Ambiguous Prospects

Jun 4, 2010

Topic: Events |

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This weekend, Big Orbit Gallery will present Ambiguous Prospects, an exhibition of sculptural work by local artist and Buffalo State College Professor Elena Lourenco. “The growing predicament of tension between human nature and the natural world is of continuing interest to me,” said Lourenco. “Consideration to how this evolving, interdependent relationship may manifest in our social, spiritual and personal lives, influences most of my working practice.” Ambiguous Prospects pushes a dialogue about cause and effect relationships between actions and resources, inviting the viewer to contemplate causality, change, loss, and their resulting effects on the human psyche.

The sculptural installation “Heave” addresses the philosophical dilemmas as large as the balance between creation and destruction, and as personal as individual consumption, development and mortality. The word heave is defined as “to exert great force”. Although it seems “Heave” is comprised of two separate pieces, hand painted and sanded tools hang beside an A-frame with pounding mechanisms, the installation is one exhibit with a table serving as the focal point. “The table is representative of human psyche…there are these two opposing implements – one packs it in and the other digs it away,” stated Lourenco in a past interview.

In other works, such as “The Irony of Remedy”, one can find commentary on vulnerability and the futility of technology – convenience. Through allying common forms of domestic life and the organic world in scenarios that imply pointless functionality or destruction, Lourenco’s objects and installations communicate powerful narratives ranging from social criticism to personal conflict and loss.

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How does your work fit into the space at Big Orbit?

I will start by saying that my work is not traditional sculptural work. Due to the thematic and material nature, it is often difficult to find venues that will showcase this work. That in combination with the process of installation. As the works often consist of many parts that are installed in very specific compositional relationships. The Big Orbit Gallery seemed to thrive on these considerations. As explained to me by Sean Donaher, the exhibitions manager, the Big Orbit Gallery exists to provide exhibition space for local (western NY) emerging artists working, perhaps, in experimental  or unconventional processes and who seek alternative exhibition space to support these processes and ideas. The space itself is an old ice house, and though the hanging walls are a nice ol’ gallery white, the industrial atmosphere of it’s history still permeates the space.
This was a perfect fit. Having received my MFA in 2007, I am regularly confronting the challenge of ‘getting my name out there’ as an emerging artist. The big Orbit gallery has provided me with the space to allow my ideas to manifest in a way where I can step back and make sense of ‘what I have done’ so to say. Due to space limitations in my own studio, I often have to imagine what all the parts look like when installed together, or how the separate pieces relate to each other and create dialogue when installed in the same space. This is so important to ones development and not an opportunity often had. The undertone of industry (Large rails and I-beam rafters overhead) also complements my work with an aesthetic that is very much part of the theme of my work- de-funct function (purely talking about the visual space)

How would you describe the exhibit to someone who’s never seen your work before?

I believe I could say the theme of all works is ‘consumption’ Sure the obvious consumption of resources, but on many levels… filth consuming purity, progress consuming rationality, ignorance consuming dignity, remorse consuming psyche, and on and on… The works aesthetic comes from an erosion of systems- entropy is a word I keep in my head as I work- Thus in appearance it is both industrial and organic at the same time.

There are three separate pieces inside the gallery. There is one large installation to the left as you enter. A long dirt table is flanked on both ends by a wall installation of scoops, spoons and shovels on one end, and an on the other end, an A-frame with which one can pull on handles to hoist large flat bottom tamps up and down. Tools to effect the dirt in both creation and destruction… to pack it nicely and to dig it away. The figure, or the viewer, is implicated at the head of the table where there is a chair and a dug out hole in lieu of a table setting…

To me this piece exists in both a psychological and spiritual landscape… engaging in a discussion about actions and options and outcomes.
My hopes are, That without saying too much (as I regretfully am ought to do) the work allows the viewer to enter and seriously contemplate the possibilities of the scenario…
The same exists for the hanging machine who diligently and without pause continues its function with disregard to the demise of the pristine whites… This piece came to me after I returned from a trip to India… inspired by the stark contrast of impoverished filth with the saturation of adornment and decoration…. It is not actually about the oil spill, and was created prior to the catastrophe, though, I do not mind if that is how it is interpreted. My expectations are that through the duration of the exhibit, the oil will slowly creep up the hanging fabric, in effect, consume it by nature of its function.

The work on the wall is something I refer to as a sketch. A 3-d sketch of an idea… It is a sculptural Haiku, if you will. Relating symbols in a way that expresses an idea or ideas. Salt became part of my tool box after living in the desert for four years. As I looked further into it, I learned of a history that is as deeply entrenched in development and progress, religion, economy and war as is oil today.

During the installation of this exhibit I was asked by one of the gallery preparators this question, “so you have the mining industry, the oil industry and the fishing industry here, what are the sacks all about?”

I was blown away to hear that interpretation of my work, I never thought of them with regards to specific industry, but I suppose I can’t ignore that reverb in my work… so I responded about the sacks… “Oh, they’re commerce”

You come from Arizona, what brought you to a permanent residence in Buffalo?

I am not actually from Arizona. I grew up on Long Island and moved out to California in 1995. The Santa Cruz Mountains will always be home in my heart. I moved to Arizona for graduate school and developed the most intense love/hate relationship one could experience, with a deeply grounded love for the equally rugged and precarious environment of the desert, and a complete loathing for the development of cities in this environment, I knew I would not stay there from the moment I arrived. I came to Buffalo simply because I was offered a good job here. I currently teach sculpture in the Fine Arts Department at Buffalo State College.

Ambiguous Prospects by Elena Lourenco
Big Orbit Gallery
110 Pearl Street
Buffalo, NY 14202-4125
(716) 440-5907

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