Traces of 'tarantella'

By Meghan Tifft Catalyst

Send comments to: catalyst@wildcat.arizona.edu

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat

Imagine a mad, frenzied dance - a celebration, with lots of nakedness and revelry. Now imagine Captain Planet minus the superhero Spandex: earth, fire, wind and heart. Add into the formula a colored triangle and visual representations of the moon's orbit, 28 days, to symbolize female sexual organs and cycles. What does one get when all of this is spun together into an intricate, flashy web? The itsy bitsy spider, of course - inside the Union Gallery, no less. This is Suzan Woodruff's artistic exploration of feminine creativity using Tarantella, an ancient folk dance celebrating the power and awe of nature, as a metaphor for this project.

Abstract art is a risky endeavor. It all depends on the ability of the artist to create something visual that will have a memorable impact on the viewer. One must be careful to avoid repugnance. When a child discovers that the organic substance inside its diaper is ideal for fingerpainting the wall beside the crib, the finished product can either end up in expressive, artful designs or just plain shit on a wall. Woodruff must have been one of those children with an early vision for painting because her exhibit, including acrylic on canvass and mixed media pieces, is a visual delight.

What makes her exhibit successful is that she worked with writers who created poems and prose writing in response to the themes in her artwork and she displays their written pieces beside her images. Natural processes of life, death and rebirth flow into the female symbol with a magnitude of color and emphatic shapes, while the writing tethers it all down to the thematic context. The result is a vibrant eyestorm of symbolic color, shape and visual pattern, presented beside the written patterns of words. It's a harmony thing. Very energetic and pleasing. And very un-stinky.

Suzan Woodruff's "Tarantella" is on display in the Union Gallery through Oct. 29. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Phone 621-6142 for more info.