X Marks the Spot

X Marks the Spot

By Tom Wachunas

   “Art must make you laugh a little and make you a little afraid. Anything as long as it doesn’t bore.”  - Jean Dubuffet

   “…Every generation must feel some version of wanting to correct the story, and to extricate painting from the narrows and constrictions of theory…” – David Salle, from “How To See” 

    If we shadows have offended / Think but this, and all is mended: / That you have but slumbered here / While these visions did appear.  – Puck’s epilogue from Shakespeare’s play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

EXHIBIT: My Ex Suite and Other Explorations – recent mixed-media works by Patricia Zinsmeister Parker, in the second floor gallery at John Strauss Furniture, THROUGH JULY 30, 2018 / 236 Walnut Ave. NE in downtown Canton / hours:  Monday-Friday 9 – 5, Sat. 10 – 4

http://www.pzparker.net/

    Patricia Zinsmeister Parker continues to be a prolific mischief-maker.  The unmitigated quirkiness of her current show at John Strauss Furniture has a mesmerizing, childlike abandon about it. It must have cast some sort of a spell on me, because it induced a curious thought. It’s this: Parker may be a modern-day Puck (a.k.a. Robin Goodfellow). He was that unforgettable imp from Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream – shrewd sprite, wandering jester, wise knave. If Puck could paint, he’d likely make pictures like Parker’s.

  There are several series – or, as Parker calls them, ‘suites’ - of works represented here. One is an arresting group of portraits, “Women Who Have Inspired Me Suite.” Their contemplative countenances and sketchy bodies are quickly captured apparitions, hovering in a painterly ether of gestural marks and luminous colors that vibrate between solidity and transparency.

   “My Ex Suite” is a particularly beguiling and boisterous collection of small (12” x 12”) mixed-media works, many clearly configured around an ‘X’. Ex what? Of course the notion of ex-spouse or boyfriend comes to mind, and all its implications. Is Parker recalling with fondness, or regretting? Is she relieved, rejoicing, or rueful? Maybe all of the above, maybe not. Half the fun here is in formulating your own subjective connections. 

   Meanwhile, consider some larger associations with X, such as, say, a mark on a map, a target, a goal. Or a blotting out, a deletion, a denial. These pieces are blocked together into a grid-like formation on the wall, suggesting perhaps a puzzle. Together they constitute a veritable treasure trove of intriguing symbols, codified messages, and/or personal remembrances. Many of the surfaces bristle with various textures, including adhered objects such as little figurines or game pieces. Some paintings are generously sprinkled with glitter. Others are lathered with so much paint (and whatever other thickening agents Parker uses) that they look like cakes piled high with icing, or sparkling holiday cookies. Whatever gravitas may be lurking here, it’s often garishly colored and sugar-coated. 

   Some of Parker’s “Other Explorations” include heady juxtapositions of text and imagery embedded in frenetically brushed, rough-edged color fields. Commentaries on cultural memes? Who’s behind those miniature masks in Artificial Intelligence, or Emoji ? What or who are they hiding? What’s more important – the disguise or the disguised? 

   I’m reminded of those surprising moments that can emerge when a child savagely rips the commercial giftwrap off the box holding a dearly desired, precious plaything made in a factory. Something unexpected happens. After the predictable squeals of delight have quieted down, the child’s imagination might wander in and take center stage. Suddenly the empty box itself seems more fascinating than what was in it, and somehow much more fun. It becomes the real object of attention. Forget playtime protocol. The possibilities are endless. The contained has been upstaged by the container, now made anew. Art can be like that.  

   This exhibit is bountiful evidence of the painter at play. Here she is, a flippant deconstructor, articulating the instantly familiar side-by-side with the enigmatic. Parker’s exquisitely refined unrefinement can invade our aesthetic comfort zones and rattle our predisposition for more conventional painting practices. 

   Back to Puck for a moment.  In Shakespeare’s fantasy play, he’s neither all darkness nor all light. Imagine him as an artist happily straddling both worlds. He’s equal parts dream weaver and reality shaper. The art of Patricia Zinsmeister Parker does as much, and in a similarly delightful spirit of naughty glee.  

PHOTOS, from top: 1. Frieda / 2. 2017 Was a Good Year / 3. My Mom Was Crazy Irish / 4. My Ex / 5. Unrequited Love / 6. Artificial Intelligence / 7. Emoji