Considering how many versions of the chandelier are in play (one of my favorites here), the dearth of mobiles is surprising. After Calder and possibly Lee Bontecou, nobody comes to mind.
Beth Campbell backed into the form. She makes drawings that diagram the branching connectives of a thought – My Potential Future Based on Present Circumstances –
and noticed that if their shape was airborne, its drift would reflect another layer of consciousness.
Her mobiles are a kind of calligraphic drawing, a lattice that flirts with its own shadow. Maybe because there’s a mobile hanging over the heads of nearly every baby whose parents have the funds to provide one, the form is considered trifling. Campbell’s have nerve, urban wit and slippery grace. Infants might love them, but what parent would allow one to inflect their view as they lie, helpless, in their cribs? Her version has a dangerous edge, like spiders descending in mass.
At James Harris Gallery with a suite of drawings through June 6. More on Campbell here.
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