Thought provoking 

May 23, 2003  

By Carolina Procter, Post-Tribune staff writer

If you're looking for an exhibition of pretty pictures, you wonıt find it
here.  The latest show at Uncle Freddy's Gallery in Hammond is all about
provoking thought, not pleasing the eye. "It's a conceptual art exhibit,"
said gallery co-owner Linda Dorman. "It's about thinking instead of
visuals."

Pieces by conceptual artists Jno Cook, Adelheid Mers and Logan Bay are on
display through June 6. Cook (yes, his named is spelled "Jno" but
pronounced "Jon") is known in Chicago art circles for his sculptures, but
for this exhibition he painted reproductions of traffic signs he saw on
road trips through Texas, Oregon and the Midwest.

The collection of 14 paintings -- all done in road-sign yellow and black
-- illustrate Cook's belief that many signs contain sexual undertones.
Among the warnings he painted: "No Stopping," "Hump," "Three Way" and
"Enter Here."

"What else can you do on road trips except entertain yourself?" Cook wrote
in his artist's statement. The signs are a nice change of pace from
typical sculpture-and-painting exhibitions. Uncle Freddy's isn't afraid to
host an uber-creative exhibition, so it's no surprise the gallery welcomed
this idea.

"The signs are meant to be humorous," Dorman said. "When I first looked at
them, I broke out laughing."

Mers' contributions are even more thought-provoking. Mers studies the work
of the late Czech philosopher Vilem Flusser, who died in 1991. She printed
excerpts of his texts on eight yellow vinyl posters. The result is a wall
of posters peppered with philosophical phrases: "Existing forms can be
stuffed with certain materials," and "Theory models materials. Materials
are shaped by information." One poster observes that a native "loves the
homeland," a traveler "seeks adventure," an immigrant "develops new ties"
and an exile "has been expelled," but a migrant "makes the unusual
livable."

"Mers is a lot about trying to make us aware of our presence on Earth, and
how we affect the space around us," said gallery co-owner Tom Torluemke.

Bay's photographs round out the exhibition. Bay took pictures of street
signs, abandoned buildings, urban wall paintings and kitschy homes and
storefronts in Hammond, Detroit, Colorado, Tulsa, Kansas City and Nevada.
He published them in booklets and called the project "Out the Window, On
the Street."  One photo shows a Kansas City storefront made of a huge
stone skull. Patrons walk in the mouth to enter. Bay has asked Hammond
residents to take their own pictures of the city. He will publish their
photos in a ³rebuttal book.²

If you go:  What: "Signs of Life" conceptual art exhibition When: Through
June 6 Where: Uncle Freddy's Gallery, 5265 Hohman Ave., Hammond Cost: Free
For details: 937-6009

Reporter Carolina Procter can be reached at 648-3086 or by e-mail at
cprocter@post-trib.com.