Gilding the lily: art as alchemy
Gilding the lily: art as alchemy
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Issue Date
1987
Authors
Schoolcraft, Faye
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Abstract
Gilding the Lily is a sculptural environment installed in Fiberworks Gallery Two. A diaphanous plastic wall divides the gallery approximately one third of the way in from the entrance. In this anteroom, xerox portraits hang on the walls. These portraits are intended to depict aspects of how people relate to their worlds, specifically some aspects of the human sexual and romantic psyche, and to introduce and reinforce the major concepts of the installation. On the opening night, a storyteller performs in the anteroom. The viewer passes through a curtained doorway in the plastic wall into a dimly-lit room. Dry ice is used during the opening to give this room a dream-like quality. The walls are partially covered with vines. Flower sculptures are displayed on several pieces of old furniture and on a door that hangs from the ceiling. These flowers drape over chairs and emerge from drawers. The largest object in this installation is a canopied bed at the end of the room. Vines grow out from under the bed and creeping up its sides. The flowers and vines are hallucinations, symbols of another world spilling over into our reality. The combination of subdued, controlled lighting and glitter further imparts an other-worldly atmosphere. Special music and sound affects enhance the mood.
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Fine arts