Critic's Choice Review

Of our current show "Summer Meat II: Bodywork" as seen in the Critic's Choice section of the Chicago Reader.

As the title suggests, this show focuses on the human form—and, often, its dismemberment. In T and A, Lily Mayfield positions photos of women's chests atop photos of their butts, creating desexualized pomo fetish Borgs. In an untitled collage series, Wayne Bertola takes 19th-century engravings of fashionable ladies and affixes not-quite-identifiable organic forms to their heads, creating sinister helmets. For Botanical Entrails: Spontaneous Joyful Departure, Jacob C. Hammes crafted realistic innards out of expandable foam and then scattered them around, creating the impression that someone has quietly exploded in a corner of the gallery. Maybe the most telling effort, though, is Erin Cramer's The Russet Apple. Made out of sculptural paper, the piece depicts a crucified baby. Its stomach opens to reveal an apple/heart, which in turn opens to reveal a series of childlike drawings of sheep, pretty houses, and skulls. The same interplay between innocence and defilement animates many of the works on display, connecting them to horror film and pornography—and, inevitably, to the image of Christ on the cross.
Secular age or no, this show is a reminder that the Passion still has a remarkably strong influence on how we think about the body. (Noah Bertlasky)