
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 13, 1991                   TAG: 9103130426
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: TOM TAYLOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

FINDING THE ARTISTRY IN SKUNK ROAD-KILL

LIKE MANY of the artistically unlearned out here in the Big Lick District, I was somewhat offended when the Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts sponsored a lecture by Andres Serrano - the artist whose works include, among other photos utilizing various body fluids, the now-infamous photograph of a crucifix of the Lord submerged in a jar of urine.

But after reading the Feb. 25 explanation for Serrano's visit by Mark Scala, director of education for the museum, I now realize just how narrow-minded and artistically insensitive I was.

I had no idea Serrano's photo may be, as Mr. Scala suggested, a criticism of how the image and ideals of Christ have been exploited for earthly gain. (Not that Serrano was doing that, of course.) I also had no idea that photos of statuary in liquid waste could "develop an awareness of how systems of faith - and doubt - can yield a rich language of visual expression."

So excited am I over this enlightenment that I have even decided to quit work and become an arteest myself! Not that I can even draw a passable stick man, but after all, Serrano didn't draw or sculpt the figure used in his photo. Nor did he shape the glass jar. In fact, the only thing he actually produced himself was the liquid medium - and even I could have done that.

I will, however, begin my artistic career on a higher level and do pioneering work in the medium of skunk road-kill. I figure the flattened black-and-white little critters, mounted on squares of facsimile asphalt, will form striking visual images indeed; and I can hardly wait to read the critics' reviews:

"Taylor's images of mephistes in various poses of sudden death are graphic indeed; and when combined with the olfactory stimulus involved, they become literally overpowering. Every little man crushed by the impersonal mechanical forces of our age, as symbolized by the artist's truck tire, is represented here; and the aromatic ambience surrounding the entire collection is a primal scream of rage at those blind forces of the cosmos . . . "

I will, of course, have to experiment with various sizes of skunk, differing road surfaces and tire-tread patterns. We're not talking about cheap art here. But the National Endowment for the Arts will surely come through with a grant; these being the same people, after all, who regularly give away our tax money to artists like Andres Serrano.

Also, there's no doubt my work will grossly offend animal-rights activists everywhere. Because of the controversy, I will probably be invited as a guest lecturer by the Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts where, like Serrano, I can clarify the intentions of my work. I will gladly do this for a suitable fee, pointing out to the narrow-minded protesters that evoking strong emotion through the rich language of visual expression is what art is all about.

by CNB