Greg Brown Tribute Show
August 3 - September 15, 2012
Reception IDADA First Friday, September 7, 6-9 pm
Dewclaw
is currently presenting work by Greg Brown, who passed away in July.
This selection of works is a summary show; an informal grouping of
Greg's visual art endeavors over the years. Much of his art is
closely connected to his writings and his person-to-person outreach
interactions. We look forward to organizing more in-depth
presentations in the future. For now, please join us for this tribute
showing of Greg Brown's visual art.
********
Greg
Brown opened Utrillo's Art in Indianapolis in 1994. This space served
as a picture and frame shop, a thrift art store, a poetry and music
venue, and a gallery exhibition space. He produced the 1990s cable
access show, Utrillo-vision, which showcased artists and events. He
presented artists from diverse backgrounds, with wide-ranging
artistic motives.
He
later focused on writing and distributing pamphlets, which reflected
his ongoing interpretations of biblical parables and the synoptic
Gospels. These works became entwined with his visual art, his
community outreach, his thoughts on subculture and dominant culture
dynamics, and even his physical abode. Utrillo's eventually became
House of Jsu, an interior and exterior installation of sorts. Greg
indicated that the House of Jsu was a physical symbol of subcultural
identity. He wanted to preserve this concept of independent identity, and through his
storefront and writings, offer a symbol for others seeking an
alternative to the dominant culture.
He
seemed to use the parable teachings to find gentle and kindly paths of revolution.
From the end of his 3/30/10 artist statement draft:
From the end of his 3/30/10 artist statement draft:
"...The ‘church’ of a sign of Jsu is the
uncomplicated presentation of the teaching.
The art of it, in this case, is one Hippie’s take on crackpot
evangelism. But even as sign painting
has been given free hand, the religious
symbols and pamphlets have been carefully constructed over long periods
of time. The effect being to forge
lasting connections between the symbols and the ideas they represent. The act of religious teaching; writing, and
symbol making happens all along the porous, disputed, border between the
tangible and intangible realities. It is a tradition that is filled with unnamed
participants from far away places.
Parable doctrine itself is an anonymous work that draws directly from
the work of other anonymous scribes.
More identity has been allowed the writers of the parable doctrine
commentaries and applications, but only
as a way to track a single individuals line of thought. Even at that, Hala Maloki and Alez Alatofo
are both aliases for the same writer.
The use of different names signals the change of emphasis from religion
to art, from the intangible to the tangible reality. There always have been some alternative
subculturals who never do assimilate all the way into either the dominant
culture or the dominant subculture. The
combining of alternative religion and art serves to strengthen them and help
them endure. The alternative subcultures
have over a century of history now. And
even though the Hipsters are the sixth assimilated generation, each new
generation has come into their own as unassimilated. Our ‘alter.’ should be maintained to help the
next generation, should they wish to continue in this tradition."
