What’s Up at the Low Museum

This review is presented in partnership with BURNAWAY Magazine, a 501(c)(3) non-profit online magazine and destination for engaged dialogue about the arts in Atlanta and the Southeast. 

Cara Mayuski rips a subtle slit into the fabric of analogue reality with her show “Area Moments” at the Low Museum. Reminiscent of installations by California artist William Leavitt, such as California Patio (1972) and Cutaway View (2008), Mayuski’s work dynamically achieves an inviting “exploration of second-hand experiences generated by digital encounters,” as her statement declares.

The best piece is Indoor Plant 1, a computer-generated illustration of a turned-over potted plant, printed on shiny photo paper and mounted behind white plastic blinds. Although it reads like a window, the view to the actual outside world is blocked, a compelling use of a negative connotation.

With deadpan humor and an updated minimalism, “Area Moments” sets a tone of nostalgia for ’80s film noir but comes from a post-9/11 suburban world content to live in the virtual realm. From Roswell and a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Mayuski creates a virtual worldview that is darkly romantic, with an elegant mix of sculpture, animation, mini-projection, and empty space. It’s only up through May 31, so go check it out.

Cara Mayuski. “Area Moments” installation view at the Low Museum, 2014. Photo courtesy of Burnaway

Winking at the local behemoth (the High Museum of Art), the Low Museum humorously positions itself at the other end. Yet the level of aesthetics at play here are seemingly higher than the established lows at nearby Ponce galleries. I’m impressed with the whole vibe: their choice of Monday nights for openings; the professional and yet snarky vinyl lettering on the glass patio door; the philosophical discussion regarding metaphysics that I had with one of the three proprietors Pastiche Lumumba. I’m pleased to see such artsiness spilling out onto John Wesley Dobbs Avenue.

This tiny and audacious space feels like a Brooklyn or Detroit gallery with lofty aspirations, but located in a roomy 4th Ward house shared among young, former GSU students. I’m excited that Atlanta has yet another art flavor, and one that’s demonstrating sophistication on the usual shoe string budget. I have high hopes for the Low Museum.