~LUKE TODD . . ‘FOURTEEN GEARS’ / PIX FROM THE OPENING
the quiet . . SPIN.
LUKE TODD – ‘FOURTEEN GEARS’
OPENED . . FRI JAN 25, 2019
GALERIE MICHAEL BARGO, CHINATOWN
PIX – FROM THE OPENING:
LUKE TODD, at the opening.
industrial, yet graceful.
set in a specific motion, opaque in color, and yet: a void / a mind-set.
the surfaces, their metallic nature . . violated the white walls.
the struggle between my camera, and the flat sculptures – was more ‘kinetic’, than the actual gear movement.
the interlocking, interloping teeth, of the almost random-shaped . . circles / ovals . . moved very very slowly,
as if grace were more important, than raw speed ?
it prob had a lot to do with the complexity of the shapes, and it might have been more effective visually, to have seen the shapes move . . more dynamically, more graphically, but then ?
would we be thinking – about them, so much ?
prob your best bet, for realizing the ‘wheels’ . . ‘turn’, and eat, or meet and greet . . each other,
would be the wired, mechanical works in the back.
that was an interesting ‘angle’, to entertain . . at an art show.
not all the ‘mechanical works’, were wall pieces . .
some were . . free-standing, yet still quite – wired.
their contrast to reality, was heightened by the Chinatown window scene.
and they weren’t all black – some were red.
but again, a perfect pitch – for a mechanical piece.
very much in contrast, to the world – we have to move through.
“your taxes were lowered / but your refund is less, much less.” / wtf
nothing is black & white.
nothing is what it seems / or what we are told. nobody really believes anything, they are told.
it’s all . . smoke & mirrors.
it’s all . . spin.
there was something about that barely moving, quiet ‘spin’ – that was so pervasive.
& in a way, in which a more aggressive, or obvious ‘gear’ spin – would not / have not been.
a kind of . . spiritual ‘temperature’.
and yet, also a . . VALENTINE.
red ‘hearts’, running along the wall.
people got real social, at the opening.
the quiet accomplishment of the show / pulsed in a warm way – strange, considering it was so mechanical ?!!
it’s hard to condense the beauty of this show, or define . . it’s effectiveness.
quiet . . interlocking ?
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH