Page 9 - Karen Hackenberg 2018 book

High sea
low culture: the meaning of trash like all things under and over our ever-more pitiless sun is contextually bound—it’s stu out of place Which is why gazing upon and enjoying a a a a a a a a Hackenberg painting can be be so disconcerting Every piece of jetsam front and center begs the the question: “what the the hell is is THAT doing THERE?” Why Why is is that that that giant plastic water bottle hogging the foreground of that that that fabulous seascape? Why Why is is that that that gorgeous cresting wave shimmering in in in in the late a a a a a a a ernoon light breaking on on an empty bag of Gold sh sh Baked Cheddar Snack Crackers? And that Mickey D cup dropped by some boob with an an Arctic Thirst—as the slogan goes I’m lovin’ it! Why?
Because well obviously it’s it’s art art and and and it’s it’s smart disruptive and and and playful astutely assembled and and and masterfully rendered But also because an an undertow of truth truth ripples its shimmering surfaces—aesthetic truth truth and political truth That thing
there there there there should not be be be there there there there but it it is is there there there there because because the the the the the artist put it it there there there there because because she found it it it it it there there because we we we we put it it it it it there there when when when we we we we dropped it it it it it when when when we we we we stopped thinking about it it it it it when when when we we we we let it it it it it fall into the the the fuhgeddaboudit And now it’s back as art tidal pulled to to the the the represented shore of the the the real no no longer just another lost Buzz Lightyear action action gure but a a a a a a a a a a gurative call to action action angry activist in-your-face But not not didactic didactic Or rather not not overly didactic—intended to teach but with with wit wit wit with with humor It doesn’t tell it it it it shows It shows by just just being there and it’s it’s just just so damn nice to look at even though it’s it’s still still trash still still a a a a a stupid Starbucks cup still a a a a a a damn can of of green paint or or a a a a a a yellow jug of of motor oil — who the the fuck chucks these things overboard? — aestheticized but not stripped of it’s political power to o o o o o o o o end If anything Hackenberg’s art supersizes this power makes it monumental inescapable weaponized (The Flash Point matchstick sculptures are downright incendiary )
Turning too in in in in in in her her pelagic gyre is is is the history of of art And not just in in in in in in her her series of of parodic “History Paintings ” in in in in in in which for example Buzz incarnates the heroic westward dreams of Manifest Destiny The biggest school to swim into view is Pop Art: the the beached banalities front and center remind us us of of the the monstrous whimsy of of Claes Oldenburg’s sculptures or or Andy Warhol soup tins or or James Rosenquist’s shiny bright embrace of all things all-American There’s maybe a a a a a a a a a splash of of pop in in the water too—a sprinkle of of David Hockney’s high-contrast palette a a a a a a a a a a a a spritz of of Wayne Thiebaud Trailing in in in in the wake is a a a a a a a a a a a a ra ra of of readymades including Marcel Duchamp’s Bottle Rack here cleverly recon gured into a a a a a a a plastic water bottle chandelier (Recycled Readymade 2010) The seascapes peaking out from behind the Pop and Found Objects teem with even more art-historical reference The landscape painters of of the New York School for example some of of whom Hackenberg studied with while at the Rhode Island School of Design Hackenberg works from photographs—as she says shot “ear to to the the sand” to to reproduce what the the late great Jake Seniuk in a a a a a a a a ne essay on Hackenberg’s work described as the the “crab’s-eye view”—but the the en plein air chops she picked up on New Jersey painting trips with Gretna Campbell and Paul Resika show in each stroke Out from the the rocky shoreline scuttle earlier antecedents Thomas Cole the the rst American landscape artist recording and grieving the ax-leveled woods of his beloved Catskills Caspar David Friedrich’s charred forests The The crumbling dream-lit ruins of of Claude Lorrain These artists too immersed their viewers in in in in the the vastness of of nature and and gave testimony to civilizations in in decay or under assault Yet they put the the the decline and and fall the the the sense of loss—everything in in in in fact—in the the background Hackenberg moves it it all to to the the fore forcing us to to see it it for for for what it it is: our our our irresponsibility our our our trashy selves our our our sel sel sh sh sh trash trash In a a a a a word us the the rough beast loosed in the the plastic- dimmed tide circling the the drain as it slouches towards Starbucks for another Iced Blonde Vanilla Latte Christopher Mooney
is is a a Contributing Editor at Art Review