'Black Squirrel Society Small', 2008
acrylic on canvas
The common but somehow unexpected Black Squirrels is a dirty pest to some, furry and appealing to others. Their dark "outsider" status is frequently seen as a Darwinian form of nobility. Several cities in this country claim to be the "Official Home of the Black Squirrel," among them, Santa Cruz, California. Kent State University has held a Black Squirrel Festival to celebrate the rodent. For L.A. artist Mario Ybarra, Jr. a black squirrel functions as logo, surrogate and muse. His fictional society anthropomorphizes the squirrels and elucidates a detailed history of their rituals, from courtship to war. As a Mexican-American artist Ybarra is acutely aware of the antiquated social boundaries which still flourish in the U.S., and his work cleverly and comically investigates the politics of contemporary ethnic life.
Never confining himself to one medium, Ybarra fills the Lehman Maupin gallery on Christie Street with sculptures, paintings and an enormous BLACK SQUIRREL SOCIETY banner. An impressively regal squirrel woodcarving--maybe ten times life size--greets visitors, and though more or less expressionless he seems to be on guard, perhaps warning us to go away. A few steps further and Vitrines containing figurines of Black Squirrel duos occupy most of the floor space in the anteroom, and any ominous effect evaporates. Pairs of squirrels made of Sculpey are perched on slices of tree facing each other and engaged in squirrelly ceremonies from family members bearing gifts to bloody hand-to-hand combat. These sculptures are arguably too cute for the intended impression, and lack any wryness in their humor. The scent of arts-and-crafts is a problem, and it would have been useful to see a few of these creatures in something other than the classic squirrel-on-its-haunches with tail-in-the-air posture. Ybarra's paintings fare better and evoke much more. The gray world of The Black Squirrel Society is chronicled in documentary detail, with nameless squirrels defending their sense of self in battle scenes. Action-filled canvases depict Black Squirrels throwing grenades, holding machine guns and scuffling with enemy bats. Although a less likely mascot than say, an elk or dragon, the Black Squirrel is anything but vulnerable. And can Black Squirrels be blamed for being pissed off? Like second class citizens, it is a fact that they are often mistaken for skunks. A few of Ybarra's paintings present the same bleak, tar-like background, but show the squirrels engaged in less pugilistic activities such as dancing at a disco or flying a kite. The artist's nearly colorless, gestural style seem to work well in the paintings: a photo-realistic approach, assuming the artist might have achieved this, could have been more ham-fisted and lost the emphasis on manufactured history.
So who are the warlike squirrels? Stand-ins for gang members? Republicans? Us? Or Them? Ybarra gives us a clue with a sculpture consisting of five black-eared LA baseball caps on a shelf with black tails on belts hanging below. Wearers of these accoutrements, silly as it seems, might dress up with pride and become members of the Black Squirrel Society. (Yet another take could be that the Black Squirrel Society might make fun of the imposters.) At any rate, the sculpture is clearly influenced by the formal and racial concerns of artists such as Nayland Blake and Daniel Joseph Martinez. Mario Ybarra, Jr.'s loaded exhibition marks the inaugural exhibit for Lehmann Maupin Gallery's new Lower East Side space one block from the New Museum and close to Envoy, Participant, Inc., Canada and other happening artspots which have contributed to making the neighborhood an art destination.
Doug McClemont
Mario Ybarra Jr
Until 8 August
Lehmann Maupin
T: +1 212 255 2923
www.lehmannmaupin.com
Doug McClemont is the former Editor-in-Chief of HONCHO, Torso, Mandate, Inches and Playguy. His writing regularly appears in publications such as Publishers' Weekly, Library Journal and Screw. He has written introductory essays for several monographs on contemporary art and is currently at work on a book of short stories entitled Little Morticians.
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