Leslie Dill: A Prophet of Metamorphosis

Leslie Dill spoke on Saturday, Jan 21, at SMOA, and I was there. First, it was great to get a chance to see inside of this old high school. Much history has taken place there, I am sure. Now, with RCAD making it into a museum and learning space, many more opportunities to make history will be fulfilled, I am sure. I hope someday to be a part of something as grand as this. But enough about me. Leslie is an impressive artist. Some might even say overwhelming, even evangelical in ways. Her work is striking and emotive, forcing the viewer to investigate her use of materials and to read the texts, which are powerful. Her use of text doesn't seem to be a crutch: on the contrary, her use of it is skilled and immersive, inviting the viewers to read words that often either contradict what her images portray, or highlight certain social ideas. The work she had at SMOA was intriguing, mostly because one can't readily figure out what it is she uses to create her work. Metal, of course, was obvious. But other pieces, which I was told were made of paper, or fabric, looked as if they were made of metal or some type of metallic plastic. The dress of letters, which was not necessarily legible as far as words were concerned (at least, not in the few short moments I had to view it) was fascinating to me, because it reminded me of primitive art, yet with a high level of sophistication. The piece at the end of the hall was inspiring, even though I can't now recall what it said. But it left the impression that it's meaning was somewhere between abused women and the gibberish some perhaps misguided women are capable of spewing out of their mouths.

Sadly, my only opportunity to get close to the art was after her lecture, and there was a large crowd of people surrounding her work, so getting a good, close up view was not possible. Unfortunately, I was under pressure to conserve time, so staying too long after was not an option. But, I would love to see more of her work, and I hope that SMOA is able to procure a few of her pieces as part of their permanent collection, so that some day in the future, I am able to sit and wonder at her manifestations of text and art. As a lover of poetry, and her references to poets such as Emily Dickenson, Salvador Espriu, Tom Sleigh, Katherine Ann Porter, and Franz Kalfka, and others were enough to make me realize how deep and thoughtful her work is. In her lecture, she mentioned that words are "magic". Well, they certainly are, the way she uses them. But her text does not, in any way, diminish the importance of her art. Instead, it makes it more tangible and existential. Although the first impression one gets is that it is a sort of carnival expression of form, upon investigation, one can't help but to be drawn in only to realize that it is a statement about the world we live in, and the idiosyncratic way we get attached to ideas and things. I was impressed with the work that I saw, and I hope I get another chance to spend more time with her work in the future.