“Unusual” Art Show Sees Into The System

Cailin Alcock’s Exposure and Perspective 2 — part of ​“Unusual,” a show of Alcock’s works running now at Blue Orchid on Court Street for a few weeks — can be understood to act as a tutorial for the rest of the show. The piece itself is abstract, hanging from a metal pipe on a chain, but the shapes and shades in it are evocative enough that one’s brain might begin to try to make sense of it, as a portrait, as landscape, as something. Alcock has anticipated this. ​“These images may be reminiscent of a face, but not one that is recognized. These can be interpreted as faces based on what is known. Eyes, nose, mouth. But is that enough to say this is a face?”

That same sense of playful interrogation runs through the short show, but Alcock is after big goals when she talks about re-evaluating assumptions.

“Fortunate to emerge from an extremely creative family, with the resources to elevate my creative inclination, I was exposed to new artistic tools almost daily. Creating promptly became my outlet. At a young age, I illustrated my own comic strips with wildly unique characters and plots,” Alcock writes in an accompanying statement. ​“Studying fine art in high school introduced me to incredible art activists and I became engrossed in the power a piece can emanate. I discovered shock tactics and incorporated the same principles into my own work, believing art could be my platform to inspire change. Then onto four years of graphic design at the Shintaro Akatsu School of Design, I initially struggled with all the rules and margins but quickly realized that restrictions only breed creativity. I became obsessed with coding, combining my love of mathematics and design.”

​“My long ​‘career’ as an artist/designer has left me with an endless bag of quirky works of usually untraditional media, and multiple portfolios that I rework often. One thing will never change. I will continue my goal to shock, horrify, and confront societal norms, hoping to influence more accepting and inclusive mindsets, in any way I can.”

For this particular show, Alcock seeks to address a few different themes: ​“immigration, empathy, societal standards, image and preconception, exposure and perspective, and opportunities vs. chances.” Alcock’s larger goal is to get the viewer to see more clearly how ​“success in this world is measured by western standards. The systems built were created by a single mindset and way of life,” while ​“the truth is that there are multiple perspectives that need to be heard, considered, and understood.”

But the nature of Alcock’s pieces also clarifies that she’s not writing an essay; she is making art, and having fun doing it. The description accompanying Opportunities Vs. Chance dives into the idea that people who are making creative work that intentionally doesn’t fit mainstream tastes are going to be told they’re not successful simply by virtue of that fact, rather than by evaluation of the art itself. How many artists are lucky enough to be able to work under such a system. Who’s able to take risks and who can’t afford to? They’re important questions about artmaking — even the image itself suggests that there are ways to explore those questions with humor and grace.

“Somewhere along the way society created rules linking image to the level of respect one deserved. Used as a benefit to control and discriminate.… Non-factual, nonsensical notions which have unfortunately stuck through generations, becoming systemic,” Alcock writes about the pieces Image and Preconception 1. ​“Empathy is imperative to manifest change. A simple solution, yet seemingly lacking in every level of society.”

Alcock moves through huge topics with dizzying speed, but the image itself — still playful, even as it suggests a fracture — offers a spin on what she writes. If images are linked to respect in society, then artists have a unique ability to manipulate that respect, or, if they see fit, disrupt it. Perhaps the empathy Alcock talks about lies at the bottom of that disruption. What if we took away the system Alcock mentions, and could see one another as we really are?

“Unusual” is currently running at Blue Orchid, 130 Court St. Visit the restaurant’s website for hours, menu, and more information.