DummArt Holds Mirror Up for Society to See Monsters in Environment

butterflieswebFri 10/7-Tue 10/25

Husband-and-wife graphic artists Gary and Laura Dumm remember the “Keep America Beautiful” campaign of the ’70s involving rampant littering and the iconic crying American Indian.

Today, the Northeast Ohio duo, who have garnered national attention under the studio name DummArt, are doing their part to churn public discourse regarding environmental issues threatening human existence. Their latest pop-surrealist art series Here There Be Monsters: An Environmental Art Show, which uses movie monsters to comment on everything from water and air pollution to global warming, climate change and genetic engineering, appears Fri 10/7-Tue 10/25 at BAYarts. It opens with a reception Fri 10/7 @ 5-8PM.

CoolCleveland talked to Laura and Gary about the Here There Be Monsters: An Environmental Art Show.

In looking over the work, there doesn’t appear to be any subtlty to the message.

Laura: We used the classic horror monsters because they were immediately familiar and because we didn’t want to lecture. The monsters were also science experiments gone wrong, and we thought that was the perfect way to show what happens when you try to fool Mother Nature. But throughout the series we kept the environmental issue our first priority.

Gary: I don’t think that subtlety is called for at this point. And it’s how we produce and consume that’s a large part of the problem. Our plan for this show is to entertain (monsters used as a hook to grab the viewer), to ask questions (who’s responsible for our current situation and what can be done about it?) and to educate (especially, but not exclusively, children — many adults still have no idea what [agricultural biotechnology company] Monsanto is or does). It is yet another warning about our current situation delivered in an artistic way.

How does this show differ from past exhibits?

Laura: We did another show in 2014, The Fame Same Blame Game, that dealt with current news issues such as corporate greed, outsourcing jobs, overuse of prescription drugs and the destruction of the American Dream. Really, we are just continuing with more issues. We want our art to make a difference, to educate and create conversation. Although Gary and I have been artists all our lives, these are the only shows we have worked on together. We think it’s some of the best work we have ever done. Collaborating with another artist is creating something with two creative brains and that is definitely a win-win. We call this illustrator meets painter. We both bring our best to the table or canvas in this case.

Gary: This show is the logical outgrowth of our previous collaborations on The Fame, Shame, Blame Game. Laura wanted to do a series of paintings about “bugs” and that idea mutated into this monstrous one.

What led to your environmental series?

Laura: Watching the evening news and reading environmental newsletters online. We also have friends who are very knowledgeable about these issues and learn things from them. Two years ago, Gary went through cancer of the voice box. I began thinking that the environment and the food we eat that are filled with chemicals could have had something to do with it. The goal is to promote green energy and sustainable living. We need to work with nature instead of against it.

Gary: I love monsters. They are the embodiment of our greatest fears while simultaneously they can be the victims created by humanity’s hubris and greed. We are destroying the environment and ourselves simultaneously. They are us at our worst.

dummsmall

Who would enjoy Here There Be Monsters: An Environmental Art Show?

Laura:  Everybody from the young to the young at heart. We have had children look at the paintings and it’s positive. They get it and understand this is the world we are leaving for them. It would be nice not to leave them a wounded world that can’t be saved.

Gary: I think that anyone who likes horror/science-fiction movies, books about ecological disasters, good artwork and preserving our environment might enjoy this show.

What do you hope visitors to the exhibit take away from the show?

Laura: A little more education about companies like Monsanto, who are able to legally modify our food supply and pollute the air we breath. Pesticides and genetically-modified foods could play a big part in the increase of diseases that affect young and old alike. Other issues like fracking and coal mining cause environmental changes in our earth that cause earthquakes, weather change and air pollution.

Gary: Our juxtaposition of these images of “horror” in these works will etch themselves into the viewer’s brain to be recalled at both the most opportune and inopportune moments to hopefully move them to make some small, personal changes in their lives and the lives of their families. These small, positive moves can ripple outward to others, and, even through talking, can help change the world for the better. Will that be enough? I don’t know but it’s a start.

dummart

bayarts

[Written by John Benson]

[photo at top was used as the album cover for Vanity Crash’s most recent release, Love]

Bay Village, OH 44140

 

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