“The future is friendly,” say the Telus rabbits. But then
again, they’re selling something. When there’s no sales
pitch involved, what might a rabbit–influenced outlook
on life and the future be?
The current exhibition at the McMaster Museum of Art,
entitled …the beast not found in verse, features five
artists using rabbits and other animal imagery to assess
and interpret contemporary social issues. “The use of
animal imagery in these pieces creates an entry point
into the works and helps us to consider and contemplate
the harsh realities of the day,” says Frank Shebageget, a
curator from Ottawa who wrote the museum’s essay on
this show.
The artists in the show have been linked based on their
thematic similarities, although each works individually
and with his or her own choice of mediums and
approaches. The common tie is the use of animals as a
way to communicate and express their views. “The
artist’s choice of animal is specific to the message each
intends to convey,” says Shebageget.
Leesa Streifler’s pieces show black rabbit silhouettes
encasing figures and other drawings. In “X–Ray Bunny”
a four–panelled dissection of the black rabbit is coupled
with another bunny form within, appearing to show a
kind of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde scenario. “It’s the rather
menacing skeletal depiction of a fearsome creature
within the sweet form of a bunny,” Streifler describes.
“This is used as a metaphor for the ways in which
appearances often do not represent the truth.”
In other pieces, there are figures trapped within the
bunny, which the artist explains as “referencing the
conflict between our natural selves, the bunny, and our
human desire.”
Mary Anne Barkhouse’s installation depicts a hearth
scene, including a full fireplace–style mantle. Resting
atop the mantle are three trophies, with inscriptions of
the speech President George Bush gave to Congress
after 9/11. The flanking trophies are copper ravens,
while the centrepiece trophy is a bronze vulture. Above
the mantle are cast antlers, and lounging in front is a
charred, wooden sculpture of a wolf. By incorporating
the president’s speech Barkhouse alerts the viewer to
the connection between politics and celebrating the
death of natural things.
“It seems to be the human way to view nature as our
enemy, something which we need to be on guard
against, struggle with, conquer and contain,” Barkhouse
says.
Michael Belmore also uses a raven in his plastic mylar
drawings. In his case the raven holds a different
meaning. “The raven, largely viewed as a pest by city
dwellers, recalls recent concerns about migratory birds
as carriers of the West Nile Virus and the Bird Flu,”
Shebageget suggests. “With our growing fear of a
pandemic, what is the future of the raven?” The flock of
raven images are mounted vertically, which requires
your head to twist to be able to take the whole work in.
The bizarre sculptural pieces of Mary Catherine
Newcomb show frogs and mice in contorted positions,
which could be interpreted as a funky version of yoga, or
a demented scientific study on the ways these creature
shouldn’t move. The creatures are intertwined, mutated
and forced into abnormal sexual positions.
“The mice are simply about the casual destruction and
loss of small beings that are not important. They refer to
the casualties inflicted by immortal or irresponsible
powers,” says the artist. “The individual pieces reflect
psychological experiences or conflict.”
I was told by a museum staffer that many visitors had
found the large scale images of Daniel Erban rather
disturbing. I, however, was not disturbed by the pointed
contrast between their massive, gilded ornate frames
paired with aggressive images of a child–like expression
of distress and angst. “My work deals with political
subjects and most of these drawings deal with torture in
an amusing and serious way,” Erban explains. “It deals
with some aspect of torture namely confining an
individual to a room with hungry rats or other small
animals with the intention of having the animal
eventually ending up eating the victim.”
All in all, …the beast not found in verse is an interesting
social commentary on how humans exist and use
animals as symbols of their own, perhaps destructive,
habits. The Telus rabbits and their ideas about the future
being friendly may be up against some hefty
competition—the general consensus among these
artists is that the future’s looking a little bleak. V
…THE BEAST NOT FOUND
IN VERSE
Artists: Leesa Streifler, Michael Belmore, Daniel Erban,
Mary Cathering Newcomb and Mary Anne Barkhouse
McMASTER MUSUEM OF ART
McMaster Campus
905.525.9140 x23081
Show ends December 23