'Blank/Deck' kicks off gallery's new year

Jon Hicks, Senior Staff Photographer
Published On: 01/12/2009

“Blank/Deck,” the UAB Visual Art Gallery’s first show of the new year provides an array of original art.

The exhibition is home to skateboards in a colorful and effective post-grunge, alternative/punk-meets-street hip-hop style that Thrasher magazine would probably appreciate coming from an Alabama-based university.

Thick burly mustaches, Mayor Larry Langford, blinking lights, hanging from the ceiling like a swing, a landscape view with a sky, a table and a furious arrangement of mixed media galore only begins to describe the various themes on and with skateboards at the “Blank/Decks” show.

Of the crazy mix of varied figurative and abstract designs on display, one of the most visually stimulating and unique pieces has to be from UAB Art and Art History’s associate professor of printmaking, Derek Cracco.

Presenting on an unusual two skateboards, Cracco, a skillfully respected printmaker and visual artist known for his keen attention to detail and luminosity, allows for viewers to peer into a very realistic sky and over a tree line of a vast landscape which Cracco sets up to appear as a two-fold painting of sorts.

Compared to many of the other pieces that appear very frozen and stop-motioned, Cracco’s piece, possibly pretentious in its attempt to catch the viewer’s eye, comes off with an overall strong and effective sense of movement and veracity to fluid form.

Likewise, Christopher Lowther, assistant professor of digital media, presents in his piece “Spur” a fluid sense of movement. Yet, unlike most of the real attention pulls of the skateboards, Lowther presents his cute little cowboy in toy form.

Possibly set to be overlooked by viewers is a variety of vinyl Munny Kidrobot toys, sleek little Japanese evoking cheer objects that many artists have also decorated and designed in various creative and expressive ways.

It is in the little emotional detailed laced toy “Spur” that Lowther conveys a cheerfully gay appeal to the cowboy ideal. Unfortunately the “cute appeal” of the toys might take away from the usually strong visually engaging and gender role-challenging artwork for which Lowther is known.

The show also presents work from respected artists Erin Wright, Doug Baulos, Clayton Colvin, John Fields, Walt Creel, Lloyd Cooper, Jane Timberlake, Pat Snow, Dan Bynum, Megan Kimber, Amy Pleasant, Christopher Davis, Merrilee Challiss and many more.

The latest UAB VAG show runs through Jan. 30 and is worth a look — and possibly a buy.

Email: jonathanm.hicks@gmail.com