Get swept up in SooVAC’s art

by Clea Felien

Soo Visual Art Center is showing its first annual invitational exhibition, Untitled 1. Untitled 1 presents eleven different artists who were curated by a panel of three jurors. The show includes a diverse compilation of drawings, paintings, photography, sculpture and video.
There are Julie Graves’ photos that enhance the color of urban landscapes. Photographing lush, vibrant straight shots of the street, she sometimes manipulates the surface by scratching the negative or the print in the darkroom. Graves’ photos are of alleys, vacant lots and abandoned buildings, places with a rich visual palette. The viewer is given much to project onto and into. Four colorful, beautifully rich photos of walls—perhaps in Mexico—posters of Frieda Kalho are plastered on walls and inside windows. This combined with graffiti and urban decay creates Graves’ beautifully rich art. Her work exemplifies the deterioration of space brought on by time. 
Also in the show are Judith Levy’s fantastic drawing/paintings of herself as a dog. All Levy’s work is created on white paper with black line and a little bit of color. Levy has a stark, almost 1920s, illustration style, reminiscent of Archie and Mehetabal. “Portrait of the Artist with Rival” is a self-portrait of Levy’s normal human head on a freaky French bulldog body. Levy-as-dog is staring face to face with another dog, her rival. These drawings are very funny, edgy, cartoon-like art with soul. Levy is an artist who can laugh at herself, in a way that encourages us to laugh at ourselves. “Portrait of the Artist with Food” portrays Levy-as-dog staring blankly at a bowl of dog food. “Portrait of the Artist with Muse #1” is of Levy-as-dog copulating doggie style with another dog. Particularly amusing is “Portrait of the Artist with Muse #2”: this poignant and very honest piece is of Levy-as-dog pooping. Who among us has not had an epiphany during this particular activity?
Colin Gatling uses chalkboard, latex and paint to create obsessively abstract drawings of circular forms, perhaps a world in clouds. Jada Vogt’s beautiful high contrast photos are from one room looking into another, or reflected onto another. Contemplative, and psychologically loaded.
Belva Harris’ large black and white photo portrays the complexity of gender identity. A woman with small breasts who wears only stuffed tighty whities, poses for male. 
Dave Bartley’s installation is of a large Plexiglas coffin-shaped box. Inside the box are torn crumpled sheets of black and white bible pages interspersed with torn color pages from a porn magazine.
Untitled 1 closes Aug. 18.
Following the Untitled 1 exhibit, SooVAC will begin a collaborative exhibit with InterAct Center’s Inside Out Gallery. InterAct is an arts organization specifically for artists with disabilities. SooVAC’s large front window will be showing the work of many of Inside Out’s artists, starting Aug. 19 and continuing through Sept. 11. There is also a garage sale pending.
There is also a monthly audio visual extravaganza presented by Everybody AV. A screening of “5 by 24” will be shown on Aug. 24. The evening before, on Aug. 23, from 6 – 9 p.m., a topic will be be presented in form of a sentence on SooVAC’s answering machine (612-871-2263). Anyone who wants to participate has 24 hours to make a film about that topic. (Some past sentences: “Wipe that smile off your face,” “If you get there before me don’t look back.”) All submissions will be screened on Sat., Aug. 24 at 8 p.m. Ten to 17 participants usually come. Go to www.EverybodyAV.com  for more information. 
Soo Visual Arts is located at 2640 Lyndale Ave. S., Mpls., 612-871-2263.