The title Entropvisions is in homage to my mother, the poet and art critic, Harriet Zinnes. In 1990 New Directions published a collection of her poems titled Entropisms, a word she made-up combining entropy - the tendency toward disorder - and tropism - the growth towards or away from a stimulus. Similarly, my short reviews combine entropy and tropism by suggesting growth towards a vision of art from the chaos of the art world. Through the back door, my title also pays homage to my physicist father, Irving Zinnes, whose long discussions with my mom got her thinking about entropy and tropism in the first place.
Mark Thomas Kanter & Cary Harrison at Lockwood
2024.9.4
Can insanity be made sane through art? The drawings by Mark Thomas Kanter, along with their accompanying story by Cary Harrison (son of actors Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer), now hanging at Lockwood Gallery through Sept. 15, suggest that insanity at least can be made palpable, graspable, and real. Harrison’s story is a train-of-consciousness journey through its protagonist’s hallucinatory recollections of time spent at a sanatorium. Reality and imagination merge, as descriptions might be accurate, or just as likely pure fantasy. Multiple narratives interweave, much as consciousness seamlessly navigates through sensations, suggesting subtle connections between the numerous tales and commentary, for instance the plight of American Indians, Jews during the Holocaust, the isolation of exiled Roman Emperor Tiberius, and Cary’s committed patient. Slowly, however, a belief in creativity, art, and the artistic process itself becomes the ultimate takeaway, as underlying the anecdotes is a blend of unconscious dreaming and conscious structuring, and a love of solitude and reflection. Mark’s drawings contextualize the literary discourse, grounding the groundless accounts in physical shape, light and form. Madness is perfectly reflected in the dramatic chiaroscuro of black and white abstractions, and, for when the story becomes more realistic, hints of figures emerging from within. Walking into the gallery, I assumed the drawings were made in response to the writing, as the imagery seemed just so perfect, but apparently, the words were loosely inspired by early drawings, and images were matched to the text only after both were complete. Mark begins by applying printing ink to Lexan (an acrylic paper), searching for form and structure, then monoprints this sketch to further manipulate it with Indian ink, charcoal or oil paint. The process allows for interplays between accident and artistic decision, a process that relates to Cary’s character who alternates between delusion and clarity, and lets Mark freely yet purposely roam through his artistic vision. Paintings by Mark are also on view, as is art by Marieken Cochius, Ellen Jouret-Epstein, Kathy Goodell, David Kucera, Helena Palazzi, Ari Richer, David Anselm Turner, and Standford Kay. To see all photos, as well as past reviews, go to Instagram link in bio at @entropvisions or www.alicezinnes.com/entropvisions--blog-