Local artists show ‘Devotion’

At the “Devotion” art screening on Saturday, five local artists showcased their work.

There was an emphasis on tattoo art with two Skinquake tattoo artists exhibiting their designs. There was also screen printing, video and sculptor pieces on display. The event took place at The Lodge on 101 E. Sixth St.

Examples of tattoo art ranged from staples such as skulls and roses to Colin McClain’s collection of pieces inspired by traditional Japanese art but with subject matter outside of a Japanese context.

Event founder and contributor Jeremy Sweet said he wanted to be able to exhibit his art, which included a collection of screen-printed prayer masks, on his own terms.

“If you want to showcase your art the way you want, you have to do it yourself,” Sweet said. “We wanted complete control not only of the art on display but of the event itself and the frame that the art is viewed through. Most importantly, we just wanted to have a good time and create an event where everybody could have some fun.”

Between the wine and beer served in Solo cups to senior and DJ Jeff Barrows’ non-stop mixing, Sweet helped to establish a relaxed vibe for the attendees.

“We’re just trying to create a way to view this art in a laid-back way,” said Barrows, also referred to as DJ Wally Wonder. “We don’t want people to be in this traditional art exhibition type of mindset. We’re just trying to have some fun.”

An example of a nontraditional art piece was Julian Hensarling’s giant, untitled perpetual-motion mobile seesawing in the middle of the room.

“At 10:30am, I carried all the pieces up here and got to work,” Hensarling said. “I had a basic idea of what I wanted to do, but there was no set plan or blueprint. You kind of just do what feels right at the moment.”

This idea of spontaneity was evidenced by the mounting of a projector on Hensarling’s piece, which showed a video of people stumbling in a drunken stupor in the aisle of a convenience store.  The movement of the projector added to the sense of drunkenness in the video.

“This was something we came up with this morning,” Hensarling said. “Andrew had this video, and it just seemed like a great way to collaborate. Not to sound overly artsy, but it’s really an organic process of creation where we abandon any preconceived notions of what our art should be and try to let it evolve in its own way.”