Iain Baxter& at Jane Corkin 55 Mill St., Bldg. 61., to Nov. 7
This exhibition seems especially appropriate for back to school, as two large installations evoke education and its systems. Fahrenheit 450 (Homage to Bradbury and Orwell) is a large figure eight made out of shoe-wearing books; The Lecture is a stripped-down classroom where each stacking chair is nestled into boots or shoes. This use of footwear (which ranges from office-ready pumps to rubber galoshes) is playful but unclear, feeling glib sometimes. Nonetheless, the brogues and ballet flats lend individuality to identical objects. Similarly, the books reflect a range of interests, from neurology to entertaining -- though again Baxter& forces that diversity into a big uniform structure. As a result, it feels like the renowned professor has grown weary of the forced march of our educational institutions-- or is at least willing to question their merits. That figure eight, for instance, could be the infinite cycle of lifelong learning or an inward-looking, tuition-fee-grabbing parade. Likewise, his podium notes list that a lecture can be both "instruction" and "reprimand" -- the opening of doors and the closing of them, too. An older Baxter& photo showing a painted mountain backdrop in front of real mountains echoes these concerns: What stands between us and the real world? Does it introduce us to the latter's grandeur or offer only a pale copy? Interestingly, these questions are as relevant to art as they are to education.
"Out today: Reviews of Three Distillery-District Shows"
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