April 29-May 28, 2005 Tue-Sat 10-5:30

Ron Laboray: Color and Race Statistics

Ron's paintings are in the form of maps and charts and attempt to archive cultural effect. Many locations enjoy a simultaneous existence in both fiction and reality. Beliefs generated by invented identities influence our perception of "the real" as easily as popular culture reinforces our identification of Metropolis and Gotham as the homes of superheroes. Imagined identity can also be imposed on place through re-occurring phenomena like the Super Bowl, World Fairs, or a papal visit. These events, though short lived and migrant, create an atmosphere of close connection and in this, the chosen locations will share in the legacy and identity that is lent through hosting these various spectacles.

Shiny and plastic like their subject of pop culture, the materials used in the paintings are metaphorically linked to the subject. Plastic represents not only the nature of the ever changing pop phenomena but also product endorsement or corporate logo. The slick speed of the automobile lacquers is representative of the nature of the event itself, the race cars and their technology. The painted surface (the dimensions of a flat screen television or a more scientific square) is actually a hard panel sold commercially as sign board, teasing the notion that painting and science are connected as systems of signs.

Superheroes, cartoons, sporting events, and vacations are ready made signs that handle complex universal ideas such as truth or "the real". Superman determines what is good and what is evil using a reason that is independent of the modern values of society or religion. The Simpson family represents the good and bad in the Everyman, while testing the newest cultural morals and beliefs. Vacations, specifically camping, condone the separation of nature from culture. This promotes the use of ideas such as natural and synthetic, real and unreal. This works to the same degree with theme parks; an intentional false reality in an actual location. Television transmits "live" or "true" representations which of course are not live but synthesized; this increases our tolerance for mediated and corporately funded truths.