KRISTI ENGLE GALLERY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kristi Engle Gallery
5002 York Ave.
Highland Park, CA 90042
323.472.6237
kristi@kristienglegallery.com

ART EXHIBITION: MEG MADISON'S “12.26”

January 13 through February 17, 2007
Opening Reception: January 13, 2007, 6-9 pm
Artist in Conversation wih Amanda Doenitz: January 28, 2007
Gallery hours: Thurs-Sat, 12-6pm & by appointment
For images, please contact: Kristi Engle, 323/472-6237

For the past several years, after the Christmas holiday, photographer Meg Madison has visited city yards to photograph trees that are brought there to be recycled into mulch. In her photographs the once carefully pruned and cared-for tree becomes just one of the hundreds being moved about, picked up by heavy machinery and tossed carelessly into dumpsters.

These photos ponder the transition of a potent sign when, after the holidays have passed, people en masse take their trees out of the house. Madison captures these forlorn moments and objects with great compassion, as a symbol of perpetual faith and fertility transforms into a symbol for disposable culture and mass consumerism.

When talking about the photographs Madison recalls Òthe home movies my dad took of my sisters and me approaching mountains of presents under an elaborately decorated Christmas tree. Viewing the films without sound allowed me to re-experience the holidays without the screaming alcohol-fueled arguments that accompanied them in real life.Ó While the Christmas tree is meant to evoke holiday cheer and goodwill, as a sign it is often threatened to be undermined by the complexities of our lived experiences. The abandoned Christmas tree becomes an inverted sign proffered in the morosely collected trees and the mulch they ultimately become.

The Christmas experience parallels the transformation of the tree from a holy monument of familial love into the heartbreaking detritus that comes with another passing holiday. This series of photographs, exhibited after the holidays have past, explores the melancholia of this ephemeral part of an ancient tradition.

In conjunction with the exhibition, a conversation between the artist and consultant/writer, Amanda Doenitz will take place on January 28, 2007 at 4:00 pm. Exhibition Catalogues will also be available.

Kristi Engle Gallery devotes itself primarily to solo exhibitions of new works by contemporary artists. It is located in Highland Park, near the corner of Ave. 50 and York Blvd.

Back