Inquire Within

Posted on Tuesday, July 26

Marisa Andropolis
If Looks Could Kill
Oil 48″x36″

7th Annual Self-Portrait Exhibit
• Zhou B. Art Center, 1029 W. 35th Street
• Curated by Sergio Gomez
• On display from July 15th to August 15th

By Alexander Perry

When you look inward, what do you see? More importantly, what do you want others to see? Is there a difference between the two? This is the captivating riddle at the heart of all self-portraits. If the self is at its most authentic when nobody is looking, what happens when you try to depict that self with an audience in mind?

Visitors to the National Self-Portrait Exhibit at the Zhou B. Art Center (off Halsted and 35th street) are offered a fascinating look on how different artists tackle this problem. Now entering its seventh year, the free exhibit displays more than 100 works by artists from around the country. The gallery, which spans the entire first floor of the building, is spacious yet inviting. Tall columns reach up to high ceilings as natural light pours through windows and reflects gently off the dark grey of the stoney floor. The atmosphere is pleasant and subdued, enhanced by the trickling of a zen-waterfall. It is a great place to contemplate the self.

The scope of the collection, curated by Sergio Gomez, is impressive. A wide breadth of different media (from oil and charcoal to sculpture and video) detail an incredibly diverse take on the self. This diversity enhances the gallery tremendously. Some artists render themselves in stark relief while others play ironically with the form. Some engage in deeply spiritual themes, while others offer a more humorous peek into the self. With such an abundance of paintings, visitors can’t help but notice certain common features and their critical effect on a work. For example, does the subject in the painting have their eyes closed or open? Are they looking straight at the spectator or slightly away? Though subtle, how do these details affect the viewer and her perception of the artist? Why did the artist choose to make the portrait as she or he did? How does the work engage the audience? The gallery, expertly arranged by Gomez, guides visitors towards asking these kinds of questions without pretension.

A work that seems to largely ignore the audience is Christine Wuenschel’s “Waiting.” In it, a charcoal of a huddled figure lays with her back to the audience. There is something hauntingly vulnerable about the way her body is roughly sketched in a prayer-like posture. It is a particularly touching glimpse into the intimacy of solitude. Contrasted with this vulnerability is the playful and dangerous “If Looks Could Kill” oil on canvas by Marisa Andropolis. Andropolis grips a cigarette extension, her hand couched in black gloves, her shoulders bare, her lips smirking, and a dangerously raised eyebrow arching over inviting but fierce eyes. While Wuenschel’s work shows the self stripped bare, Andropolis’s work dares the spectator to look closer even while it condemns the viewer’s gaze.

Less confrontational is Pedro Palacios’s mixed media “Oracion De Una Madre.” This beautifully intricate work gives a subtle look into how Catholic iconography and imagery has imprinted its stamp on the self. It features the double imagery of the Madonna with child, housed in a tiny box wrapped in a rosary.  Near this work is John LaMacchia’s pair of photos “The more things change the more they remain the same.” It may at first be unclear what you are seeing, but once you realize the curved lines are a proud profile of LaMacchia’s hairy belly, you will be drawn in by its charm. While bold capitals label one photo “BEFORE” and another “AFTER,” it is hard to tell the difference between the two. While certainly comical, the self-portrait also works its mischief as you begin to wonder what event happened between the two photos to earn the dividing line of before and after.

In the same mischievous tone as LaMacchia’s photos is Pancho Panoptes’s award-winning video “Pancho’s First Bath.” While many of the self-portraits feature glimpses into the bathroom lives of the artist, none go as far as Panoptes’s work in actually showing a full bath. Pairing perhaps the most intimate space of our lives (the bathroom) with the music of the 1812 overture, “Pancho’s First Bath” is a brilliant portrayal of the majestic mundane. Even though Panoptes is wearing a gaucho Mexican wrestler mask, one gets the sense that this is not in fact a disguise, but truly a glimpse into his authentic self. Panoptes critically engages the inflated heroics of our daily inner lives in a delightfully compassionate way.

These are just a few glimpses into the countless self-portraits on display. The theme of the exhibit is intriguing all on its own, and the execution is fantastic. Highly recommended.