RECEIVED: More Monkey Business (ATC) from Cheryl Penn (Kwa Zulu-Natal, South Africa)

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail-art by IUOMA member Cheryl Penn (Kwa Zulu-Natal, South Africa)

 

June 16, 2011 - Cheryl Penn sent a wonderfully ornate ATC (Artist Trading Card) enclosed in the envelope above and bearing the symbol of the red monkey.

 

Her work explores and extends the ATC form remarkably. Cheryl has a penchant for weaving narratives combining text and image. "When Madeleine recounts the details of a bad dream" combined with the cryptic primate symbol and "TWELVE" begins the process of moving us into a multi-faceted story. In this blog, I want to explore how the process of composition builds meaning in her work, sort of a guide to use when you delve into art you receive from Cheryl.

 

First, here is the other side of the envelope:

 

I think the red monkeys are outstanding in this piece. From previous discussions, it has been well established that a sub-text or reference to another work - I'll call it a shadow text - is usually present in Cheryl's work. The reference provides a valuable key to making meaning. I think it is also a way she connects her work to a broader cultural context and sensibility.

 

One striking example is the reference to H. G. Wells' "The Island of Dr. Moreau" in her "wounds" pieces. Once you make the connection, the possibilities multiply. You do not have to find the reference to understand and appreciate Cheryl's work, but locating them opens the field considerably.

 

In the case of this red monkey ATC, it's fairly easy (but I checked anyway) to see the 1995 film "12 Monkeys" serves as Cheryl's shadow text. I think it's a good film and might be worth refreshing your memory if you haven't seen it recently:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_Monkeys

 

Here is one side of the ATC itself:

 

 

At first I thought this was a cut-up poem, but it came more into focus. This is a somewhat disjunctive description of "Twelve Monkeys" that focuses on the particular aspect of "false memories." Further references are mapped out. "Twelve Monkeys" is derived from an earlier short French film (1962) and critics have also noted its references to Alfred Hitchcock's classic "Vertigo" (1958) - thus VERTIGO stamped on the card.

 

Both "Twelve Monkeys" and "Vertigo" are considered psychological films: They explore subjective states and delve into the psycho-analytic, including pathologies. Delving into the minds of characters and representing the objective and subjective has always presented a particular challenge to filmmakers. It is also an area to which Cheryl Penn returns frequently. You need only look at the vacillation between abstraction and more conventional representation in her work to see it's a primary interest; one that is not resolved. 

 

Here's the other side of the ATC. A powerful image:

 

My reaction is that this is a play on hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil; the presenting image of the monkey is indeed a thread holding this together.

 

All I have managed to do in this lengthy blog is disassemble Cheryl's ATC, locate components, and identity some references. Having spent some time over the previous months analyzing her work, it seems to me this is a good approach to take. After all this shredding and deconstructing, the task - the most important task - is to find a meaning that suits you and that is true to the intent of the artist. I am certain it is there and well-worth the exploration.

 

As ever, thanks for another great piece, Cheryl! To see more work by Cheryl Penn and mail-art she has received please visit: http://cherylpenn.com/wpb/

[De Villo Sloan]

Endless variations on the three monkeys for sure - with skeletons & all sorts of things. I liked that one that connects to 17th century Japan.

 

Big Sis certainly did master the ATC. I won't look at one the same way again.

 

All this made me think of that quote in one of the Mad Max movies, something like: "A maggot living off the rotting corpse of the old world." I don't mean that to apply to you or Big Sis or anyone else really. It does seem to apply to Trashpo in a way, though. With all the altered texts and everything, we're re-configuring all these scraps & fragments we find in all different places. We can identify references & sources often, but many people have no interest in that. But they still like the work. So you just end up with this re-combined stuff. I don't know where I'm going with that, but it's a kind of reverse reading - with references removed.

[Marie Wintzer]

There are so many variations on the three monkeys but this one has to be my favorite one. So we now have a red tortoise, a red monkey, what could come next?

[De Villo Sloan]

I had to look up the three wise monkeys. So it started in Japan:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_wise_monkeys

[De Villo Sloan]

[De Villo Sloan]

I'm relieved I hit the mark somewhat, Cheryl. Yes, I had been trying to communicate - this particular work does strike me as a very enclosed system where every symbol and image aligns itself in terms of another and only has meaning in terms of those relationships - to skirt into the ether and quicksand - definitely postmodern, post-structuralist territory and not so much in the flux. It's just that this extends SO FAR into various sign systems including "Twelve Monkeys" and "Vertigo" - I see completely what Bifidus means about getting lost in it. You can. Your work is usually longer. The ATC is a very compressed form - I called it vispo haiku. The fact that you could get so MUCH out of it is an accomplishment in itself.

[cheryl penn]

o - something I forgot to say. The way people work - its as different in real life as art life and the ether life. I LIKE knowing, I like being HELD in a work - (Bifidus - is that what you mean by trapped? Content/intent/shadow texts (good one DVS) - is that not there as a stimulant towards the visual?

[cheryl penn]

DVS - thank you :-) - you  REALLY get IT!!! Really really! I have to think about this.

[De Villo Sloan]

Yip Bifidus, some of us are just drawn to the ether like moths to a flame. I think you are sometimes. On the other hand, it's just a great ATC to be enjoyed. And that's all that matters.

[Bifidus Jones]

I absolutely love Cheryl's layered, complex art work, but I'm afraid that if I look at it too long and try to analyze it I'll get trapped in it. What is that about, DVS? What even is that?

[Marie Wintzer]

Ok, I'm too sleepy now, but if she's not back by tomorrow morning we'll have to send DW after her.

Night....