- May 3, 2012
- 1:00 pm
- Steve Christensen
The Grand Spectacle extended
Doug Stapleton, Incubus, 2010. Collage on board
The Grand Spectacle: Collages by Doug Stapleton, currently on exhibit in the Loyola University Museum of Art’s Harlan J. Berk Ltd. Works on Paper Gallery, has been extended and will run through May 27, 2012.
A Chicago artist, Stapleton cuts images from art books and combines them with contemporary imagery to set up visually ambiguous narratives. The exhibition contains more than 50 collages, which draw on symbols and metaphors from art history, language, popular culture, and religion. These figurative collages respond to the grand spectacle and drama of western art history, often creating surreal juxtapositions of past and present. One such example, Logo, is a collage that absurdly presents a classical sculpture wearing a Nike athletic shirt. Collages like Incubus (pictured) and The Golden Child position art historical images of Christ at the center of fantastical dramas involving mythical characters or a riot of flowers.
Stapleton’s unique and diverse background informs the way he constructs his collages. In addition to being a visual artist, Stapleton is a performance artist, curator, and educator. He is an assistant curator of art with the Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery and a former artistic associate with The Seldoms, a Chicago-based contemporary dance company.
For more on LUMA and its current exhibitions, click here.
