Jay Bolotin At Vandy

Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery and the Sarratt Gallery are getting together on what should be a great show, prints by Jay Bolotin and a film he's done from his woodcut images. The opening is tonight (Thursday), from 5-7, with a screening of the film at 7.

The film, the Jackleg Testament, is a reworking of the Eden story, although this time a jack-in-the-box figure gets into the picture, and I think Eve leaves Adam, heads off with Jack, they go to a big city to see God, called Nobodaddy. Perfect family tale for the Easter season. Vanderbilt bought a portfolio of prints from the film, a purchase that fits right in with their strategy of focusing on multiples. The Fine Arts Gallery will show this, Sarratt has some other images and they are going to show the film in the theater.

Bolotin's film has been compared to William Kentridge, who animates drawings, a process that is similar to working with prints like Bolotin does. Bolotin uses computer software to work with those images. That's not the case so much with Kentridge. And of course it's different body of images. The images I've seen are drenched in dark colors, with the strong, heavy lines you expect from woodcut technique.

This is a pretty big deal -- I was first aware of Bolotin when the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati did a big thing with him.

Here's some more stuff on the Jackleg Testament and an interview with Bolotin.