A R T L E T T E R
The Timely Magazine of Art
#41 | <!>previous/ next>!> Artletter index | November 15, 1996 |
Asian Show at the MFAH 1/19 A deep breath and a sigh of relief. So simple, so beautiful, so sensual and so spiritual. The female figure from Cambodia is the first thing you see when walking in. Armless and headless and yet she remains whole - her being held within her torso, her belly. A sensual delight which is not pandering to the male eye. In the same way a bronze sculpture of Parvati combines breathtaking sexiness (did you see those tits!) with a still facial expression and centeredness that transcends the lushness of her body without either denying or acknowledging it. That is just the way she is. This stillness at the core, the focus on what is within and the obliviousnes to the viewer's gaze grants dignity to Celestial Entertainer and Buddhas alike. Unlike most Western art, which reaches without, these figures are content within themselves. - Francesca Fuchs Earlie Hudnall at John Cleary Gallery 12/4 Earlie Hudnall's photographs are marked by a slightly nostalgic but deeply felt humanism. Hudnall focuses on the picturesque rather than the conventionally beautiful. Seeking to portray the underlying humanity of his subjects, Hudnall photographs vulnerable, wrinkly old people and cute children; he avoids photographing adults in the prime of their guarded lives. Respectful and compassionate, Hudnall is strongly influenced by memory, recreating a nostalgic quasi-document of his childhood. Most of the children in his photographs are boys, most of the old folks are women, archetypal grannies with long apron strings. Many of Hudnall's photographs center on texture; a young football player's smooth skin contrasts with the dusty leather football he cradles in his arm; a weary old cowboy's incredibly sinewy arm is as beat up as his old blue jeans. Hudnall presents people being rather than people doing; a girl daydreams in a wagon, a retired metalworker rests his work-lined hands against the small of his back. Hudnall feels obligated as an African-American to "document his people". Acting as P.R. photographer for his race, he stresses the positive: universal human emotions which unite people rather than divide. He chooses to depict tranquility rather than passion, dignity rather than foolishness.-B.D. Annabel Livermore at Lynn Goode 12/1 Jim McGee's creation of a female alter ego, even if the idea is not original, is a nice move to break down the gender barrier. After all, as genital embryogenesis tells us, we all start as sexually undifferentiated fetuses. However, I wish he/she would leave behind the trite rehash of Van Gogh, Redon, and Roualt and move out of the 19th century to present work worthy of the end of the 20th.- Bernard Brunon Artletter is available the 1st and 15th of every month at Brazos Bookstore, Lawndale, Glassell School, Inman Gallery, Menil Store, CAM Store, Brazil Cafe, Diverseworks and the MFA bookstore. Mail subscriptions $15/year. Address letters to: Bill Davenport, 801 Tulane St., Houston TX 77007