Art Day of the Dead

It is a rare occurrence in Knoxville for someone to curate a themed exhibit around a holiday. When it does happen, it invariably centers on Halloween. It could be because there’s so much inspiration to be found in the macabre and scary iconography of the holiday. But the upcoming exhibit at the Duplex, curated by Bran Rogers of PoMoNoBo Productions, goes beyond predictable clichés. The exhibit investigates the intersections of Halloween, and the Mexican festival Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, in our current social climate. The eight artists included in the exhibit are Rogers, Jenna Hancock, Josh Godin, Sarah Long, Jenny Rich, Chase Adams, Katherine Metz and Kari Hancock.

This will be the first exhibit housed in the Duplex, a small building at 619 West Hill Ave., situated between the historic Mary Boyce Temple House and Lord Lindsey’s. (Local architect Brian Pittman is renovating the properties.) Rogers is planning the largest exhibit of the show: a haunted house lighting effect that will be viewable outside the still rather vacant-looking Mary Boyce Temple House. Collaborating on the project will be local sculptor Carrie Walker, whose last project along these lines was an illumination installation in one of the now-departed warehouses on West Jackson Avenue. The front lawn of the Duplex will host a cemetery constructed from found objects and a collection of wisteria and kudzu vines. Rogers, who grew up creating elaborate Halloween installations on the large front porch of his parent’s house, will lead a group of artists from Cradle Artist Collective for this project.

Jenna, an art major at the University of Tennessee, will have an assortment of paintings in the exhibit. Also a member of the local cabaret, Boozehound Gandy Dance, Hancock will paint with anything with which she can make a mark, including fingernail polish and butter.

Multi-talented illustrator, photographer and musician Godin — who performs in local bands Senryu and Matgo Primo — executes illustrations of strange creatures, humans and robots, which can frequently be seen around town on promotional posters for live music shows. For the Halloween show, he has created a character named Marcos Dimitri, a tiny demon with a halo and bat wings. Due to a severe lack of candy production in the various levels of hell, Marcus is one of a tiny handful of demons sent up to the surface once each year to gather as many sweets as possible on the night when such an act would be the most plausible.

A series of photos by Rich capture the holiday in an altogether different light. Gem-colored-wrapped candies are lined up on a table in the composition of a classic still life in “Rich Candy.” A pair of hands paint green leaves autumn colors in “Sick of Summer.” Her work characteristically has strong, abstract compositions and a love of saturated color.

Kari makes small sculptures out of crocheted yarn and mixed media. She refers to them as Amigurumi, a term referring to the traditional  Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. Amigurumi are typically cute animals but can include inanimate objects endowed with anthropomorphic features. Breaking the “cute” law, Kari has made bats, eyeballs, ghosts and pumpkins. Her creations blend the Japanese technique with the Mexican Day of the Dead tradition of leaving small toys on graves for the spirits of los angelitos (little angels, children who have passed away). Many believe that carrying Día de los Muertos items with them (tattoos, small skulls, dolls of the dead) can bring good luck.

Working with both abstract and representational images, Adams will paint and draw on everything from jigsaw puzzles to the gallery walls on which his work is hung. His exhibits are usually a consistent series of interrelated images that interact with the space in which they are displayed. He will not disclose what he will be bringing to the Duplex, preferring to surprise people.

A meticulous draftsperson, Metz is also a member of Gypsy Hands Tribal Fusion Dance Troupe. Her pen-and-ink drawings of fantasy creatures have the slightly dark edge associated with fairy tales.

This vibrant exhibit by eight emerging artists should not be missed this Oct. 1. The Duplex is just a short drive to the south side of downtown, or a quick walk from the First Friday Trolley.

PoNoMoBo Halloween Art Show Reception
Friday, Oct. 5
The Duplex (619 West Hill Ave.) / 6 p.m.-10 p.m.