RACHEL’S KILLIN’ IT

Featuring Ben Wolf, Nikita Gale, Melanie Manos, Mike Black, Lee Deigaard, Mike Stasny, Osman Khan and Nathan Sharratt

Zuckerman Museum of Art, Kennesaw State University

June 2015-August 2015

Rachel's Killin' It takes an inspired look at the first five years of Dashboard while keeping a curious eye on the future. We showcase a handful of our favorite artists who have encouraged our growth by taking artistic risks often inspired by the personalities and practices of their counterparts. They're killin' it. Like Rachel. 

INFLATABLE (EGO)

Nathan Sharratt, 2015

Plastic, Blower, Rope, Video.
Video 22 min, 45 sec. /  20'x200'10' 

Nathan Sharratt works performatively, challenging his emotional and physical capacity to accomplish super human feats. This sculpture and endurance piece was located on the front lawn of the Zuckerman Museum. The time lapse video (22.45 minutes) covers 5 days of collaborative endurance work supporting the inflation of the artist's 20'x200'x10' sculpture "WE GOT MORE". The final day is of the removal of the work and inflation and final deflation of the word "WE" on the center of the lawn.

CLUB MSIF

Mike Stasny

Wood, latex paint, styrofoam, audio

A micro dance club that explores human connections utilizing “party” as a medium. Infusing dance club clichés and an absurd monster aesthetic, CLUB MSIF attempts to evoke the profound effect escapism has on bonding individuals through reckless fun and decadence.

Mike Stasny <---> Nikita Gale

Mike Stasny <---> Mike Black

UNTHOUGHT KNOWN

Nikita Gale, 2015

Video projection, 2-channel audio; 2 min., 25 sec.

“I know that I am in the process of experiencing something, but I do not as yet know what it is, and I may have to sustain this not knowing for a long time… By using language to speak selected subjective states, and by struggling on occasion to find the right words to express my states of mind, I am trying to give to language its meaningful representational potential.” - Christopher Bollas

“I think in terms of emotions. And feelings. So sometimes what I say may not always be clear. But creatively, there's a lot to be said for that way of thinking. I consider myself a voice, not a singer. A voice is a sound, and singing is what you do with that sound." -Brian Wilson

Nikita Gale <---> Lee Deigaard
Nikita Gale <---> Nathan Sharratt

Christopher Bollas from The Shadow of the Object: Psychoanalysis of the Unthought Known, New York:(Columbia University Press, 1987)Brian Wilson, from the Beach Boys

MEMOIRS OF ATLANTA, PART 1

Mike Black, 2015

Plastic, Rebar, Concrete, Powder Coating

This artwork is in partial response to The Climb II by Melanie Manos, an artist Black has yet to meet in person but from whom he draws inspiration (a frequent occurrence among Dash artists). Playing with the way Manos negotiates and manipulates architecture, Black transforms industrial materials he finds at construction sites and preserves them as precious sculpture. Both artists challenge our perceptions of physical space and familiar structures.

Melanie Manos <---> Mike Black

Mike Black <---> Mike Stasny

ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER

Lee Deigaard, 2014

Concrete block, toy horse, golf ball, dried hay, artificial turf, garden hose, gravel, and video; 22 min., 42 sec.

This small-scale video installation explores narrative associations and patterns through close observation of the natural world. Witnessing objects at various stages of life and death (consuming and decomposing) reminds us that we are all part of a codependent, supportive network.

Lee Deigaard <---> Nikita Gale