Art Review: a Pale; place into parts

Glenn Herbert Davis's new exhibition, a Pale; place into parts, evoked a slew of commentary from those present for the opening events. The two-part installation, composed mostly of salvaged lumber, suggested to the viewers everything from a commentary on labor camps to Sewanee-specific religious imagery. Davis admits that while creating his work, he did not have in mind many of the concepts his viewers extracted from the pieces. Regardless, the exhibition proved to be thought-provoking for all in attendance during the events on December 3rd.

The opening events began in the Carlos Gallery, where dozens of wooden stakes lined the walls, along with black-and-white maps and technical-looking blueprints. A pale is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as "a stake, fence or boundary," and thus can also mean "domain, a territory, or a field of knowledge." "Beyond the pale" is also a British idiom for "outside the limits of acceptable behavior." With a short speech that sounded like a stream-of-consciousness narrative, Davis presented various photographs on a projector depicting his work as well as his life. 

The division of the installation between the two galleries also brings out the idea of demarcations and boundaries, and the events continued in the University Gallery. Viewers were greeted with a wooden contraption that spanned the entire space. According to Davis, his work seeks to explore the "relationships between the individual human body and (contrived) systems." Beginning the performance with a single, loud clap, Davis and an assistant moved giant, floor-to-ceiling cross forms across the gallery space with the contraption. After the performance, viewers commented on how "almost-meaningless task" reminded them of work done in labor camps and how the contraption itself resembled the Twin Towers. Even the crosses reminded people of religion, and though the cross forms were entirely coincidental and created to fit the specific space, many still thought of the Sewanee cross upon viewing the installation.

a Pale; place into parts runs from December 13th to February 13th in both the Carlos and University Art Galleries. For more information, contact Greg Pond at gpond@sewanee.edu