What Goes on and What Takes Place

Modified Arts, April 28 through March 12, 2011

The complexity of this show’s purported subject matter, displayed in the exhibition’s title, “What Goes on and What Takes Place”, is not apparent in the simple and uncomplicated forms presented. Ironically, this show was billed as a prolonged look at the process of each artist through a blog of the same name. But, in the end we have only the finished work to muse upon and no great insight into the aesthetic, theoretical or emotional mechanisms of these artists; with the possible exception of Martinez, the blog’s original author, who so overworked her subject that all mystery is driven from her final product.

While it fails on the “exploratory” note, there is still plenty to appreciate through the enticing works on display. Carolyn Lavender greets you upon entrance to Modified Arts with a collection of photos, pencil drawings and pen and ink collages featuring a variety of inquisitive faces, both animal and human, through which her sentimentality runs wild. In her massive centerpiece, “Portrait”, she tiles small pencil drawings of animal mug shots, ranging from lion to titmouse and ocelot to ostrich. Her intense attention to detail is evident and engaging. Each of her other pieces showcases her driving connection to things with a limited lifespan, up to and including the weathered pink flamingo she delicately photographed and framed. One photo montage in particular, entitled “Accidental Composition”, is a smattering of life forms in which the careful organizing and layering of the disparate photo clips belie her title and tell us that this work of art is anything but “accidental.”

With thoughts of the tangible in mind, we leave Lavender to encounter Mary Shindell. Her varied pieces move seamlessly from L.E.D. representations of cactus spines, to a video capturing the sketching of slender seed pods to a towering panel of digitally created saguaro cacti. Shindell, like Lavender, is inspired by and is herself a creation of the surrounding desert climate and its contrasting feasts of color and monochrome droughts. Although drawing is Shindell’s traditional form, she constantly updates, renews and expands her practice as evidenced by the juxtaposition of traditional drawing with digitally produced prints and modern lighting that weaves through her exhibition. The most potent expression of process that the show has to offer is in Shindell’s video through which we can see her drawing process from beginning to end, even listening to the scratch of ink quill on paper.

The dramatically thick and detailed works of Shindell do nothing to prepare you for the intensity and chaos of Sue Chenoweth. Chenoweth’s works, which she expressed once in a Graduate Class visit as “cartographic timelines”, are about a very specific place in Chenoweth’s memory and the story that animates that place. Her eccentric nature is represented by any single artwork through which she shares her dreams about everything from fire, ghosts, and global warming to oceans, volcanoes and the sensation of transforming into a great white shark. Her artist’s process is mildly available in the outlying edges of several pieces where she has left penciled notes and scribbles visible under the paint.

A subscriber to the theory of visible processes, we now visit Monica Aissa Martinez. Her focus is the inner workings of her own body; painting fragmented versions of herself in rainbow colors with bones, brains and organs exposed. She explores the connections of mind, body and spirit through exposing what is usually hidden and illuminating the important structures that make our complex bodies work. Most interesting about Martinez’s work is the way she subtly fits small lightning bolts, fingers of energy, to the larger works. In her centerpiece, “Creative Structure — I am, Yo soy — Estructura Creativa”, I am searching for the energy lines which emerge from the ankles, fingertips, head and uterus of the subject. In these mini-bursts of electricity, my mind is searching for the significance and energy that seems to be otherwise devoid, despite the exposed process that Martinez used to create it.

These four artists have disparate styles, mediums, subjects and forms. I believe their simplicity is deliberately deceiving, but may perhaps be better left to speak for itself without the guise of being process based work. On the surface, this show is simply attractive and eclectic, but spending time with these artists will draw you into their worldviews and introduce you to their shared, sophisticated view of transience that is only available below the surface and just out of view.

CityScape: Miracle or Monstrosity?

The façade of CityScape: Phoenix projects money and success. Gleaming steel towers, public fountains, chic restaurant patios spill satisfied patrons on to Phoenix sidewalks. Steel and stone store fronts display myriad posh consumer goods, enticing food choices and the promise of bountiful, if sterile, entertainment. This is modern. This is urban. This is another in a long line of massive and arguably obscene structures imposed top-down on the city center’s landscape, always with the promise of a “downtown revival”. One glaring problem with this oft used missive is that people don’t live in Phoenix for the promise of urban. People live here so they can see the sky, feel the sun and shower more than 15 feet from their neighbors; Phoenix is the antithesis of urban. Here, growth is the number one goal and sprawl is the name of the game.

