Monday, November 22, 2010
Visual Arts / review Fabian Williams canvasses a ‘Composition of Chaos’
Posted by Shannon Barbour on Mon, Nov 22, 2010 at 5:57 PM
- Jasiatic Anderson
- Williams as Exacto
The show itself didn’t start until around 10. This time, the center “ring” was bathed in red light as Williams’ masked character, Exacto, entered the scene. He warmed up the crowd with jokes containing a brief on the narrative: His return to art from a miserable career at “Scamway Global” and the bizarre medical condition, malignant cooties, that ultimately sent him over the edge, pushing him to “capture” artists and force them to battle. Two by two, the artists marched out with a catsuit clad “ring woman,” Sherreice De’Von. Williams’ brother Adrian appeared as a caped-and-masked referee named, Riunite, while hip-hop artist, Sean Falyon served as announcer.
There were three rounds: “Still Art,” a study of a bust or small statue; “Figure Drawing” on a live model; and the hilarious “Face Off” where they pull off their best — or worst — renderings of each other all to old school hip-hop jams from D.J. Jamad.
There were four bouts:
Goldi Gold as “40Holyfield” vs Jody Harris as “Hoochie Coochie Man”
Tela Hubbard as “Queen T” vs Justin D. Anderson as “DEEZ 53”
Daniel DTM Flores as “Tha Man” vs Abu Art as “The Iron Shiek”
Tuki Carter aka “Dynomite” vs Edwin McSwine as “Tennessee Pride”
The highlights: two of the four led to double “disqualifications,” as artists attempted to comically pass off pre-painted portraits as live sketches.
At the end of the first bout’s final round, Harris spit a hilarious freestyle diss rhyme and Gold revealed a portrait of Harris drawn as an ill ’80s throwback, “Garbage Pail Kid,” with missing teeth and boom box covered in “40 Holyfield” stickers.
- Jasiatic Anderson
- Tela Hubbard as Queen T with Justin Anderson as DEEZ 53
Flores had the strongest character composition hands down. He rolled with a clique of East L.A. gangstas in flannel, wielding a baseball bat and a very realistic looking plastic Uzi. His competitor, Abu Art, didn’t stand a chance, as Flores’ side men drew their own mocking sketches that they tore up and tossed out.
In the final bout, Carter, of Hollyweerd fame showed art chops comparable to his musical skill, but his character was undefined. The same held true for McSwine — he was creatively strong, but didn't give a clear picture of who he was. Their lives sketches were sophomoric, but their final portraits garnered cheers.
Overall, the show benefited largely from an improvement in production. A large screen which displayed clips from previous battles also projected the action from the main floor to viewers on the upper level. There were a few gaffes in the staging: two artists walking out to the same song, and Exacto putting D.J. Jamad on blast for a missed cue.
On the whole, “Composition of Chaos” served the purpose of providing a platform for emerging artists to gain recognition. Their previously drawn portraits clearly reflected strong artistic skills. The greater challenge came, for some, in the inability to define and commit to character.
The presentation was held together by Williams’ creepily charming Exacto, but lacked the surprise elements of previous battles. Last November’s, “Hell Up in Hotlanta” featured a figure model who unexpectedly stripped down in the middle of the floor and an appearance from Fahamu Pecou wearing a giant WWF-style championship belt. “Paint, Sketch or Draw…Blood!” held back in March, boasted greater character range from CP the Artist’s psycho killer, Apocalypse, to Charley Palmer’s mega pimp, Artus the Great and an intermission performance from rising Stone Mountain MC, Cy-Hi da Prynce.
Nonetheless, the concept is more original than just about anything targeting grown-ups in hip-hop culture. The largely over 25 crowd has seen many a rap battle, WWF Smackdown and art gallery strolls, but few had ever seen them all in the same place at the same time.
Williams remained on site after the show to gather feedback and also invited attendees to comment about the event on thewwaf.com. The next battle, “The Art of War of Art” is scheduled for Jan. 15. Patrons will see a return of the Occasional Superstar with a renewed interest in refining the project — going back to the drawing board in a good way.
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