By Megan Sullivan Staff Writer
Artists often fail to create connections between abstract art and its viewers, as shown in James Gilbert’s “Sledgehammer. Bullet. Bomb” exhibit at the Manhattan Beach Art Center.
“Sledgehammer. Bullet. Bomb” pushes the limits of cre- ativity by utilizing common ma- terials to create abstract three- dimensional pieces. According to the artist, he created these works to demonstrate the de- struction of culture. Despite the artist’s novel idea, the pieces are bland, seemingly unfinished and too abstract.
Gilbert works and lives in Los Angeles, and his work has been featured around the world. Past exhibits by Gilbert include themes of death, abuse of power, and disasters.
The exhibit by Gilbert con- sists of both sculptures and site- specific works. All of the pieces in this collection address human actions hat cause the destruction of culturally significant objects and architecture.
A downfall of the exhibit is that all of the sculptures are made from the same few com- mon construction materials, resulting in a monotonous col- lection. The materials, including sandbags and wood, are posi-
tioned in various configurations that all look similar, causing the exhibit to be lacking interest.
Additionally, the monon- tonous materials combined with the haphazardly placed pieces of wood make the pieces look rushed and tacky. This poor ex-
ecution of the artwork makes the entire exhibit look like a work in progress.
Similarly, the only vibrant colors present in the artwork are purple and pink, which further contributes to the blandness of the work. At first glance, the ex-
hibit looks enticing due to the bright colors. However, when every sculpture sports these same colors, the lack of diver- sity makes all of the pieces seem to blend into one, creating a tire- some atmosphere.
Another flaw of the exhibit isthe fact that two of the pieces are carved out of the gallery’s wall, and the cut-out sections of the wall are left on the ground as part of the pieces. This strange configuration, although creative, is another display of the exihibit looking neglected, which inevi- tably lowers the overall quality of the work.
Furthermore, the exhibit only showcases nine pieces in a large gallery space, leaving ample amount of empty space on the walls. The overall aesthetics of the exhibit failed to grab atten- tion because the gallery created an uninteresting atmosphere.
The artist’s purpose for the exhibit, as written on the first wall of the gallery, is to bring awareness to destruction caused by human beings. However, his message is lost in the actual con- struction of the pieces. The me- diocrity of the sculptures makes his intentions of this message seem unclear, as the artwork is so repetitive and bland.
Overall, the “Sledgehammer. Bullet. Bomb,” exhibit is un- derwhelming with works that consistently look the same and pieces that all appear to be messy and unfinished. Thus, Gilbert’s message fails to be communi- cated through his artwork.
The “Sledgehammer. Bullet. Bomb” exhibit by Gilbert began on Nov 19 and will continue at the MBAC until Jan 9.
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