SPRING/BREAK ART SHOW - LA

 

We live in a fractured America, bombarded by threatening news of diseases, sinister politicians, and dangerous conspiracies. In the land of the free, we have witnessed democracy going backward with the recent mob attacks on the Capitol, the destabilization of fundamental human rights like Roe. V Wade and with the rise of teenage gun violence, to name only a few. America's last presidential administration has left the country in a state of reversal and darkness, a nation polarized with resentment, violence, and disorder. The years of Trump and his tagline "Make America Great Again" intentionally degrades momentum to human rights progression within American Society, as well as giving license for toxic behavior, unleashing the bad and the ugly to those who feel inclined. Trump's policies and behaviors have inspired and encouraged the most egregious deeds within the country, resembling the shadows that draped the middle ages, accentuated by irrational fears and false promises.

Shaped by the great American archetypes of the Hero, Hollywood, and media culture, conceptual pop artist Jamie Clyde uses text and imagery reminiscent of the Pop Artist movement to explore collective consumer frameworks' conversations further. Her works directly challenge dangerous ideology and oppressive practices to substantiate less disseminated belief systems and explore the intricacies of American culture. Her narratives cleverly and deliberately deconstruct the mechanisms of advertising and marketing, with impactful slogans, catchy phrasing, and significantly applied colorful fonts.

In her solo installation "BANG! SPIT! SNAG!" Jamie Clyde interconnects Trump's presidential years with America's white male-centric culture. Looking back at the colonization of the West and the early cowboy' mentality, the installation stands as a critique of America's most profound flaws, highlighting sensitive topics such as the right to bear arms, xenophobia, racism, lies, misogyny, corruption, anti-intellectualism, and anti-immigration. The artist is questioning the archetypal character of the American Cowboy, the quintessential American hero, a hero who has been adorned for unabashedly taking land, killing natives, obliterating wildlife, exploiting women, and running the "Wild West" as he deemed fit. How much of that cowboy mentality is still alive in America? "BANG! SPIT! SNAG!" unveils the truth behind these idolized giants of western cinema.

 
 
 
 

About the curator:

Coco Dolle is an artist, writer and curator based in New York. While supporting women in the arts, she has organized multiple “must-see” exhibitions for independent artists and venues such as The Untitled Space, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, National Arts Club, Japanese Cultural Institute, 11 Newel Gallery, Fountain Art Fair and SELECT/Miami Art Basel. Her works have been featured in Forbes, ArtNet News, Vice magazine, Huffington Post, Cool Hunting and NY Observer. She is a contributing writer at WhiteHot Magazine with her column “Cultural Rebels”. Coco Dolle is an alumni of SPRING/BREAK Art Show and works as a curator under her eponym Milk and Night. 

“Jamie Clyde and I have connected during the pandemic via social media, as most art professionals tend to work these days. I was immediately enthused with her works. As a feminist-fosuced curator, I found her bold audacity and humour on point with current issues of identity in America. Her slick conceptual techniques are refreshing and upbeat. We are both very excited to be presenting her works at SPRING/BREAK Art Show in LA”.

About the artist:

Jamie Clyde is a text-based conceptual artist addressing critical issues and socio-political disparities embedded in American culture. With humor and satire, she is juxtaposing digital and painting techniques, developing a personal practice working with film transfer, digital photography, paint and poetry to critique imbalances of power and culture consumptions. Jamie draws from vintage magazines, old Hollywood imagery and Pop Art perspectives to create concept series built on collective psychological experiences. In her work, she is the observer and the player simultaneously. Her messages dig further into narratives tackling inequality, feminism, collective consumption habits, and climate change. Jamie Clyde studied at the University of Utah. After receiving a BFA in photography, she moved to New York City to pursue her art career.  Her work has been featured in solo exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions across the country.  She now works and lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.