Andrew Guenther "Talking to a Fish and Paraphernalia"

Freight and Volume

poster for Andrew Guenther "Talking to a Fish and Paraphernalia"

This event has ended.

"Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination-indeed, everything and anything except me."
— Ralph Ellison (Invisible Man)

"The mechanisms used to produce sound vary from one family of cetaceans to another. Marine mammals, such as whales, dolphins, and porpoises, are much more dependent on sound for communication and sensation than are land mammals, because other senses are of limited effectiveness in water. Sight is less effective for marine mammals because of the way water absorbs light."
— Wikipedia - "Whale Sounds"

As a multi-media artist Andrew Guenther defies quick categorization. To experience his art is to embrace a combination of experiences and visual sensations simultaneously: spiritually, physically, conceptually. He trips the light fantastic between a variety of media with ease, and his new exhibition "Talking To A Fish and Paraphernalia" @ F+V is no exception.

The central motif in Guenther's installation is an aquarium with a "talking fish" - a microphone immersed in the water broadcasts any communication the fish may emit during the course of the show. There is an animation screen behind the aquarium which features a dialogue between Mother Earth, Johnny Appleseed and Dr. Dolphin, the sound for which travels through underwater audio devices which Guenther built. There is a speaker emitting the synced audio entering one side of the tank and a receiving element exiting to external speakers on the other side, providing an off-chance for the fish to speak to people outside of the tank.

Part Mother Goose, part Joseph Beuys' coyote gallery habitation, Guenther presents a simple narrative with serious overtones: the trials and tribulations of Mother Earth as seen though a fisheye lens - a firsthand report from the frontlines of environmental consciousness. But Guenther is never didactic or heavy-handed in his narrative - like a puppeteer, he presents the elements in his theatre with a directness and lightheartedness which is as entertaining as it is sophisticated.

In addition Guenther presents a series of new mixed-media, papier-mache on canvas collages featuring his trademark "plate-face" women and hotdog men. Combining the abstract with the recognizable, Guenther shares more playful insights into a chronically absurd and dysfunctional planet - and never without humor.

Media

Schedule

from September 15, 2011 to October 22, 2011

Opening Reception on 2011-09-15 from 18:00 to 20:00

Artist(s)

Andrew Guenther

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