In 1981, Ronald Reagan showed himself impassive in front of a convention of carpenters: “The status quo, you know, means in Latin “the mess we are in”. the toxic stagnation of 2022 and 2023, when these Pratt MFA students were developing their work. It might seem weird to open a review of Pratt’s MFA Fine Arts thesis show part 2 with a bad joke from a man who said ketchup was a vegetable, refused to say AIDS and widened the gap between the rich and the poor. But this show is meant to portray the mess we find ourselves in as the toxic, racist, misogynistic, and transphobic capitalist status quo drags on in the United States and the world is caught in such a precarious and bewildered place. Why don’t we change it?
Like many on the show, Niousha Kiarashi is trying to overcome the post-pandemic challenges and PTSD that formed the backdrop for the 2022-2023 incubation period. As the artist explained to Hyperallergic“My work is about the invasion and disorder of emotions, and how they become part of us the moment we start to feel them, and they invade us…in my work I want to visualize the complexity of the emotion as creatures…like species, the way they grow ears…and different patterns influenced by nature.
Kiarashi transformed a closet into a display niche, layering mulch on the floor and enhancing the atmosphere with an eerie soundtrack. A tiny video is visible in the mouth of an unidentifiable ceramic creature with many tentacles. The video reveals another monster within the biggest monster, while the tentacles are a metaphor for the complexity of dealing with our feelings, especially right now. As the artist said, “It wasn’t easy making art in 2023.”
Throughout the exhibition, Cameron Burgoyne “activated” the space containing his works. Or rather to destroy his own works. What is left for viewers is the chaos of dust, paint splatters, and materials strewn across the space.
In a separate room, Michelle Frick presents several “creature” sculptures. An undulating soundtrack of rustling water envelops the space. Something grows inside each creature – for example, cast silicone salamander embryos can be seen in ‘Protected’ (2022). In an exhibition with so many metaphors for the messes our planet finds itself in, it’s good to remember that gestation is also a messy process. The artist approaches climate change through salamanders, a sensitive indicator species. Yet, sadly, global polluters prevent the gestation of the next generation of animals.
Although ‘place’ was presented as the general theme of the exhibition, this curatorial framing turned out to be a bit vague. Instead, clutter emerged as a recurring motif. The particular place where Pratt MFA artists led visitors was not pristine, organized, or tranquil. It was messy, full of paradoxes and contradictions. Audre Lorde once said: “The tensions created in me by contradictions are another source of energy and learning. I’ve always known that I learn my most lasting lessons about difference by closely observing how the differences within me come together.
In other words, acknowledging disorder and its contradictions is a crucial step in not only disrupting our own stagnant inner status quo, but also in challenging those of others. We shatter the status quo when the wealthy white upper class begins to recognize their own inner messes and the festering contradictions between their genuine desire to do good and their denial of the wrongs they inflict. Pratt’s MFA students grabbed viewers with their unique visual metaphors for messy places.
Making Place: politics and the bodyPart 2 of Pratt’s MFA Thesis Exhibit continues at Pfizer Building (630 Flushing Avenue, 7th floorSouth Williamsburg, Brooklyn) through May 5. The exhibition was curated by Sofia Shaula Reeser-del Rio.
