'Crown' seems like an ode to park attractions and children's toys.
I've spent the summer searching for an inexpensive grill, and by now I've grown mighty tired. Perhaps that's why I was drawn to the latest pair of shows at the James Watrous Gallery (through Aug. 24). Sun Prairie artist Tyler Robbins' "Anatomy of a Weekend" lured me with photos that helped me repair my relationship with grills. I smiled when I saw "Relaxation III," where 72 tiny charcoal grills gather behind a mighty lawn chair, and I laughed while viewing "2 Stroke," whose garden hoses and weed-whackers form a kaleidoscopic pattern. These works reminded me how I feel when I look at a Home Depot ad: dizzy with the occasional bout of double vision.
Robbins focuses on grills, hoses and trimmers for an entirely different reason. As he notes in his artist statement, these tools help homeowners cultivate pride. Tasks like mowing the lawn and watering the tulips can help them feel like they've accomplished something while taking in fresh air and sunshine. Making photomontages with images of these objects is a whimsical act of worship for Robbins. The most celebratory piece of the lot is "Decorative I," which features trowels, a plant pot and croquet mallets. In the center floats a container of yellow mustard. The bottle looks like it's slowly traveling through outer space.
The other exhibition in the gallery, Madison artist Graham Yeager's "Making Adjustments," presents a contrasting form of whimsy. Unlike Robbins' photomontages, Yeager's works are in three dimensions, and he invites viewers to play with colorful sculptures inspired by toys and simple machines.
Located in the middle of the gallery's back room, "Crown" is a baby-pink sculpture that's nearly as big as a merry-go-round. And like that piece of playground equipment, it's made for rotating. Pint-size visitors can also crawl into its interior and sit on a tiny step.
"Buoyancy" offers a chance to feel the pull of a magnet by moving cut-in-half ovals around a horseshoe shape. Most of these objects look like pool buoys because of their stripes. My favorite resembles a more terrifying summer sight: the black and yellow rump of an angry bee.
