Also this issue:

Raising the Bar
A look at Philly watering holes that offer more than just drinks to local artists.
-Susan Hagen

Tree of Life
In Project Room's latest installation, Keiko Miyamori captures the spirit of the neighborhood in the roots of one of its trees.
-Robin Rice

Wig Out
-Ashlea Halpern

Eat, Shorts
-Debra Auspitz

Going Solo
-Debra Auspitz

July 12-18, 2002

artpicks

Private Eyes

Lori Hill

Melissa Caldwell, curator of the Philadelphia Art Alliance's new exhibition, "Unbecoming: The Private as Public Spectacle," didn't have to go far for inspiration. Caldwell was struck by the way the first floor of the building evokes environments both private (the residence it once was at the turn of the century) and public (the gallery space it is now). From there, she took the idea to five artists she thought could carry out her vision: Elizabeth Campbell, Sarah Lucas, Joseph Maida, Kara Crombie and Connie Walsh. The artists scrutinize and utilize mass-media techniques for clues about the constantly blurring boundaries between the public and the private, or, as Caldwell says, the way it "disintegrates identity." It's a pretty heady show, with the introduction referencing theorists Guy DeBord and Jean Baudrillard and its meta-exhibition tendencies, that is, challenging viewers to examine the examinations. The works -- from Campbell's hyper-real images of the quintessential private space, the bedroom, and Lucas' hidden-camera-like self-portraits, to Maida's voyeuristic dress-up fantasy photos and Crombie's four-screen surveillance video -- control the amount of access the viewer has to the images thrown at them and the way in which those images are viewed. The viewer is asked to think about how that manipulation makes them feel. Walsh, in her piece Push Pull, even uses monitors melded to stiff wooden chairs, signifying an almost forced viewing. So sit down and watch.

Unbecoming: The Private as Public Spectacle, through Aug. 31, opening reception Thu., July 11, 5:30 p.m., Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th St., 215-545-4302.