Tacoma Arts in Review: Peanut Butter Space Jam at The Space
Portraits by Robert Evans, Chuck Knigge, and Audra Laymon
Photographs courtesy of Wesley Bowens
Walking through Peanut Butter Space Jam (PBSJ) at The Space, I found myself standing a little too close to the artwork. The room is huge and sparse, but the pieces, all human portraits, seemed to invite me closer and closer, until I was only inches away. Throughout, paintings and prints are hung in clusters with each work in conversation with the ones around it, emphasizing relationships. It’s nearly impossible to look at the works without imagining how they relate to you, the other portraits, the people around you, or even images of faces encountered earlier that day.
At a gathering held with the artists on February 17, I learned that each of the three featured in this show – Robert Evans, Audra Laymon, and Chuck Knigge – were asked by first-time curator Katy Evans to create as many as 40 new portraits. In response, each produced work experimenting with a new technique or medium. After hearing their experiences creating for the show, it was evident that all of the artists found Peanut Butter Space Jam to be an opportunity to explore unfamiliar territory. The resulting element of artistic discomfort is the most exciting thing about PBSJ. If you actively look to uncover this unease, it will make your experience much more rewarding.
Robert Evans’s collages are the most intrepid of the work. At the artist talk on February 17, he revealed that he found his portrait subjects simply by googling “portraits,” which explains the recognizable figures (yes, that is Barack Obama!). After starting with drawings of the googled portraits, he decided midway through to cut everything up and reconfigure, patching each work together with paint. Every fragment is just where he wants it to be.
Although Audra Laymon shared that she is relatively new to printmaking and that she prefers to focus on the body over portraits, her prints reveal deep insight and talent in reading and depicting faces. During the artists talk, she discussed her appreciation for the impermanence of printing an evolution of layers from one print block. Many of her works represent subsequent steps in a process. Like the others in the show, Laymon is experimenting with a new medium and feeling out her boundaries; but due to her undeniable talent, I’m eager to see where it leads her.
In my opinion, the most intriguing work in PBSJ is that of Chuck Knigge, a video game/graphic designer and comic book artist. These portraits are Knigge’s first work in oil paints, and the result is what you might expect from a comic artist working with such a physical medium. Knigge explored the layers that are available in oil painting, but with the addition of graphic black lines to contain them. His uncanny method combines flatness with depth, perhaps exposing a desire to retain control of this new, messy medium. One wonders what might emerge if Knigge were to abandon the heavy lines and experiment with paint more sculpturally. In aspects of certain works, the viewer can almost sense an escape from those persistent borders; but the escape is never quite complete. The potential here is very exciting, especially as this is his first attempt with oils.
In order to get the most out of Peanut Butter Space Jam, I recommend connecting to the work by reading the literature that curator Katy Evans has prepared. This particular venue also gives the public a unique opportunity to enter into a conversation with the contributors. The Space, owned and managed by Athena Hitson, supports dialog, developing ideas and the artistic process – and PBSJ is a fitting debut show for such a place. I look forward to future offerings from The Space. Tacoma needs more places like it.
Review by Rebecca Solverson
The Space is located at 729 Court C
Peanut Butter Space Jam is on display until March 27. See the show on March 13, 17, and 27.
You can find The Space on facebook, and on twitter @TheSpaceTacoma
The Space Tacoma on Facebook
Peanut Butter Space Jam
ABOUT TACOMA ARTS IN REVIEW
Tacoma Arts In Review, a new column on Exit 133, regularly shares timely reviews and stories on art happenings in Tacoma written by local college students and community members. For more information and application details, go here.