As You Like It
Jonathan Casella and Case Simmons
September 16 - October 6, 2007
As You Like It is a two-person exhibition by Jonathan Casella and Case Simmons. Both artists create intricate collages, through completely different techniques.
Jonathan Casella creates intimate collages from found paper and photographs. Quite often he uses items he has found on the streets- like pieces of billboards and posters. Like Schwitters before him, Casella’s compositions resonate with the “meaning” of the fragmented found objects they contain, while creating new dialogues and meanings through combination and location.
Taking inspiration from pop icons, rap culture and current events, Case Simmons creates large-scale digital photo collages by embedding thousands of tiny images of animals, amusement park rides, cheerleaders, tellatubies beasts, skulls and much more onto a single photograph. He challenges what 'pop culture' is by juxtaposing pieces of high art images like Artur Rimbaud with low brow culture icons like Britney Spears and so on.
Simmon’s uses modern images that he combines to form towers, islands and flowing rivers. Inspired by sacred geometry and ancient architecture, by creating these 'temples' out of recognizable imagery, he is involved with a process similar to alchemy; turning base metals(pop culture) into gold(the sacred). In doing so, evoking thoughts of a modern day Hieronymus Bosch, and the Hell panel from the Garden of Earthly Delights.
