The objects presented in the exhibition A Delicate Constitution can generally be described with such terms as intricate, opulent, decorative, and sentimental. The four participating artists are loosely drawn to the formal aspects of Baroque and Rococo furnishings and interior decor, 19th century Romanticism, Victorian decorative arts, and Art Nouveau aesthetics, among many others. Whether it is the material used, the technique by which the work is assembled, or the themes addressed, each object  presented  in  the  exhibition represented a larger recent trend towards the highly decorative and handmade. This exhibition was not meant to be a comprehensive survey of this trend, but rather a focus on the practice of four artists from this region who seem drawn to this movement either in technique or subject matter, or both.

 

The adaptation of this aesthetic, which over the history of art has been deemed quaint, beautiful, or merely ornamental was radically transformed by Feminist Art of the 1970s. By appropriating objects traditionally associated with domestic subjects or forms of art making, many women of the period were able to  create  works  that  reexamined  the  meanings associated with what was considered a feminine, and therefore less serious practice. Although most of the artists in this exhibition did not address gender specifically, they did delve into the potentially subversive elements of the “decorative” object in different ways, asking in turn for the viewer to question his or her own assumptions and associations with such objects.

 

Linda Cordell finds inspiration for her animal and insect porcelain sculptures in the history of animal sculpture in European art. The pieces on view at the PAA reflected the lifelike realism and the classical style of such movements as the 19th Century French School of sculpture, Les Animaliers, and Victorian Staffordshire porcelain. The intricate and  highly decorative sensibility of Victorian and French  motifs are referenced in the realistic depiction of animals such as dogs, squirrels, and weasels, yet their anthropomorphic behavior suggests an alternative interpretation: one involving human sexuality, violence, and death. What was once considered a fashionable collector’s item at the turn of the century has become a vehicle for Cordell to explore human behavior as well as our questionable relationship with the animal kingdom.

 

Carson Fox has been developing two bodies of work simultaneously for several years: one involving floral pieces formed into wreaths and kissing balls; and one involving the use of thin wire fashioned into delicate screens of patterned lace or text. Both bodies of work stem from and interest in memorial or funerary motifs--both in their enticing beauty as well as their symbolic history in American Southern culture.

 

Colleen Toledano is powerfully influenced by outward signs of traditional femininity. Whether it is a perfume bottle  or  a compact  of  blush, a hair comb or a garter belt, Tolendano indulges in the superficial beauty of these objects, seducing the viewer  through   the  polished   and  intricate  surfaces  created through the use of porcelain, pewter, or sterling silver. Upon closer inspection, however, most of these objects have secondary, functional purpose as an object for defense.  Decorative objects more familiar to women turn into powerful weapons: a perfume bottle transforms into a grenade, a metal comb becomes a brass knuckle, or a blusher can be used as a harpoon. 

 

Whether the work is printed directly on the wall or is an intricate web of paper and fabric weaved into a sculptural object, artist Eva Wylie uses the screenprint as the primary material for her pieces. Deriving her imagery from the internet as well as other graphic sources such as magazines or product designs, Wylie displaces the content of these images from their origin and creates new forms that play with the concepts of ornament, structure, and spatial illusion. The meaning of the original image is stripped of its significance and given over to a structure that becomes primarily ornamental.   In these temporary works at the PAA, flat  screenprints  were molded into elegant   amorphous  patterns  resembling  a  patchwork quilt. Each are intricately woven or printed, referencing more traditional concepts of ornamentation or the decorative object in American culture.

 

 

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