Please Have a Face

5 March, 2017

Before making my way up to the Tracey Moffat Exhibition, I walked through the Shepp Art Museum (SAM). It definitely knocked into some childhood fears of mine right when I walked in. The oversized doll heads for their bodies were mounted on horses, lined up in a row. The spikes, screws and strange pieces added on to these dolls created a creepy killer doll vibe. I don’t know a child who hasn’t heard at least a version of a killer doll story. Next, I decided to turn right beyond the corner, only to jump back in shock. I peeked around again and saw what appeared to be an elderly woman turned away from me. It looked so real and life-like! (Don’t worry it wasn’t). My fears did not end there, as I tried to make my way to the front of the sculpture, all I could think was “please don’t be faceless, please, oh please”. This is possibly just me, but again bored into one of my childhood nightmares, I think from a movie I once watched. Instead it was the fully sculpted face of an elderly woman, holding a newborn in its arms. The rest of the pieces spoke to me a lot, leaving me to wonder what they meant. I felt the reuse of images and items we see daily was very thought provoking and would elicit different responses depending on an individual’s association with that item.

Image 1

Next I traipsed upstairs to the Tracy Moffat created montages. My favorite film sequence was the one labeled as for an adult audience. It is played on a loop, so it is possible you may walk in at anytime. However, we are first introduced to the caption “Art” followed by very extreme techniques people used to create their art. Despite the naked aspects, it is not sexualized at all. It is an unexpected and wild way to let out one’s creativity. Next the caption “Fame” came on the screen. The clips presented a more socially appealing aspect of art. This type of art Moffat seems to be describing as fame as opposed to art. Lastly it says, “Heat”, which reveals how art can evoke emotions that we personally conceive from a piece. The art can either create a feeling of pain or pleasure within us. In the end, it is not the art that is communicating to us but a meaning that we want it to desperately have.

(Video 1. Woman and Child 2010, by Sam Jinks located in SAM)

(Image 1. Tracy Moffat Exhibition viewing area, equipped with beanbag chairs)