2nd
April Galerie in the arts district, you would have seen her pieces featuring
the small scale wooden artist’s manikins. The titles are witty such as “In the
Middle of a Good Book” and “A Real Page Turner” but so too is there an underlying
innuendo…books are made of paper, paper comes from wood, wood comes from trees
and the little guys interacting with these books are made of wood….you do the
mental gymnastics on that one.
A few pieces to mention for their obvious attention grabbing
structure are “Out of Circulation”, a wheel of old paperback books large enough
for a person to pass through and “Statue”, an absolutely gorgeous dress-like
(hmmmm…..) creation that plays upon the idea of memories and dreams (and play).
The exhibition as a whole must have been a challenge to install so that each
piece could be featured in the best possible light (because there are actual
lights [lamps] in this show too).
Neff has even made a series of bookmarks, free (one each
please) for the taking. I can only imagine what else her right side would have
envisioned if she knew I have several old typesetter drawers sitting in
storage….I wonder what type of work she could make with them.
Time to put this chapter to bed and end the story
here….. Rarely do I end a blog with a
recommendation of a show being a “must see” but this is one of those times….and
it is a “must read” as well. Take the time to appreciate her genius, and I
don’t use that word lightly either. Skimming through to the end or just looking
over the cliff notes of the program will short change you on an enriching
engagement with the written word.
October 16 – November 9, 2014
North Canton Little Art Gallery in the North Canton
Library
10am – 8pm Mon - Thursday
9am – 5pm Saturday
1pm – 5pm Sunday
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