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Various, often alternative, notions of conflict are lugged together in Hyde Park’s newest installation, forming a complex geometry of social commentary. Wandering from the real—sometimes even close enough to approach being reparative—to the erotically bizarre, the works examine the greater product of violence at a base level. In her Jacquard-woven series of video stills, “Maquiladora,” artist Christine LoFaso binds the arresting facial expressions of several Guatemalan sweatshop workers to canvas with seemingly oxidized gold metallic yarn. Judith Brotman’s emphatically primal textile sculptures, “Objects for Perfect Strangers,” address schema collision more generally. Still much of the finite viewer attention in this overall exhibition is ruthlessly seized by New York curator Joshua David Riegel’s challenge to root out a unique perspective on the sparring nature of social identities. Admittedly, picking up this logical gauntlet is somewhat fun, in a LSAT practice exam, hyper-challenging video game sort of way. Yet, after passing the final level, your reward awaits at a social vantage point where self-importance compresses into something like ozone and a hearty guffaw can be heard for miles. Sorry, Mario, the princess is in another castle. (Patrick Klemz) Through January 6 at HYDE PARK ART CENTER
Visual Art Culture of Chicago and Beyond
