THE MENACE
17 January-9 February, 2009
Since the dawn of time and/or the beginning of written history the 'menace' has been ever-present. From God's admonitions to Adam concerning his eating of the Apple and its possible repercussions, to a multitude of passages in almost every religious text on record, we learn about the punishment that awaits us for our sins. Stretching this even further to the present state of the Middle East the menace has been the lever of choice for those with power and for those without it. It is used to goad the uncooperative and unruly.
The menace can also appear as a natural reaction to man's actions as in the case of global warming. Or it can be entirely neutral and arbitrary, like the threat of a meteor striking out planet.
These threats are used to keep us from making the best decisions for ourselves at critical moments. When people are faced with the issue of self-preservation, the question of 'security' emerges. At this point the curtains open and human history with all its dramatic and ambitious destruction takes the stage.
If I attempted to capture all this gruesome history using film as my interpretive medium each piece would be approximately 180 minutes. But here I have created a new platform, a place where form and space battle in a rarefield atmosphere without unnecessary distractions. It is a stage peppered with dark humor and the twist of a blade, where the narrative is unconstrained yet economical.
The Menace is the third in a series. This time, instead of working with the theme directly, I chose to use my ever present subject “humankind” as the vehicle. I chose to explire the new heights and depths reached in our evolutionary progress, the cumulative history that is in the making, the unlimited power that we possess for destruction, the will to wipe out the Other fort he sake of self-preservation, even the con that we are willing to perpetrate in order to win a simeple 'game'. I have compounded all these elements and utilized them in my own story to expose you to the menace. - Ansen
This exhibit is dedicated to my dear friend and fellow artist Sevket Sönmez, in celebration of his recovery and return to us…