Studio Quest, 320 W. Gorham St., features a hip hair salon with high ceilings, exposed brick walls and a stylish staff in smart-girl glasses.??It may seem an odd space for a gallery, and it is, but it works. The second floor is spacious, almost amply lit and the sweet smells from the salon below drift upwards, making for a great sensory experience.??
Well, almost.
Hip heARTed, the month-long group show running through Oct. 13 and dedicated to the \urban arts,"" leaves much to be desired.??Organized by UW designer Brody Rose, it is more an advertisement for his flyer designs, mixed CDs and performances than it is a group showcase of local artists presenting their expressions of urban art.??In fact, 22 of the 38 pieces in the show belong to Rose, making it abundantly clear that this is, in fact, his show-the others are just along for the ride.
Coming up the stairs, viewers are greeted by a welcome sign, designed and hand-signed by Rose.??Further in, they are treated to much of his particular brand of urban art: a graffiti-influenced style, executed with spray paint on any number of surfaces, from canvas to photo paper.??The most interesting of his work, however, does not reflect this style.??
""Color-A Graphic Translation"" consists of several squares of paper laid out in a grid on the floor, each with black and white images on them. Each image deals with an aspect of race. For instance, a piece of notebook paper crumpled against a black background is ""white trash.""??This approach gets the viewer thinking graphically about racial stereotypes and how common they are. It is a very thought-provoking work. The main problem is that it is on the floor, blocked by a stool.
Also troubling is the last square, Rose's personal logo that is angled away from all the rest of the pieces and interrupts the flow between image and meaning.
Amidst the rest of Brody Rose's work-flyers for parties and clubs, Sept. 11 tributes and hip-hop album collages-are the few pieces from the other artists.??An especially captivating piece is a small collage by Jake Keeler called ""Better Results in the Field,"" using an old 78 rpm record, duct tape and paint to create a geometric composition that not only uses shape but color and texture for balance.??It is a small, aesthetically pleasing work that gets lost amidst Rose's large digital images of himself.
The cheekily named Dana Coppafeel presents three small mixed media canvases, all featuring a graffitied word, photos or other found papers, and a line drawing of a hand.??With titles such as ""Love Life,"" Dana Coppafeel brings a personal element to her interpretation of urban arts, with hand imagery showing the human side behind graffiti-the hand of the artist.
The artists of hip heARTed make a sincere effort to portray the ""urban arts,"" although what that is exactly is still unclear. Any definition implied by one of the five other artists is quickly overshadowed by Rose's sheer volume of work.??The other voices in the show are lost in a blizzard of his self-promotion.