Considering the imposing four square block footprint (two towers, one under construction and three two story structures holding most of the retail and food), there is a lot of really ugly façade. There is little appeal from the ground level outside of the unavoidable focus of attention, the corner of Washington and Central from which all of the major business attractions have their entries, minus a few outlying restaurants. Two fountain laden patios are encased by bright display windows exposing hipster apparel or well-stocked and expensive-looking bars. This space represents the culminating point of the entire complex. Visitors, to enhance their own experience, may do well to keep their attention on this corner and kindly ignore all of the other unimpressive blocks where banal walls confront the streets.

Flipside. Lifelong and long time residents (full disclosure: I was born here) are excited to see Phoenix begin to stake a claim on the list of America’s “big cities”. We already have the fifth largest geographic area, sixth largest population, enviable weather patterns and a very reasonable cost of living. What we don’t have: expansive and reliable public transportation, respect for the inherent arts and culture scene (more on this in a minute), an undisputed center of urban activity, or a reputation worthy of a big city. Phoenix, while slowly maturing, suffers from a case of “Little Sister Syndrome” where all the big kids get to play and you are forced to remain indoors with admonitions of being too young to roughhouse with the older children. “Really,” Mommy insists, “it is for your own good.” 

The ensuing state of insecurity and rebellion drives local leaders to stomp their feet and insist that, darn it, we are old enough to play with the big kids and to prove it…witness our skyscrapers! In the childhood equivalent of climbing the scariest tree in the neighborhood, city officials have bestowed lucky residents with CityScape, the rosy vision of what RED Development, LLC thinks the “Urban Heart of Arizona” should look like. Visit the website and you will be inundated with progressive urban planning buzzwords like “mixed-use,” “community activity” and “revitalized” while the complex boasts space for retail, restaurants, a hotel and offices but no residential, as originally promised.

In addition to the loss of residential space, which consequently leaves a giant dirt lot on a prime block of downtown real estate, many of the national retail and restaurant chains that were originally on board (PF Chang’s, and NYC clothing staple H&M for example) have also backed out. However, the eclectic mix has been retained with a good mashup of restaurants and bars, a comedy club, Gold’s Gym, fancy-pants bowling alley and CVS Pharmacy. The retail leaves much to be desired when each of the six stores has the words boutique, designer or couture in the description. However, each of these establishments adds to the existing plate of downtown offerings which is woefully inadequate when it comes to services such as groceries, pharmacies and after-dark activities for grownups.

Downside. All of this feels like a jarring sucker punch to the dedicated residents and motivated transplants that have expended years of blood, sweat and tears creating a diverse, grassroots and respectable arts and culture scene in downtown Phoenix. Those who know this scene best will tell you that there is some incredible talent and real a motivation for expansion residing here. In general, this crowd abhors “lifestyle developments” such as CityScape which can squash individuality and small businesses under its gigantic concrete footprint and favored tax status. Bringing in money-hogging projects such as this, the thinking goes, does not lead to long-term sustainable commerce but instead a never-ending series of sweetheart tax deals for corporate developers that stifle actual development. For instance, to entice understandably nervous retail tenants during the recession, the city tossed in $120 million in tax relief to prevent more firms from backing out of the project. That’s a lot of money, especially to independent entrepreneurs who won’t see $120 million in their entire working lives, and there is no guarantee that the city will recoup that money through sales tax revenue when the market is still so shaky. Adding this kind of volume in retail activity can steal sales from existing businesses and end up further depressing the overall market.

Upside. The lucky token in CityScape’s pocket is the event calendar. Since the grand opening in December, 2010, it has hosted more than two dozen large-scale community events including charity fundraisers, a holiday ice skating rink (yes, ice), Mardi Gras Parade, St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl and an all-day New Year’s Eve bash that drew more than 30,000 people. Weekends frequently see southwest themed festivals (such as Tequilazona) and free live music. The outdoor courtyards, while derided as concrete parks by some, are ideal for throwing big outdoor parties while the weather is good. Being at the city’s historic starting place, the zero-zero corner of Central and Washington, gives the complex certain credibility even if it is only contrived. But, since the goal is increased foot traffic in downtown, the packed, varied and generally family-friendly calendar is a plus all the way around.

CityScape has potential. It probably represents the most progressive structure in the city center right now and it is attracting/retaining the requisite numbers of tenants and visitors, despite the recession, to make city officials happy. Local business leaders are hoping for a “trickle out effect” that will lead to better sales for all of the surrounding establishments. Arguably, it is an eyesore, particularly from the south side, and bears no aesthetic or architectural resemblance to its neighbors. Perhaps Phoenix is not the right city for “lifestyle developments” of this nature that compete with existing established commerce. Proponents of bottom-up development have been working diligently to create a city brand that does not include another indistinguishable high rise with overpriced retail, and this is a 32 story thorn in their side. Phoenix is definitely experiencing some growing pains right now. But hopefully we can reach the top of this scary tree without falling out, finally proving that we are ready to play with the big kids.