Everyday Art

Mundane objects make for "Out of the Ordinary" works

Comments (0) By Kelly Klaasmeyer Thursday, Aug 24 2000

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By contrast, Brent Steen's videos are appealing while you watch them, but they fade quickly from memory. V-8 (2000), his slightly slowed-down dance to Bob Dylan's version of "Moonshiner," shows the artist's feet shuffling along in white socks as V-8 juice splatters on the floor. It's a mellow and nicely silly dance inspired by Steen's post-hangover vegetable-juice consumption. The works are straightforward and simple without dialogue, relying on the artist's deft musical choices to convey emotional timbre. In untitled (run) (2000), Steen chases in slow motion after the moving camera on a beach, set to the theme from Chariots of Fire. The moody score adds tension and humor.

Mel Ziegler presents three striking sculptures: large-scale antique display cases stuffed full of straw. Instead of displaying bric-a-brac, golden straw presses against the glass, its hayloft smell escaping from the cracks. The expanse of straw over the flat glass surfaces is highly graphic and functions almost as a drawing. Conceptually, the packing subverts the purpose of display and creates a slightly anxious sense of overcapacity.

Contemporary Arts Museum

Magnified pointillism: Todd Brandt's installation covers 400 square feet with tiny paint-filled containers.

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On view through October 8
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Contemporary Arts Museum, 5216 Montrose

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Rebecca Holland has the subtlest work in the show and is consequently at a disadvantage. She covered a free-standing gallery wall with a dusting of fragile and ephemeral milkweed. The fuzzy white organic material scattered across the matte white of the wall creates a quiet flicker that gets slightly lost in a group show. It really needs a space of its own. Running consistently through the gallery, Beam (2000) is a single strip of wood flooring gold-leafed by the artist. It is fairly effective as it resurfaces throughout the show, creating a continuous visual thread.

While there are other Texas artists equally or even more appropriate for inclusion, this CAM exhibition presents a solid selection. With several of the younger artists, you would like to fast-forward a couple of years to see if their work is more resolved. But no one ever said this was a "best of" collection. It should be viewed as a thoughtful selection of works with "Out of the Ordinary" conceptual origins.