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Friday, February 21, 2003

By Leslie Hoffman

A waterlogged stuffed animal, a rusty angel, stark branches in late fall and faded pink ribbons frayed from the wind -- this is not the most lighthearted photographic exhibit you will ever see.

"Roadside Memorials, Shrines and other Markers" by Chris Taylor at the Garfield Artworks started with the Scott Drake Memorial that Taylor used to see twice a day when he was driving to and from work. One day he decided to pull over and take some shots of it.

"There's something about seeing them in photographic format that makes it OK [to examine them]," he says.

He soon started taking photos of other memorials he saw on a regular basis and of ones that other people told him about.

"A lot of people know where they are," he says.

His collection is primarily grounded in Western Pennsylvania, but there are pictures of a few shrines and markers from Virginia and Philadelphia. One moving photograph is of a shrine, located in a cemetery, but visible from the road, for 5-year-old Kelsey Sauerwein, who fell out of a window.

Although his medium is usually sculpture, the Indiana University of Pennsylvania grad with a background in art and religious studies didn't find this project too much of a stretch. The roadside collections of personal effects constitute a certain sort of sculpture. Taylor's work with the Aliquippa Embraces Art project as well as with his arts consulting business, Taylor Arts Group, has proven his commitment to public art, a title that could be associated with these public declarations of grief.

The show's images are arranged according to the road where they were found with one-word titles such as "Angel" or "Cross." A map next to each helps visitors place where the memorial is located. The photographs themselves are sobering, especially the ones of shrines for children and teenagers. The inevitable decay of the stuffed animals and flowers so often associated with these memorials is a reminder of the fleeting nature of youth and of life itself.

The Sauerwein family has supplied a table of effects dedicated to their daughter, including a poignant book the girl's sister wrote with a therapist while she was working through her grief.

Taylor calls these memorials objects of ritual communication: Each has traditional symbols such as a cross, a name and flowers, objects that represent to a larger audience who a person was and that people are grieving for them.

But while the concept is intriguing, the photographs fall a bit flat sometimes and seem to wallow in the giant space of the gallery, facts the artist seems to recognize.

"I'm torn between the art side and the documentary side," he says.

Taylor has talked to people about the potential of a book or a documentary film associated with the project. In fact, a 10-minute film directed and edited by Taylor's friend, Jay Golden, almost seems like a more appropriate manner to discuss these roadside markers and adds to the effectiveness of the show.

"Roadside Memorials, Shrines and other Markers" raises questions about how people grieve, how they approach religion, as well as how different areas of the country deal with this phenomenon. Certainly this project should continue; stop by the Garfield Artworks to see its beginnings.

CLAY PENN

A mere two blocks away from Garfield Artworks, a new gallery is opening on Penn Avenue. The Clay Penn, a space owned and operated by ceramicist Laura McLaughlin, is in the throes of renovation; it will eventually offer a studio and a gallery.

The building itself, its storefront protected by a rusty steel gate, is barely recognizable as a gallery and doesn't yet command any attention. It's pretty rough, and there's a reason visits are by appointment only.

The first show, though, James Church's collage and assemblage, is perfectly suited for the space. His found objects captured in picture boxes happily coexist with the dusty floors, flaking wallpaper and crumbling plaster.

A gallery owner himself -- Church runs the Penn Gallery -- his work in this show, "Fusion Interiors," is ethereal in a religious and hopeful manner.

The majority of the work follows a simple yet charming formula of using small found sculptures and figurines, most often birds, bunnies, images of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Though religious themes of sacrifice, resurrection and fertility run throughout the work, none of it ever takes a sarcastic or a violent approach. For example, in one piece, a brown-feathered bird four times the size of a tiny Christ child figurine regards the baby with a protecting attitude.

Church's works provide a source of wonder and amazement; perhaps they represent what the Clay Penn hopes to become.

"Roadside Memorials, Shrines and other Markers" runs at the Garfield Artworks, 4931 Penn Ave., through Feb. 28. Visits are by appointment only, but a mid-show reception will take place from 7 to 10 tonight, and a closing reception will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. Feb. 28. For more information, call 412-802-7096. "Fusion Interiors" will run at least through February at the Clay Penn, 5111 Penn Ave. Visits are by appointment only. For more information, call 412-951-6133.