My banner paintings will be on display this Spring at The Gallery Project in Ann Harbor, Michigan.

CIRCUS
MARCH 28 THRU May 4
Opening Reception~ March 29 6-9 p.m.
Curated by Erin Garber-Pearson & Joe Levickas

“According to our folklore, it began with running away. The ill-suited participant in mainstream society ran off to become part of something less rigid, less strict, and less “normal.” Through the circus, they participated in a dream life, where they were no less welcomed than anyone else, and where things were possible that elsewhere would not be. This version of the circus serves as an analogy for living a dream instead of living a practical stable life.”

“But the truth about the circus, especially in the present-day, is more complex.   Nowadays, circus professionals are often highly-trained performers who enrolled at specials schools to learn and hone their craft. Professional circus shows, from Barnum & Bailey to Ringling Brothers to Cirque du Soleil, are comprised of hard-working, talented performers who in many cases have gotten to their current position only after years of dedicated study and practice.”

“Meanwhile, variations on what we know of as the Circus have begun to emerge more prominently in do-it yourself carnival groups, radical theater, physical storytelling, parades, festivals and other group celebrations. The ethos of the circus has filtered down into our psyches and remains in our minds, even as the traditional circus loses its prominence.”

“The power of the Circus, both historically and presently, lies in its ability to re-define and challenge our beliefs about the possible: conquering what is dangerous, doing what is thought to be physically impossible, reconstructing what is anatomically “correct”… This exhibition will explore the issues that arise in the context of circus— spectacle, mystery, deception/ truth, physical acts of danger and athleticism, sexiness/ the grotesque, a fascination with the strange and unusual— and investigate its history, politics and aesthetics, as well as its colors, costumes and performers.”