Smarter Art

   Through Nov. 11, the Main Art Gallery is exhibiting a diverse collection called The Artists of Art Forum.  It features sculpture, photography, painting and elements from a collaborative installation. All works are by presenters in Art 115: Art Forum, Issues in Contemporary Art.  In turn provocative and soothing, the individual works share few commonalities outside their contemporary styles.
   Near the entrance of the exhibit is a collection of ceramics so fraught with spongy texture that it begs to be squeezed. Has anyone verified that Jeff Netzer's "Beads" is really ceramic, and not secretly sculpted from ultra light foam?
   The elements from "M.O.L.D."  refer to a performance/ interactive installation created by The Finishing School. The Los Angeles based artists' collective invited its audience to "engage in a critical conversation about the quality and safety of the food we consume." Petri dishes and biosafety gear suggest an unsavory future for the loaf of bread that lies on the exhibit table.
   Brian Cooper's vivid paintings pop from the gray walls of the gallery, a mind-bending series of images called "Art in Public."
   "Google Image Search: ‘Santa/Jesus'—Any Size, No Filter" has provoked a number of incensed comments in the gallery's guest book. A fascinating montage of nearly a thousand images, the piece contains fine art juxtaposed with everything from kitsch to porn to religious portraits.
   Dark and mysterious, Dirk Petchul's "Soul" series of photographs provides a sharp contrast to the glossy, garish "Santa/Jesus" mash-up.
   Mark Leysen's abstract landscapes round out the exhibit with bright color blocks in sweeping, kinetic compositions.