David Kramer
02 Jan - 01 Feb 2009
DAVID KRAMER
"Snake Oil"
2 January – 1 February, 2009
Using humor and self-deprecation, David Kramer frames everyday experiences and juxtaposes them against the idealized expectations of life that come out of the pop cultural cannon to create his stories, drawings and sculptures. Like a fly to the hot lights, Kramer is attracted to the glossy images and advertisements from lifestyle magazines knowing that, even if he can fulfill his desires, he will still find himself sadly disappointed only to desire something else.
The large signs and drawings included in this exhibition were conceived and produced at a Yaddo residency that Kramer completed during the winter of 2008. One of them, a kind of roadside attraction sign with clip-on letters and flashing light bulbs, spells out “Snake Oil,” another, "Free Kool Aide." In this case, the snake oil is that perfect life that advertising and pop cultural media tantalize us with and would have us believe exists. It is where these expectations and limitations meet that Kramer’s work lives as he depicts his stories in such a way that we can all relate to them, however uncomfortably.
"Snake Oil"
2 January – 1 February, 2009
Using humor and self-deprecation, David Kramer frames everyday experiences and juxtaposes them against the idealized expectations of life that come out of the pop cultural cannon to create his stories, drawings and sculptures. Like a fly to the hot lights, Kramer is attracted to the glossy images and advertisements from lifestyle magazines knowing that, even if he can fulfill his desires, he will still find himself sadly disappointed only to desire something else.
The large signs and drawings included in this exhibition were conceived and produced at a Yaddo residency that Kramer completed during the winter of 2008. One of them, a kind of roadside attraction sign with clip-on letters and flashing light bulbs, spells out “Snake Oil,” another, "Free Kool Aide." In this case, the snake oil is that perfect life that advertising and pop cultural media tantalize us with and would have us believe exists. It is where these expectations and limitations meet that Kramer’s work lives as he depicts his stories in such a way that we can all relate to them, however uncomfortably.