This Friday at Artchitecture is the opening of Poise, Posture, and Profanity, an exhibition by Andrea Heimer and Arabella Proffer that will no doubt offer up primo, poignant, progressive, positions, on portraiture. Proffer, a Cleveland artist, will be showing works for the first time here in over 2 years and is sure to please with her take on the nuances of self expression and personally created narratives by exploring how we choose to identify with certain groups or movements. And how by belonging to such groups we choose to separate ourselves from everyone else by adhering to loosely defined codes of fashion, body maintenance and manipulation. It’s funny how rebellion can have rules too. How do I look like what I’m thinking and believing in. I want my piercing and blue hair to speak for me….blue hair says, “F-U jocks”.
Okay that’s a little crazy flashback to some bad high school movies but what is cool about Proffers paintings are their references to 15th-17th century Mannerist portraits. How fashion and jewelry in paintings are meant to symbolize class and status. Fashion still does symbolize so much in culture. Only for Proffer she positions her characters in the same historical manner therefore leveling the playing field and bridging the gap of class, history and self expression. Proffers paintings seem to want to assert that counter culture phenomena is also a sort of elitist class full of codes and symbols meant to show-off differences within the greater culture and maybe even to present a sense of entitlement. A celebration of being apart and shown through posture and knowing smirky gazes that being outside of mainstream is somehow…better. Who knows, but what I do know is that there can be lots to assume and stories to create when viewing the different players in Proffers painterly portraiture family tree.
Showing along side Proffer is Andrea Heimer who also dangles her feet in the portraiture pond. Heimer it seems plays more with comic art and portrayal of women and power in her graphic black line renditions of almond eyed crime heroines and fashion plates. Heimer, a native of, as vaguely stated on her website, the “pacific northwest”, seems to be attached to the sexy allure of the depiction of women in pop-culture and fashion. Its hard to say if its an homage or a challenge. But either way the result is an eye catching graphic leaning explosion of luscious lips, bold colors and strong women.
The opening reception is Friday and is open to the public. Check it out.
Artchitecture Gallery is proud to present:
An exhibition by Andrea Heimer and Arabella Proffer
Poise, Posture, and Profanity
April 24 – May 17, 2009
Opening reception 7-10 pm Friday, April 24, 2009
You do know, oh childhood neighbor of mine, that Proffer is pretty much my bestest friend in town? Our cats are brothers, even! And the show was awesome, did you get to stop over and see it?
I’m still trying to find a good baby-sitter who won’t eat all my popsicles.
Popsicles schmopsicles.