FLESH-BONE-SPIRIT |
Etherton Gallery, Tucson
January 4 – March 26, 2011
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Etherton Gallery is proud to present Flesh, Bone, Spirit
with photographs by François Robert and Joel-Peter Witkin,
and New Guinea Tribal Art from the collection of Tucson art dealer, Ron Perry. |
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| Click images to open ineractive panoramas |
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Flesh, Bone, Spirit examines the ways in which the body has been configured to convey images of protest, beauty and devotion, from Robert's human skeletal assemblages that look back to medieval saints reliquaries, to Witkin's photographs inspired by Mexican retablo and ex voto paintings, to ceremonial tribal sculpture and objects from Papua New Guinea.
The show features photographs from Robert's series "Stop the Violence," images of skeletons reassembled into modern day weapons, such as fighter jets, pistols and grenades, that remind us of the cost of violent conflict. Images such as Fighter Plane (2008) call to mind medieval relics, remnants of the corporeal body or clothing of a saint, and create a powerful protest by focusing on the human cost of violent conflict.
Joel-Peter Witkin's provocative images from the series "Bogota," are elaborately rendered tableaux that juxtapose voluptuous nudes against edgy, dramatic staging and meticulous attention to detail. Retablo, New Mexico (2007) is a sophisticated take on an ex voto image in which the armless Sylvia gives thanks to a female San Sebastian for the freedom to live openly with her lover, Veronica. Just as Saint Sebastian was healed after being shot full of arrows, so Witkin imbues the limbless Sylvia with the grace and beauty that comes from unshakeable faith.
Collector and expert Ron Perry has been traveling to New Guinea and collecting sculpture and ritual artifacts since the early 1960s. Flesh, Bone and Spirit includes objects like the fierce looking Gable Mask from the Sepik River Valley of New Guinea (c. 1980s), used to protect ceremonial and family dwellings from malevolent spirits.
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The Etherton Space and Collection: |
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| www.ethertongallery.com |
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