Works: Joseph Seigenthaler and Jeff Danley
Where: Cumberland Gallery
When: Through May 24
My dad was the first Libertarian I ever knew, and he used to sing “Ron Paaaaaul!” to the tune of “Heigh-Ho” every time the man’s name was mentioned. I’d like to think that, regardless of political sway, he would have appreciated Joseph Seigenthaler’s mounted Ron Paul head, because it sort of visually approximates the absurd reverence that drives someone to sing a name like it’s a battle cry. Seigenthaler’s ceramic heads also include figures such as Nikola Tesla and Shel Silverstein, and his skill comes from years as a wax worker in the Country Music Wax Museum.
Jeff Danley’s work, on paper at least, couldn’t be more different. A self-taught painter, Danley makes oils on canvas of solitary female figures. In his artist’s statement, he says, “I’ve always been interested in the language of the body and what is being expressed through posture and movement, as well as the marks of time on the body itself.” Think of this as a choreographed dance between Danley’s women in the forest of Seigenthaler’s busts.
