Richmond artist and recent VCU photo graduate Sara Clarken held her first solo show, “Coming Out,” at the
Richmond artist and recent VCU photo graduate Sara Clarken held her first solo show, “Coming Out,” at the ADA Gallery on Broad St. earlier this week and it returned to the flirtatious combination of sex and food the artist is known for.
Bright colors and bright spaces, a pile of glazed donuts, a massive self portrait of the artist herself glazed, neon lights, and a clear prism of donut glaze marked the otherwise empty space creating dramatic contrast that was pleasing to the eyes, nose, and (theoretically) mouth.
“[The show] is talking about all the themes I was touching on in my photographs – undertones of sex and the commodification of sexuality,” said Clarken as she walked me through the space. “Some humor relating to the obvious, the sexually degrading shot with the playful donut and the glaze acting as a sexual substance.”
Clarken, who’s work I’ve been a fan of for some time, stands out for its vividness and willingness to push sexual boundaries and this recent show was no exception.
Two of the more stand out pieces related to American artist Bruce Nauman‘s work, the previously mentioned self-portrait (A Self Portrait After Bruce Nauman) and a bright-pink neon piece which stood on the opposite wall (American Psycho).
‘A Self Portrait…’ (pictured above) features Clarken, mouth open willingly and excitedly, face covered in a thick white glaze. Clarken said the piece was a response to Nauman’s “The Fountain” (shown below), and said she aimed to put herself “on the receiving end” as a female artist.
Image via the Whitney Museum of American Art
“It’s a degrading action, but I’m taking it with enthusiasm, as I’m willing to take on the art world with more enthusiasm,” said Clarken. The blandness of the image, except for the subjects beauty and the semen-like fluid on her face, was also part of the production. Clarken said she was “trying to combine the aesthetics of stock photography and its generic values with contemporary art.”
“American Psycho” (pictured below) was an older work, a collaboration Clarken did with Doug Solyan at RVA’s Uptown Neon. The bright pink letters read “WELL DON’T JUST – STARE AT IT – EAT IT,” a reference to the movie American Psycho (2000) based on the book by Bret Easton Ellis. In the movie, the affluent Manhattan yuppie Patrick Bateman goes on a killing spree, and at one point orders a prostitute to eat another prostitute’s ass – the neoned quote comes from this scene.
“Most of my work plays with the early 2000’s, and growing up on the internet,” Clarken said.
On the opposite wall from this piece was a pyramid-pile of donuts, “Refreshments”. The distant placement of ‘American Psycho’ and this pile was intentional Clarken said, but I couldn’t help but point out the neon signs suggestion to dive in.
“I’m mocking the institution of the gallery aesthetic,” said Clarken as she made a point to insist on every guest eating a donut. Few took her up on the offer.
“I like that my audience hasn’t approached it, thinking it was art, but its not art (well, I guess it could be) but I didn’t offer refreshments on purpose hoping if people wanted to indulge they would be so quenched and dried out from all the sugar there would be a lust for water.”
Honestly, there wasn’t much appetizing about the donut pile, though her insistence on everyone eating it added a degree of performance to the piece, whether or not this was on purpose is up for debate.
“Refreshments” in conjunction with the last piece in the show, a clear prism filled with donut glaze, “The Invitation” (pictured above and below), added a sent-element to the space. Dripping from one chamber to another, like an hourglass of pure sweetness, the glaze-filled vessel lacked a lid allowing for the stench of melted sugar to permeate.
Between the pile and the glaze-hourglass, the smell of donuts hanged heavy in the ADA space.
The connection between the sweetness of male spunk and donuts was apparent, and I asked Clarken if she was worried about being seen as objectifying herself, her gender, and her art – putting a forced-focus on sexuality and reaching for that easy shock in an art world already oversaturated with sexuality.
“Its a self portrait, so I’m not objectifying anyone but myself, and I’m putting myself in the place of thousands of women who, in the new age of contemporary art, [are] still dealing with so many feminist issues,” she said. “This problems still exists, I’m trying to resurface them, they haven’t changed… I’m a playful person… but I like to deal with real issues… by adding that humor with it.”
This is Clarken’s last show before she plans to move out to LA, and we wish her the best of luck.
