Rising Stars Critiques

Rising Stars
by Rachel Koper, Austin Chronicle
November 5, 2004
Studio 107, through Nov. 30

"Rising Stars" is an apt title for this small but sparkling exhibit of works by Robert Pruitt, Leona Scull-Hons, and Young-Min Kang. Its curator, Till Richter, is known for his championship of the avant-garde and as a serious collector of conceptual art as well as brisk and original paintings and mixed media.

The show features short films by each of the three artists. I found Pruitt's slightly animated films about the adventures of "black stunt man" to be extremely amusing. The low-tech approach combines delicate graphite drawings on lined notebook paper with a boisterous and ironically repetitious hip-hop soundtrack. The story lines develop in dramatic lurches, showing an understanding of the fantastic possibilities of cartooning and the graphic power of storyboarding. Pruitt, who was featured in AMOA's "22 to Watch," has just received a $15,000 Houston Artadia grant, as have Amy Blakemore, Brian Wesley Heiss, Laura Lark, and Aaron Parazette. I have to agree with Richter: Pruitt is on the rise.

The film by Leona Scull-Hons was a close-up view of a nose and three torturous minutes of blackhead squeezing. Richter laughed as the audience squirmed. Scull-Hons' conceptual "photography-sculpture" is all about the bathroom. For it, she "borrowed" dirty towels from friends of the gallery, then washed and monogrammed them. Her work combines a tenderness with a "get out of my bathroom" creepiness.

Young-Min Kang is making ripples around Austin with his clever digital printing. For those who liked his large-scale work at "Construction Site" last month, his work here will not let you down. He told me that he "found a different solution" to one of his self-diagnosed creative problems: the extreme stretching of perspective space. His abstract print work appears about 4 feet by 12 feet on the wall, flat and mostly a constellation of earth tones with a few streaks of pink and yellow. But if you lean against the wall next to the piece and look at it sidelong, you will see a bodacious blond woman in a pink bikini and short shorts. Kang has made a secret, an image within an image. Secrets are always interesting. These three recent UT grads are indeed producing clever things for your viewing entertainment.


Home	Rising Stars Vol. 1 Reviews	Cali Girl Dancing by Young-Min Kang, 2004, 40" x 100"
Rising Stars by Rachel Koper, Austin Chronicle November 5, 2004 Studio 107, through Nov. 30 "Rising Stars" is an apt title for this small but sparkling exhibit of works by Robert Pruitt, Leona Scull-Hons, and Young-Min Kang. Its curator, Till Richter, is known for his championship of the avant-garde and as a serious collector of conceptual art as well as brisk and original paintings and mixed media. The show features short films by each of the three artists. I found Pruitt's slightly animated films about the adventures of "black stunt man" to be extremely amusing. The low-tech approach combines delicate graphite drawings on lined notebook paper with a boisterous and ironically repetitious hip-hop soundtrack. The story lines develop in dramatic lurches, showing an understanding of the fantastic possibilities of cartooning and the graphic power of storyboarding. Pruitt, who was featured in AMOA's "22 to Watch," has just received a $15,000 Houston Artadia grant, as have Amy Blakemore, Brian Wesley Heiss, Laura Lark, and Aaron Parazette. I have to agree with Richter: Pruitt is on the rise. The film by Leona Scull-Hons was a close-up view of a nose and three torturous minutes of blackhead squeezing. Richter laughed as the audience squirmed. Scull-Hons' conceptual "photography-sculpture" is all about the bathroom. For it, she "borrowed" dirty towels from friends of the gallery, then washed and monogrammed them. Her work combines a tenderness with a "get out of my bathroom" creepiness. Young-Min Kang is making ripples around Austin with his clever digital printing. For those who liked his large-scale work at "Construction Site" last month, his work here will not let you down. He told me that he "found a different solution" to one of his self-diagnosed creative problems: the extreme stretching of perspective space. His abstract print work appears about 4 feet by 12 feet on the wall, flat and mostly a constellation of earth tones with a few streaks of pink and yellow. But if you lean against the wall next to the piece and look at it sidelong, you will see a bodacious blond woman in a pink bikini and short shorts. Kang has made a secret, an image within an image. Secrets are always interesting. These three recent UT grads are indeed producing clever things for your viewing entertainment.
Studio 107 Displays Racial Identity Issues by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, American-Statesman Arts Critic October 24, 2004, Austin American-Statesman (TX) Young-Min Kang intrigued recently with his large photo-based sculptures that were part of a temporary exhibit in the unfinished AMLI buildings. But with his work that's in "Rising Stars Vol. 1" now at Studio 107, the private residence cum sometime alternative gallery, Kang really impresses. For one thing, the Korean-born Kang is capable of producing some incredibly sophisticated artistic comments on racial identity. His "Being in 1967" is a gathering of framed black-and-white photos, family portraits of various sorts, lined up on a shelf. Only on a second look do you realize that Kang has digitally messed with the stiff images of short-haired Caucasian men in suits and blond bouffant-haired bridesmaids, substituting his face for theirs. And then there's a series of a half dozen portraits in an accordion-style frame. At one end, the male figure is Caucasian and as the images progress to the other end, they morph slowly into Kang's Asian face. That's one way for a foreigner to "blend in" in the United States, Kang suggests tongue-in-cheek. Robert Pruitt also wrestles artistically with race issues. Like he did in "22 To Watch" at the Austin Museum of Art two years ago, Pruitt presents super-large drawings on ordinary butcher paper that mix traditional African images with contemporary African American figures. "They just mad cuz they kaint get between us" shows an African man in tribal garb hugging an African American man in ordinary street clothes. Parts of the figures (both are nearly life-size) are rendered with incredible detail; other parts are drawn in sweeping outline. Together the two drawings' techniques make for a single dynamic and fluid portrait that sum up one young artist's experiments with the complicated images surrounding African American culture. 'Rising Stars Vol. 1' continues 1 to 6 p.m. through Nov. 30. 411 Brazos, No. 107, free, 477-9092, www.studio107.com jvanryzin@statesman.com; 445-3699
Studio 107 was created to establish a dialogue among contemporary artists and to introduce contemporary art to more of Austin. The works shown at Studio107 are edgy, contemporary, humorous, and technically excellent in execution, concept, implication or all three. The artists who show in this space are dedicated to producing high quality art even if it means late nights after a hard day's work somewhere else. They strive to challenge their peers to achieve a higher level of perception. If you would like to see the work in person or get on our mailing list email liz@studio107.com or call 512.477.9092. Studio 107 is in the downtown area of Austin, TX in the 200 block of East 5th ST, Unit 107. If you would like your work considered for future shows mail slides, cd with digital images or color photocopies to Studio 107 - 411 Brazos, Unit 107, Austin, TX 78701