December 1, 2005

Art review


"Course," by Frank Turek. (images/courtesy Ubu Studio)

"Postcards To Comrades," by Frank Turek
At Ubu Studio through Sat., Jan. 28

Postcards from the edge (of Munjoy Hill)

It's easy to whiz right by Ubu Studio on the way to I-295 or the Old Port. But if you don't stop and check out this tiny marvel on the corner of Franklin Arterial and Congress Street at least once a month, you're missing out on what is quickly becoming one the most vital arts venues in Portland.

Located in an old beauty parlor (and more recently a locksmith shop), this plucky building sits at the bottom of Munjoy Hill, its diminutive scale projecting a defiant sense of whimsy among the cars and chaos of one of Portland's busiest blocks. In spirit, Ubu Studio is much like the boxed assemblages fashioned by its featured artist and proprietor, Frank Turek. Both are quirky and wrapped in nostalgia, but carry a Sphinx-like sense of purpose. Both quietly invite you in for a closer look.

This month's Ubu Studio show, "Postcards To Comrades," is the result of a 15-month-long mail art project Turek embarked on after discovering an unconventional (and potentially warrantee-voiding) technique that enabled him to digitally scan his 3-D assemblages with a flatbed scanner. Turek sent prints of his work to a group of artistic friends, or "comrades." "Postcards" consists of small-edition, archive prints of those postcards, presented chronologically in the small gallery space. Each postcard-sized print is labeled with the postmark date and the message originally written on the back.

Turek's collaged works suggest a wide range of forms. Some look like voodoo altars; others have the Dadaist echoes of proto-Pop collage artists Richard Hamilton and Robert Rauschenberg. Still others look distinctly like the piles of change, receipts, gum wrappers and other pocket detritus piled on your bedroom dresser. Turek's process is like that of a bird building a nest: he searches, picks and arranges each element with a clear, yet inscrutable, sense of determination, leaving the viewer to guess at the meaning implied by their placement.


"Bound"


The written messages compliment the images, as Turek drifts between dreamy recollections of midnight drives and musings like, "am I a cynic or an optimist for seeing dark humor in everything?" In other messages he describes and analyzes the purpose and process of the Postcards project. This content is refreshingly free of the pored-over academic declaratives typical of that woeful gallery stalwart, the "artist statement." These are, after all, letters to friends.

Each postcard is printed on archival paper in a limited edition of 20. The works are available unframed for $40 and framed for $75. They're also available in a portfolio that includes each print and the original text in a handsome black binder for $510.

The intimate, nostalgic experience of reading through this portfolio is akin to finding a shoebox full of old letters. Turek's postcards were not made for one person, but rather for a group of people who, at some point, showed the artist a genuine understanding and interest in his weird conglomerations of vacuum tubes, encyclopedias and lucky pennies. If you share this interest, these postcards are also for you, comrade.

-- Jeff Badger

On opening reception for "Postcards to Comrades" takes place Fri., Dec. 2,
from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The show runs through Sat., Jan. 28. Ubu Studio is located at 316A Congress Street, in Portland. Hours: Thurs. and Fri. from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Sat. from noon to 4 p.m. For more info, call 699-2550.

"A Piece, a Part, a Pretty"