Habitat is a three-man show at the Regional Art Commission gallery (three black men, by the way). Indeed, Habitat is a three-piece show. “One thing you can say,” curator Thomas Sleet said, touring the exhibit, “it’s not crowded in here.”
Indeed, with only three pieces in a sizable room, Habitat is not crowded. However, it covers a relatively wide range, as each piece is made in a different medium with a different technique and aesthetic.
The eye is drawn, first, to Seitu James Smith’s large painting, “Liberation Theology: Truth and Rights as Habitat.” It is a topical, polemical, figurative painting of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright being crucified, with chickens on either side of him, lapping up the blood dripping from his palms.
The subtext, of course, is Wright’s argument – much used against Barack Obama – that 9/11 was America’s chickens coming home to roost. (This, in turn, echoes the same claim made by Malcolm X, in the same terms, regarding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.)
Since Smith’s style is so plain (as Malcolm X preferred his introductions), and the symbolism so legible, not much else needs to be said about this particular piece. Certainly, seen in the right (or wrong) company, it could be a conversation starter!
As the eye gravitates toward Smith’s big, bold, plain painting, the ear will be diverted by the musical aspect of William Morris’ piece, “New World,” which is a video, edited to the startling track “New World in My View” by King Britt with Sister Gertrude Morgan, a Philadelphia deejay’s mashup of a sanctified gospel song.
Morris’ technique is imagistic. For much of the piece, the center of the frame is a blur of symbols and signs. At times, these images flash above a lake of fire. Later in the piece, a bleeding red sun slowly sinks in the sky. There is also cloud imagery, and wonderfully corny archival footage that directly imports the idea of heaven.
The music and imagery are so gorgeous and so carefully crafted that it seems to go against the grain to reduce this piece to one simple point. However, Morris gives us this option, in closing with a fragment of Luke 8:18: “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on earth?” It’s probably always a good time to ask that question again.
The curator, Thomas Sleet, gives himself a taste in this show. Though Sleet’s conceptual sculpture “Imation” may be the last to draw in the eye or ear, I found myself giving it the most thought, both while I was in the space at RAC and after I left. Sleet has made a pyramid-like structure by stacking – side by side in rows, and then on top of each other in staggered columns – a large number of small cement castings in the shape of the letter “I.”
The piece led me to reflect on individualism and its illusions. Each piece of the structure, in and of itself, proclaimed nothing but “I.” Yet no “I” in the structure stands alone. The structure stands only because every “I” stands beside others, upholds others, stands upon others, and leans against others. This is just as true of the ones in the structure that are standing sideways or at an angle, which reminds us that every person flying their little freak flag of radical individualism is actually just one of many, part of a mutually supportive community structure.
Sleet seems to be telling us: If you think it’s all about you, then you’re focusing on far, far too small of a piece of a picture. That’s good looking out.
Terrell Carter’s feature on this show was posted earlier this week on stlamerican.com and is still available online.
Habitat is showing at the Regional Art Commission (6128 Delmar Blvd., in the U. City Loop) through June 29. It is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Call 863-5811 or visit www.art-stl.com.
Terrell Carter’s feature on this show was posted earlier this week on stlamerican.com and is still available online. Click here to view Carter’s review.
