Consumerism, religion, washed-up rockers in Norvid's exhibit
By Josh Kolm
Lance Writer
August 26, 2009
Rock and roll, formerly the voice of the counterculture, has seen its edge worn down, its followers cast as out of touch dinosaurs, and its innovators pushed aside by more ground-breaking talent.
That is the central theme to an exhibit titled “Showstoppers, Whoppers, Downers and Out of Towners,” a collection of (mostly) music-related drawings by Montreal-via-England artist Adrian Norvid.
The pop art exhibit, featuring many pieces that helped Norvid find wide acclaim at last year’s Quebec Triennial at the Musee d’art contemporain, features many smaller drawings stylized in late 18th century British style and some abstract works, but the main pieces are noticeable from the moment you walk into the gallery.
The art tackles many subjects from consumerism to religion, but these messages that are now commonplace in the art community are given a unique treatment through the filter of music culture. Norvid, who holds a degree in music in addition to his Masters in studio art from York University, is obviously influenced by popular music of the last 40 years.
The focal points are the giant, cartoon-like sketches. Looking like illustrations from a children’s book at some points and 1993-era MTV animated shorts at others, the scenes remind one of 70s-era adult cartoons, complete with clever little rhymes, one-liners, and plays on brand names that subtly, but poignantly, comment on the chaos going on around them.
The main idea of these scenes is how several decades have taken the relevance from a formerly powerful cultural force, rock and roll.
A poster filled with generic aging rockers proclaims “40 SUCKS” across the top. While it may be sad to see a bunch of men who were once greats fade away ungracefully, at least they have enough of a reputation to warrant commemoration on this poster.
One of the giant scenes shows a band who, by indication of the bleakly named brands endorsed by its members, cannot be past their prime because their prime never came. It’s a different take on the aging rock star angle we see in real life. While we may think it is sad to see great bands stretch their glory days thin, we forget about the contemporaries that fell by the wayside.
Just as moving, however, is how their most devoted can follow in their footsteps with far less success to ride on. One of the scenes, “Hermit’s Hamlet,” shows the rockers, still sporting the hair and clothes they had in their youth, but are now far more wrinkled and flatulent.
They live in dilapidated shacks, but they enjoy it so long as they can admire each other’s outdated equipment and records. Are they happy, or are the aging hippies fooling themselves into thinking they are still the rebels of the world? Did the lifestyle preached by their heroes lack practicality, or was there already a lack of motivation present that caused them to fall back into a life of long-haired squalor and reminiscence?
The collection “Adrian Norvid: Showstoppers, Whoppers, Downers and Out of Towners” runs until Sept. 6 at the Art Gallery of Windsor. Details on hours, admission and other exhibits can be found by visiting www.artgalleryofwindsor.com.
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