Work by Colleen Cunningham (left) and Keith Johnson (right)

CEPA Gallery

Colleen Cunningham’s Amalgams

In the Flux Gallery of CEPA are the Amalgams of Colleen Cunningham, a series of photo collages that are a potpourri of contemporary comic book and pop culture. Cunningham has taken visibly recognizable superheroes such as Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Green Lantern, Cyclops and thrown them in a blender with fashion magazine imagery. A few animal heads are thrown in for good measure, lending the characters a totemic quality.

Bulging biceps, perfect abs, enormous breasts compete with glazed smiles, stern stares. Women are feline, men are horsy or canine.

Another component of Amalgams is a group of photographs depicting showroom mannequins draped in the latest haute couture fashions positioned next to unlikely objects, such as a knight in a coat of armor or a velociraptor, the cloth of the mannequin contrasting with the scales of the reptile.

Cunningham seeks to explore contemporary definitions of masculinity and femininity, definitions of gender roles and how we fit into these perceptions and preconceptions of how to present ourselves. She juxtaposes completely disparate images—corporate and fantastical, animal and human, nature and urban, futuristic and retro fashion looks. Cunningham’s pieces are non sequiturs, representing the often confusing manners in which we’re expected to project ourselves. Her animal-human hybrids are an examination into ways we define our roles in society.

Keith Johnson’s The Landscape: Extended

Upstairs in the Passageway, Keith Johnson’s newest works are reinterpretations of what comprises landscapes. He employs multiples and variations of similar images. His subjects range from trees, fields of waving switchgrass, koi swimming in ponds, water rippling in a pool, piles of ceramic debris and a cluster of modest homes. The pieces are mostly grouped together in triptychs, examining a repetition of the mundane.

Members Show

Sometimes one literally has to go underground to check out the local art scene. Such is the case with the latest members’ exhibition at the CEPA Gallery situated in the basement of the Market Arcade. Currently on display are the work of up-and-coming photographers intermingled with those of veteran artists.

Style and fashion are not relegated solely to the clothing or entertainment industries; they are part of more permanent forms such as architecture and hold sway in photography, as evidenced in the members show. In photography there are means of expression that gain favor and methods that fall out of style. One can see new techniques, new gimmicks and new visual idioms emerge.

Until recent years photographic work was still largely film based, but this exhibition shows that digital dominates artistically and commercially. Companies such as Polaroid, Kodak and Nikon are phasing out film cameras and the equipment and accessories which accompany their use. As megapixel numbers and ease of use increase and costs decrease, digital cameras have become the main means of capturing images today. Photoshop and other software have replaced time in the photo lab mixing chemicals. The majority of the pieces in the show are now printed on archival papers with inkjet dyes, though dark room traditionalists are also well represented.

The CEPA exhibits are on view until March 15 at the Market Arcade, 617 Main Street (856-2717/cepagallery.org.)