It’s a Cruel World

IT’S A CRUEL WORLD, curated by Paul Ha

It’s a Cruel World takes a good-natured look at the danger that surrounds us everyday. The artists in this exhibition stage calamities, investigate the potential for disaster that is ever-present, and use humor to diffuse the horrific. Although some of the accidents envisioned are grandiose, we are made to question whether or not they are so farfetched.

Lori Nix presents a series of photos entitled “Accidentally Kansas” that depicts tableaux of floods, fires, and nuclear disasters; Elise Ferguson sculpts a banana peel and cartoon-inspired “pit,” a portable hole in the ground that can be placed wherever needed; Gretchen Hupfel creates photographs of airplanes about to collide mid-air, and sculpture of model planes crashed into the gallery walls; Sabina Brandt Kelley, whose photographs explore various elements of the suburban landscape, here presents photos of empty swimming pool and grocery store accidents waiting to happen; Michelle Hines shows video stills of moments after a terrorist attack; Eric Weeks stages cinema-inspired views of ominous looking people; Jeanine Oleson sculpts a landscape of forty miles of bad road; Laura Larson presents a series of photographs taken at an institute where dollhouses are used to replicate crime scenes; Daniel Seiple builds traps to catch people.

Opening Reception: Friday, May 5, 7 – 9 p.m.
Gallery Hours: Wednesday – Sunday 12 – 6 p.m.

For more information, please contact Lauren Ross at the gallery.