Joey Nebiker : Number 2

When I first walked into the exhibition, I was somewhat confused about what the artist was trying to say. Some of the work seemed strange and others were even a little creepy. Once the artist, Clair Rau, spoke about her inspiration for the work, I started to appreciate the pieces in a new way. She explained how she was inspired by movies such as “Alien” and “Predator” when developing this series. I really liked how she used movies as her inspiration for art. I can see myself taking that approach in future work because a lot of movies give me ideas for other unrelated ventures in life. The cohesion of the exhibition was based on “booby traps” as Clair explained. She also talked about how much the military had influenced her work and her life based on her upbringing in that type of family. Hearing her speak about her influences in life made her work seem more logical. She also discussed how she doesn’t like her art to be too predictable, which clearly she was successful in achieving due to my initial confusion. The pieces were mostly framed prints, although she had three sculptural items in the collection as well. Most of the framed items were done with silk-screen and her sculptures were made out of various materials such as metal, wood, and paper. She even used one piece of art as a physical booby trap, thus illustrating her concept beyond normal measures.


The one piece I found especially interesting was called Leg-hold Traps. There were three hunting traps set up on the floor, as if they were the real deal. I haven’t seen a hunting trap in person, but from what I’ve seen on movies or television, they looked pretty realistic. They were made out of actual metal, giving them an added authenticity. In the middle of each trap, was a red awkwardly shaped object, probably intended to look like blood.

Clair spoke about the inspiration for her work, so this piece obviously ties into the whole concept of booby-traps. She wanted them to look as authentic as possible and is currently trying to make them function as if they were real. I think the thought behind the leg-traps was based on her inspiration from combat movies she watched throughout her childhood. She also spoke in detail about her thoughts on camouflage and how it relates to booby-traps. Her work seems to have a hidden message about the ignorance of people and how we don’t always see what’s really there in front of us. The leg-trap sculpture really seemed to embody her artistic thought process in a way that translated easily to the viewer.