Pulp Fiction

By Samantha Chown, Arts Contributor

Before Pulp Fiction was synonymous with a Quentin Tarantino movie, it had a different meaning.  It stood for the “pulp” paperbacks that featured stories of fantasy and man’s struggle against what he can’t quite control. Its newest incarnation is the title of the current art exhibit at the Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery.
The artwork deals with the condition of humanity and internal struggle, wrapped up in a fantasy that pokes fun at pop culture. Curator Corinna Ghaznavi’s says the artwork can’t be pinned down to one story.
Organized and circulated by Museum London, the exhibit features artists Marc Bell, Tasha Brotherton, Mark DeLong, Barry Doupe, Shayne Ehman, Liz Garlicki, James Kirkpatrick, Amy Lockhart, Jason McLean, Jennie O’Keefe, Seth Scriver, The Lions and Peter Thompson. Each of these artists has worked together collaboratively or shown together, making their work complementary for a great exhibit.
Jason McLean and Mark DeLong use found objects such as baseballs, baseball gloves, hats and briefcases on which to paint their messages. Their pieces entice you to press your nose to the glass for a closer look.
Jennie O’Keefe’s porcelain dolls are tucked away in an alcove off the main room. Enter this room because the dolls, especially “My Job Makes My Head Hurt” and “Mr. C. Goose”, are hilarious and cheeky.
The best parts of the exhibit are Marc Bell and Peter Thompson’s ink drawings. If you know anything about the phenomenon that is J.R.R. Tolkien (one of pulp fiction’s originals), You might like Bell and Thompson’s collection of drawings entitled “The Hobbit”. These comics are laugh-out-loud funny.
The only drawback is that the whole picture is hard to take in the first time. The drawings are so incredibly detailed they demand total concentration. If their message seems as if it’s finally sinking in, another character all of a sudden pops out of the background of every drawing.
This is a typical problem for most of the artwork. There’s just not enough time to spend with each piece. One of the animations by Seth Scriver and Shayne Ehman is 40 minutes long itself.  If the exhibit is overwhelming, come back later, or make sure to purchase the short zines by the artists as a souvenir.