Artist Jim Pallas uses found objects and society's trash -- circuit boards, CDs, beer cans -- to make viewers think. His solo show, "Objects of Desire: Fish, Moons and Hearts," at the Maniscalco Gallery in Grosse Pointe uses humor, inventiveness and poignancy to make his point about the environment, health, sentimentality and the contemporary world. Pallas, who lives in Grosse Pointe, finds many of his objects by combing the beach on the western shore of Lake Huron. He picks up debris -- man-made and natural -- then constructs what he calls his "trash fish." Beautifully installed swimming on a sea-green wall, these pieces are constructed in a hole in the sand. After settling on his design, he blows insulation in as a binder. The yellowish material oozes through, adding to the statement. Other fish comment on society's castoffs -- throwaways such as CDs, electronic circuit boards, beer cans, 45s, asphalt shingles. There's amazing beauty as well as social commentary. "What will it mean 200 years from now?" Pallas said in an interview on Robert Maniscalco's weekly "Art Beat" program on Detroit Public Television, WTVS-TV (Channel 56; 2 p.m. Saturdays). "It's a game. What are the most important things in the world now? The stuff we throw away has a rich heritage and association to contemporary society. "There's a lot of poetic opportunity in the wastebasket." Pallas' hearts speak of sentimentality, but also of ill health. While making a resin-coated black heart in 2001, he suffered a heart attack. A large red heart, tangled with twisted willow branches, addresses that experience. Another heart is a welded white wire frame filled with racquetballs; others are covered with old keys or dollar bills. One massive heart is filled with memories associated with growing up in a family of women. This one is wired electronically, complete with a siren that sounds and a circuit board counting out the heartbeats. His moons also are sentimental, but humorous. Made from welded metal, most are quarter-moons on wheels. One very intricate one, an older piece, is of welded wire and filled with faded rose petals. You come away from this show satisfied on many levels and smiling at Pallas' inventiveness. |