Arizona Summer Wildcat

Artists have long understood the special power an object has when it is removed from its natural context and exposed to fresh interpretations and influences. The Surrealists took bowler hats and floated them on air; Picasso took faces and shattered them like glass; Warhol made a humble soup can into a symbol of the entire Pop Art movement.

It is this power that Janet de Berge Lange and Sean O'Donnell are exploiting in their joint show "Damaged Goods," exhibited in the Union Gallery. Lange, the self-proclaimed "Queen of salvage," assembled a collection of antique junk and debris into a witty, wicked, and occasionally shocking show. O'Donnell uses a technique he calls "pasteography" to create intricate assemblages of photographs, magazine clippings and color Xerox.

Lange has a keen eye for the cultural artifact - those everyday objects that we all take for granted, yet when exposed hold a sort of talismanic power. A child's toy taken from the playroom and put in a frame suddenly becomes a symbol of childhood lost, or perhaps rediscovered.

Taking the form of small shrines or altars, Lange's pieces tackle many disparate subjects, from the prescribed morality of religion to the subordination of the American housewife. In between are several poignant pieces that eschew politics, such as the enigmatic "Stories": a lock of hair, several framed photographs, a set of wax lips, a pocket watch, all behind a pane of glass in a frame. At first inspection this seems a simple collection of junk, but these are the type of objects that catch memories: who's hair? Why was it cut off? Who once carried that watch?

Lange's political targets seem to be the traditional bastions of male power, such as organized sports, the Catholic priesthood, the military, and the Presidency. She has particular fun with the Presidents, using little plastic statues of our past leaders in conjunction with antique containers to create ironic statements. Putting George Washington on top of a can of termite repellent doesn't seem very funny, unless you happen to remember that George had a set of false teeth made of wood.

However, when she addresses the Catholic church or the military, Lange's anger gets hold of her and she loses some of her subtlety and charm. Several such pieces go for gore and shock value, which tends to flatten the emotional complexity.

O'Donnell's "pasteography" has to be seen to be believed. His amazingly intricate pieces are three-dimensional collages resembling dioramas. Using many of the same photographs and illustrations over and over again, these intriguing constructions don't seem to have a particular focus or agenda, but are fascinating as well as slightly disturbing.

Some of the larger pieces have switch-activated lights which flicker with a warm, gentle glow, yet are anything but calming. O'Donnell's pieces feature spooky, surprising contrasts between the real and surreal, placing animal heads on mens' bodies and cramming every inch with detail. Repetition of forms is very important to his work, and several of his large pieces are mirrored almost exactly by smaller, unlit versions.

Even when O'Donnell's motivations remain hidden, his pieces have a playful aesthetic flair. His re-use of certain images adds to their complexity as they appear in different contexts and situations.

These two artists' methods could not be more different, but their shows have a synchronicity - a shared fascination with the symbolic world that lies behind everyday, disposable objects. They are fully aware that every viewer will bring a unique set of memories and responses to the cultural shrines they have created: in fact, that's part of the fun.

"Damaged Goods" is showing through June 28 at the Union Gallery, in the Student Union near the Gallagher Theater. Hours are Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.