A Discussion, Justin Maes: Return of the Gold

            Justin Maes engages in an interesting topic on personal identity through a creative and distinctly individualized perspective illustrated in his works. This gallery consisted of numerous pieces including “The Son,” “The Spirit,” “Guidance and Direction,” “Almost Cotton,” “Chicken Feed,” “Golden Cactus,” and “Stay Gold.” The most notable element in the gallery upon entering was the absence of any placards stating the artist’s intentions and even titles of the pieces. It is natural, in this instance, to assume the absence of such information was done so intentionally thus posing numerous questions about the importance of authorship and viewer interpretation. The most apt summation of such a gallery lies in the relationship of all gallery pieces to convey a theme or elicit a feeling or action from the viewer. In this case many of the pieces seemed to be made from, or referencing, typically rural/westernized materials. This was seen in the case of the cactus, the elongated shadows of the chickens vaguely referencing cowboy silhouettes, cattle iconography, re-appropriated designs made from reflective construction signs, and the Western-styled video/performance pieces. In each instance it was apparent the influence of these rural cowboy-esk themes, however, contradictory to the rugged and dusty iconography drawn from in each of these pieces there was also a distinct use of gold. Pieces such as “Golden Cactus” displayed this juxtaposition of themes overtly. Such gilding of objects reflects Maes’s own struggle with personal identity and perhaps a desire to gild or embellish his western roots being raised in Nevada. Another interesting individualized style noted by the viewer is the symmetrical-tessellation appearance of two colorful pieces in reflecting placements facing each other on two paralleling walls. Although not immediately gilded (aside from the horns and nose of the central bull), upon closer inspection, the viewer can notice gold edging around the cut out pieces used to construct the tessellation emitted outward from a central point where a bull’s head stares outward. The stylized colorful geometric patterns extending outward are comprised of similar iconography including ram and sheep heads, the mirroring piece predominantly features pink cherubs but also contains red six shooters. The colorful tessellation arrangement of these outer motifs resembles Latin-influenced artwork similar to colorful geometric displays seen in Dia De Los Muertos in Mexico. This stylization may also be a throwback to Maes’s own heritage and his attempted gilding and artistic transformation of it. The video performances, although not overtly displaying similar identity-gilding, do show westernized performances including a duel and other iconic cowboy-like matter in a sincere, but comic way. The viewer likewise gets the sense that the production quality combined with the performance of the actors is somewhat forced and taken lightheartedly reflecting Maes’s feelings toward this westernized aspect of his identity. I also viewed the cattle used throughout the gallery setting as commentary on masculinity. Its bold presence, particularly in a feature piece displaying a massive gilded bull’s head, seems uncertain in its dramatic and persistent reminder of masculinity perhaps reflecting Maes’s own needs to dramatically display his masculinity. Overall I enjoyed the show Return of the Gold aesthetically however found its lack of traditional gallery descriptions confusing despite its significance to Maes’s own non-traditional identity display through his pieces.