Jim Woodring: Little Minds and Large Agree: The More of You the Less of Me, Fed Square, June 2007
Originally appeared in The Scene, June 1 2007
American cartoonist Jim Woodring’s biography makes several references to his childhood hallucinations, which continued into adulthood. As someone who barely lasted a year of torturous university rote-learning method art history, how could I not relate to someone who, according to Wikipedia, “dropped out of college when he hallucinated a cartoon-like frog in the middle of an art history course”?
I nearly missed his exhibition, entitled Little Minds and Large Agree: The More of You the Less of Me created for Fed Square Fracture Gallery in the Atrium. If one looks the wrong way when entering the large glass structure, one would miss the typical Woodringesque brightly-coloured cartoon of a child’s spinning-top aeroplane flying creature (his famous ‘Frank’ character), holding plus and minus symbol flags, chased after by a puppy-like pyramid shaped creature (who I later discovered is called Pushpaw).
The image is projected onto the glass on the right side of the Atrium, and really needs to be viewed from a distance. The other aspect of the exhibition is a cartoon played on a large video-screen in the back left-hand corner of the Atrium. This cartoon, featuring a kind of surrealist, demented Mad Hatters tea party with what appears to be an imaginative, perhaps drug-affected, Mickey Mouse, a cute child’s blue and yellow duck and a collaged pig, gives us some clue of the wonder of Woodring’s world.
Unfortunately, the screen had no sound, so I’m unsure as to whether there was dialogue, but the characters did appear to be speaking. I think the work was Visions of Frank, 8 animations (in a variety of animation techniques, from paper craft, iron sand, 2D, 3DCG and clay) made by Japanese filmmakers, with music scored by Japanese and US musicians. There were no apparent signs nearby to inform me what the work was, a bar running under the screen claimed it was the exhibition Jim Woodring: Little Minds and Large Agree: The More of You the Less of Me, but no more information was forthcoming.
| Site-specific installation (read: “big translucent sticker”) by Jim Woodring at Federation Square. www.flickr.com/photos/fordigan |
Considering that some of the musicians who have scored the animations include James McNew from Yo La Tengo, it would have been great to be able to hear the soundtrack to this film. The work would perhaps be better suited to a space better equipped to show new media, such as the neighbouring ACMI, where one could hear as well as see the fun of Woodring’s world. As an introduction into his work, this exhibition at least serves some kind of purpose. While not quite in the established gallery, the NGV, it is least right outside it, and it is gratifying to see an underground comic artist appreciated in this way.I was left with wanting more though, it would be great to see an entire exhibition of this artist’s work, as Woodring is one of the more prolific and admired comic artists around. He has published several books of his comics, made toys and animations, and you can even buy his fingerprints to put in your home. I hope we see more of this artist in Melbourne in the future.
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