Written by Raine Blunk
“Its about the blending of ideas. An idea smoothie,” says Jon Taylor on MADHAUS, his first curated show opening tomorrow night at Desotorow Gallery in conjunction with The Rapture, a music show at Starland Dairy.
“I see there are so many talented people in Savannah,” says Taylor, who works at Destorow. “So I made a Facebook group and invited all these incredible people whose work I love. I was trying to get this idea across of having a big group show where the motifs and themes were powerful, whether they be appropriating a social injustice or cultural, political and time-oriented aspects.”
But Taylor feels that using Facebook as a mode of communication with local artists was almost counterproductive. “I put all these ideas out that I hoped people would latch onto, and people would read them and not respond.”
It’s possible that Taylor’s difficulties contacting artists might even help reiterate the concept behind MADHAUS, which is to promote art that is “indicative of the culture we live in,” a culture that finds fulfillment in online interaction, but isn’t always motivated to participate in local events.
“Some of the only works I have right now are ones I have literally physically taken from people,” says Taylor, who created a Tumblr page to post artwork applicable to the show’s themes.
“One of my ideas was the machine-man aesthetic,” Taylor says, who also researched Sensationalism, Dada, work by Picasso and the ideas of Duchamp when formulating the exhibition’s concept. “I want it to be inspired by everything.”
And a little bit of everything is exactly what Taylor has collected. “Some of the pieces would have been thrown away,” he says while holding a relief sculpture he found outside of Boundary Hall. “I’m trying to be a representative for the talent I see in people’s morgues – all the dead work no one will never see.”
“I’m not a Nazi. Submissions are totally open as long as someone backs it up with an idea.” says Taylor, who admits that not all of the work he’s received has been great.
“Too often people are lazy and think that something doesn’t relate to them or they’re not right for something. But this [show], at least, is something I hoped people would say ‘Hey, my work is good because… here it is.’ Why should I turn it away?”
Despite the odd mix of submissions, Taylor still stands by his initial motivation to “make history” with a recontextualization of ideas coming to fruition on the walls of the gallery.
“I don’t think its possible to get people excited about the art’s scene without giving them a reason to get involved,” says Taylor, who hopes that people who decided not to submit work change their minds after Friday night. “I want people to come here and say ‘Wow, why didn’t I put a piece in?’ because I think we’ve all felt like that.”
But outside of any jealousy issues, Taylor wants show-goers to find something on the walls of Desotorow that motivates them to generate honest and astute conversation.
“I’m doing this because I want to have a moment of “ahh” that I think we so lack here. I want it to be explosive. I want people to think. I want it to inspire insightful dialogue.”
If MADHAUS turns out anything close to Taylor’s vision, the complications he encountered while curating the exhibition will be irrelevant after tomorrow night. All he can hope is that the community is willing to respond. “The show will be nothing without the people,” says Taylor. And he’s right — in a way, that’s what the show is really all about.
MADHAUS will open at 6 p.m. at Desotorow Gallery in cooperation with The Rapture. For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page.
