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Faith, hope, and charity are not only ideal virtues championed by Christians; according to Catholic doctrine, they were also female saints, martyred for their religious convictions. It is not demonstrably clear how these virtues, or saints, for that matter, connect to the work of artists Liz Maugins, Jen Craun, and Brooke Inman. Nonetheless, the title of their group exhibition, currently on view at Zygote Press, is Faith Hope and Charity.
The work of these three women, who are each at different stages in their careers, shares similar themes: Maugins and Craun’s prints are centered on culturally constructed notions of femininity and body image; all three artists deal generally with identity; and all of the women’s prints exude edgy angst over everyday experiences. The artists are not only talented, they are also adept at conveying wit and humor in a way that makes you smile wryly. Yet there is something missing from Faith Hope and Charity — and that isvariety.
Maugins reliably creates prints that are eye-catching and biting in their critique of gender roles and identity. Using iconic 1950s storybook boys and girls (white, and often blonde), the artist combines text and seemingly innocuous signs of gender. In Big Oak a dark-haired boy straddles and aggressively rides a tree branch. Beneath him, also sitting astride a branch is a boy without a discernible head. The two youths float above a multicolored quilt-like field that is reminiscent of patches of farmland seen from an airplane. A real tree branch seemingly penetrates the print itself, acting as both spear and frame for the work. The boys in Big Oak, who unabashedly wield their oak phalluses, appear oblivious to the outside world and to each other. Yet, despite their alienation from one another, there is clearly an air of homoeroticism. Big Oak underscores the ambiguity of young boys’ unbridled sexual energy. The enormous branches reveal the cultural weight of the phallus; it is a load that Maugins’ subjects are not yet ready to bear.
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Good Girl exemplifies Maugins’ characteristic subject matter, as a young girl decked in ponytails, a prim white blouse, and what appears to be a Catholic-school uniform prays solemnly under the words “righteous chick.” The artist undermines the slang use of the word “righteous,” yet leaves the vernacular term “chick” alone; clearly, Maugins’ girl is righteous, but she is not a “chick.” This is a simple yet clever device compelling one to consider the ways the meanings of words culturally shift and evolve over time.
Jen Craun’s prints are also visually compelling, but their content and style are very similar to Maugins’ work. This creates a curatorial redundancy; the effect of having the two artists’ work in close proximity dilutes the content of both. Like Maugins, Craun is interested in gender and body image. I Scream depicts a large pinkish ice cream cone next to a geometric cone shape, which penetrates a flat plane. “I scream” is printed atop the ice cream, referencing the maddening desire and guilt inspired by sweet, fatty foods. In a country where two-thirds of the population is overweight, the desire seems to be outweighing the guilt. Yet, paradoxically, people — women in particular — are expected to look like fashion models, not “pleasantly plump” mass consumers of ice cream. “I scream” is a pat emotional response to this cultural conundrum.
Of the three artists, Inman’s work, broadly titled State Proofs of My Life 2005, is the most divergent, and the most emotionally gripping. In her artist statement, Inman says the prints “explor[e] the moments in my life that have made me what I am today… some of my best and worst moments are revealed.” Inman’s drawing style is nervous and edgy; and this feeling underlies her subjects. State Proof 8 depicts a vulnerable-looking little black dog sitting in the middle of a white box amid a field of green. The rendering is simple, yet it evokes a keen sense of uneasiness. Ultimately, you are not clear whether the emotional uneasiness is Inman’s, the dog’s, or your own.
The work in this exhibitis a interesting and smartly done. While it provides a window into the psyches of three women of varying ages, the show might have been more compelling had it been curated with more attention to stylistic heterogeneity.