Kramers Ergot
Wednesday 07 February @ 15:13:44 |
 by CHRISTOPHER KOZA
“Alright, who is ready to get freaked out?” screams Pastor Jackson, in costume, on the edge of one of Daniel Zettwuch’s drawings. This St. Louis, Mo., artist and many others can be heard, or actually seen, shouting this question in unison in St. Paul throughout February.
 Give yourself plenty of time and bring your reading glasses when you head over to the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center at Macalester College for Kramers Ergot, an exhibition featuring artists from the anthology of the same name. Compiled by West Hollywood artist and Kramers Ergot editor Sammy Harkham, this exhibit brings the anthology to life in a big, broad and textural show.
In the original “flesh,” the crayons and collages of Rhode Island artist Max Brinkman generate a casual aesthetic, while the oversized acid-trip “Where’s Waldo-esque” drawings of Xavier Robel and Helge Reumann, of Geneva, Switzerland, can be properly investigated.
The cohesiveness of this show and the variety of work on display is a successful attribute to Harkham, who also contributes his own comic strip titled “Lubavitch,” in which a rift between a Jewish couple arises when the wife requests a chicken for her parents.
There are no superheros in any of these comics, but there are plenty of weirdos, sickos, perverts and, most inexplicably, regular people whose pedestrian strangeness is fully exposed.
As a kid, and a fan of “Spiderman” and “Batman,” I grew up under the guise that comics lacking in bulging muscles and improbable mutant bust-lines must be boring. Reading comics for their stories, or for the ingenuity of the artwork itself wasn’t my primary objective. Of course I enjoyed Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” and Sam Keith’s “The Maxx,” but these works were generally recognized as edgy mainstream graphic novels. In this exhibit, Harkham’s collection clearly establishes the difference between fantasy art and fine art.
Some of the Kramers Ergot art enters the realm of fantasy, such as an untitled piece by Toronto artist Shay Boyle. In this work, a forest nymph engages in a sexual act with a satyr and a griffin. On its own it might be a jarring image, but in the context of this show, the piece seems mainstream marginal.
Another small painting that stands out is a piece by Australian artist David Brooke. It is an untitled portrait that hangs out of the way. There are no words, no humor, and no context, but again, when considering the variety of the show’s entirety it fills a void.
On the surface Kramers Ergot is fun—whimsy with a twist—but sit with it awhile and you may find that it offers a deeper-than-expected reaction. There are plenty of interesting opportunities for discussion when considering the implications of underground art, such as the message that Vanessa Davis’ comic “Cubicle Lunch Slave” conveys. See for yourself. ||
Kramers Ergot runs through Feb. 25. The Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center is located at Macalester College, 1600 Grand Ave., St. Paul. Gallery hours are Mon.–Fri. 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; Thu. 10 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sat.–Sun. noon–4 p.m. For more information call 651-696-6416 or visit kramersergot.com.
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