Jason Lahr, a Painter and Assistant Professor at Notre Dame University, will be giving a visual presentation/lecture in the Spartan Auditorium, Building G, Room 100 on Tuesday, February 4th, from 1:00 - 2:00pm.
There will be an artist's reception for Jason Lahr's one-person show in Safety-Kleen Gallery One, in The Arts Center, Building H, Room 100, on Tuesday, February 4th, from 5:00 - 7:30pm. Refreshments will be served. The public is invited.
In “This Time,” the image of country outlaw musician, Waylon Jennings, emerges from a neon pink haze. Barely visible on a dark brown field is a TIE Interceptor from Star Wars; it floats above an 8-bit city skyline. Below the pixelated image of a turkey, appearing like a black spider, is the sinister logo of a Norwegian metal band, Darkthrone. Moving from blue to pink at the bottom of the painting is the following text:
Grinning in the slightly vacant way that always puts her in a bad mood, he spoke with blank confidence. “Well, you know I’m more of a big picture kind of guy.” She watched clouds scroll over silvery pools where rain had collected in low spots across the abandoned parking lot. “No” she replied. “No, you’re not.”
While the painting is composed by managing scale, color, and carefully adjusting the distribution of the work's forms, it is the convergence of a false sense of self, the euphoria of fantasy, and that naive sense of security which gives the work its gritty edge. Each element uses context to expand its inexplicable self-centeredness. The text's female voice promotes sarcasm and disbelief, questioning the male's character. Lahr engages us in a comprehensive dialogue, where we can observe and identify the conventions of power and control.
This event is co-sponsored by the Humanities Center Speaker Series, a Student Co-Curricular Fund, and the Gallery Program.
Special thanks goes to Packer Schopf Gallery/Chicago for assisting in developing Jason Lahr's exhibit. aronpacker@earthlink.net
The exhibit continues through February 13th. Contact Ed Krantz for information at 847.214.7405 or ekrantz@elgin.edu