Given the directive of truth, what would you say or do? In various forms, truth can be illuminating, eloquent, raw, but above all, defined by authenticity. CultureJam MKE and Live Artists Studio are presenting the fourth installment of a provocative series of exhibitions in “Truth Be Told,” showcasing the work of 40 artists in a one-night event.
There is no censorship in what artists choose to present. Some take a distinctly personal view of the subject, such as artist Sara Risley, whose work describes anxiety about the unsettled nature of life, the passing of time and its degenerative effects on the body. She oscillates between angst and joy, combining with these sentiments a boundless gratitude for the act of living—undertaken with love for its wild ride.
Brandon Minga approaches art with a pointed critique of contemporary culture. We are surrounded by structures so vast as to be invisible—from industry to politics and economic concerns. There are untold numbers of truths that we jostle against in the shaping of our lives. Minga’s work seeks to capture some of this sublime awe, as though pulling back a curtain on a devious wizard in the land of Oz.
Blanche Brown’s When You Try To Leave uses issues of violence and authority surrounding events of police brutality against African Americans and points out institutional conditions not resolved since the end of slavery. Marc Tasman and Luke Farley’s Sporting Goods is also concerned with the truth of violence in America, a work that combines images of automatic weapons with pumped-up slogans recognized from the realms of workout slogans and self-help rhetoric.
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“Truth Be Told” is an exhibition with an important topic that opens wide avenues for varied responses by artists who make powerful statements in many forms. The exhibition will be shown in a raw warehouse space in Walker’s Point, and that is just the sort of venue—operating outside of conventional and commercial interests—that makes this work possible. Its daring character also makes it an exhibition all the more worth attending.
“Truth Be Told” will be shown 7-11 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 28 at 228 N. First St.