The Reverend's Mysterious Ways

Posted by:: König Prüße, GfbAEV
Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2005 18:59:19 GMT

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washingtonpost.com
The Reverend's Mysterious Ways

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48550-2005Mar18.html

Saturday, March 19, 2005; Page C02

Please don't ask me what the work of the Rev. Ethan Acres means.
I have no idea. (He has hinted that he's not quite sure, either.)
All I can say is that it's strange enough to somehow mean something to me.

Acres's work at the Biennial, which entirely fills the Corcoran's grand
rotunda, consists of three inflatable structures made of yellow nylon,
rising up to 12 feet high. They're shaped and decorated like elaborately
wrought cages. Behind their golden bars lurk evil blow-up monsters sewn
in midnight blue. A text inscribed below the creatures quotes from
Revelation 18:2: "Babylon the Great has fallen, and become the
habitation of devils, the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of
every unclean and hateful bird."

To experience the work in full, you have to put on headphones.
They feed you a cautionary tale, intoned by Acres in the
fire-and-brimstone style of a camp-meeting preacher.
(Which is more or less what the artist's father was. Acres
himself is an ordained minister who does performance
art around Los Angeles and far beyond, carrying on the family
tradition.) Acres's taped voice tells of a trip to Las Vegas
(Shame, brother!) and of the artist's meeting with the Whore
of Babylon (Protect us, Lord!), who turns out to be as saintly
as she is sinning (Praise His name!).

Acres insists that none of this is meant as blasphemy and that
he's a true believer. But since when have artists had the last
word on their art? I think the work has strains of healthy parody
in it and asks if we can always tell spiritual talk from the spinning
of tall tales.

-- B.G.

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