Javier Piñón: Medusa

A A A Comments By Ben Palosaari Wednesday, Feb 18 2009

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Medusa is a pretty freaky monster. The serpent-haired Gorgon was said to be so hideous that people were turned to stone by simply looking at her. That's not exactly the kind of woman you'd want gazing longingly at you in a bikini. Collage artist Javier Piñón's first show in Minnesota, "Medusa," puts the viewer in just that position. He places photos of bundles of snakes on photos of old-fashioned models, creating images that are hard to look away from. Voluptuous beauties sprawl on beds in old-timey bras and panties, really working the camera, with huge tangles of rainbow snakes coifed atop their heads. They're images designed to make a viewer uncomfortable, and Piñón gives them a strange humanity or authenticity by placing his modernized mythic creatures on aged-looking, textured handmade paper. Piñón's melding of cheesecake kitsch and timeless story make for fascinating images that are amusing, adding a little fun to the belabored contemporary analysis of Medusa by Freudians and feminists.
Jan. 9-Feb. 21, 2009

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