August 31, 2009

Thom Shaw's Beautiful Ugly Truths

Posted by Geoffrey Dobbins at 11:00AM

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When describing Thom Shaw's "Life Stories," which he's currently exhibiting at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, the word that immediately comes to mind is "sharp." It applies to both the angular lines and edgy contrast of Shaw's visual style as well as the painfully piercing social messages he expresses through his art. Through his large acrylic paintings, ink drawings and woodcut prints, Shaw captures both his personal struggles and the social problems that plague the urban neighborhoods he cares about.

As Kathy Wilson recounted in her Cincinnati Magazine profile of Shaw, the artist first gained fame in the '70s and '80s. As a young man, he was one of the first among black artists to land exhibitions at mainstream museums and galleries throughout the country. Shaw developed a strong black visual style that spoke on behalf of urban communities. His work still packs a visceral punch. Despite Shaw's death-defying struggles with diabetes and heart disease, which have led to several hospitalizations in the past few years, Shaw is still as prolific as he has ever been.

His inspirations are clear -- the poverty, violence and addiction that plague urban communities in Cincinnati and all over the world have provided a lot of significant material for Shaw. His raw, unfiltered content is powerful in part because of the way his stylized depictions focus the meaning and emotional potency of very realistic situations. The content is very real, but the images convey a deeper, more unyielding truth than a more literal reproduction might.

Most of the exhibit consists of large, black and white woodcut prints that leave no room for shades of gray. The pictures strip away the social justifications and excuses for gang violence. "Poverty's Paradise," an ink drawing featuring a collapsed heroin addict, makes you wonder whether the woman with the syringe still hanging from a vein in her arm is dead or alive. If she isn't dead, could her circumstances really be called "life?" Another print called "Zombies3" satirically depicts illiterate urban teens as undead monsters featured on a movie poster advertising the all-too-realistic horror of a broke education system: "Starring a cast of a thousand kids who can't read."

Some of the acrylic paintings incorporate color as in the all-red gang banger/suicide bomber in a painting "Icon of Terror." Shaw also addresses global issues. One of the most metaphorically engaging prints, called "Clash of the Religions." features three iconic figures representing a leader in Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Each points pistols at the other two. In a powerful commentary on how truth is perverted and religious ideals are twisted for violent means, Shaw's religious icons all have long forked tongues that are bound together in a knot of lies.

The self portraits in the exhibit convey a startling honesty about the artist's physical trials. Shaw presents himself in a variety of ways, from being stalked by mortality in a ink drawing called "Diabetes Death Grip" to posing as a samurai combating his medical enemies in "The Diabetes Assassin." One intriguing print depicts him dealing with tiny, Sambo-like racial stereotypes on either shoulder like the proverbial angel and demon. In all of them, his chest is open with the heart exposed, conveying his physical and emotional vulnerability.

Despite the dark subject matter of "Life Stories," Shaw says he has hope that by diagnosing society's ills -- both physical and political -- we can do a better job of curing them.