eyecandy   November 12 - December 18, 2004

INTRODUCTION

Presented as part of Art-O-Matic 2004, EYE CANDY is the visual dialogue between the members of the DC artists' collaborative Kiosk: Alan Callander, Ian Jehle and Karen Joan Topping and writer Ian Allen, founder and artistic director of Washington's own, Cherry Red Productions. The way a passing glance at a cute young thing can wreak havoc with one's concentration, this exhibit explores the nature of fleeting moments and the strategies used, consciously or otherwise, to lock those moments into memory. A pretty body may be the first kind of EYE CANDY that comes to mind. These artists also apply the idea to personality, personal history, intellectualism, trash ... and of course, sex.

EXHIBITION WORKS

Alan Callander
In Alan Callander's video Optic, digital self-portraits and home movies are disassembled and interspersed with obsessive exploration of abstract elements, forming a fractured two part narrative. A confluence of color, sound and recognizable narrative elements, the video simultaneously evokes the sensations of looking and being looked at. Alan Callander has shown work at film festivals in Washington DC, Toronto, Sydney, and Auckland, New Zealand and lives in DC.

Ian Jehle
Ian Jehle's series of portrait head drawings is the result of sifting through numerous digital photos taken surreptitiously at visual arts events around Washington, DC. In a continued examination of fact vs. fantasy, the known vs. the unknowable, all the heads relate back to the moment of the photograph as well as the artist's perception of the Œsitter'. Some of the individuals portrayed in the drawings are personally known to the artist while others are known only as personalities within the arts community. Ian Jehle received is MFA in visual art from Columbia University. He lives and works in Washington, DC.

Karen Joan Topping
Karen Joan Topping's installation "The Accident" continues her exploration of perception and memory, both personal and social, through materials and implied narrative. The sculpture was inspired when the artist happened upon a dropped and abandoned lollipop. The narrative implications of the scene were so strong, that she went back to the site a few hours later to gather up the discarded object. The installation evokes the sense of loss present in all found objects as well as the sadness associated with that loss. Karen Joan Topping lives and works in Washington, DC and most recently exhibited at the WPA/C's CornerViews in 2003.

Ian Allen
Ian Allen is the artistic director of Cherry Red Productions and, as such, is the "eminence sleaze" of DC theater (Wash Post). He is currently directing his first film, a remake of the 1922 silent cult classic, Trapped by the Mormons, about an evil, vampiric Mormon who uses his mesmeric powers to seduce young girls into moving to Salt Lake City to become his polygamous sex slaves. Coming too-soon to a theater near you! Prior to "Eye Candy," his most recent foray into visual art was at DCAC, where his "Poor Little Lamb," which featured a crucified Lamp Chop doll, sold for $100. Ian Allen's text was written specially for this exhibition.

EXHIBITION IMAGES