-- James Croak --

JAMES CROAK: NEW MYTHS & HEROIC ALLEGORIES
Hunter Drohojowska

The rise of post-modernism has incurred the reintroduction of styles and themes from art history of the past, including mythological allegory. By placing these familiar figures and fables in a contemporary context, juxtaposed with the popular culture of today, or in settings that are detached, humorous or ironic, the myths gain new meaning and become literally re-newed.

James Croak’s most recent body of sculpture features creatures from mythology – a Pegasus, a centaur, a sphinx – all composed from taxidermic animals. These universal symbols of myth are cast in a drama of the artist’s own making, one that is separate from tradition. Consequently, parallel narratives emerge – the story line of classical mythology and the personal interpretations of the artist. Mythology’s issues of morality are explored but obliquely, as they pertain to complicated modern life.

Croak uses Pegasus, the flying horse of the Muses, in his assemblage titled Pegasus: Some Loves Hurt More Than Others. Historically, the figures of mythology illustrated lessons that were familiar to the art-viewing audience. They described the moral precepts by which a culture thrived. The presence of Pegasus recalls the tale of Bellerophon, a warrior who rode the winged steed to conquer the monstrous Chimera, but who later was punished by the Gods for his excessive hubris.

This story is part of Croak’s inspiration in selecting Pegasus for his fantastic assemblage. He’d come across a quote in a book of Greek mythology, "A bitter ending awaits pleasure that lies beyond what is right." Croak relished the myth’s implicit morality but needed to translate it to contemporary context, to lose its historical confines.

Croak’s very secular Pegasus bursts through the top of a ’63 Chevy low-rider. Both the horse and car are symbols of renegade personal freedom, vehicles of speed and independence. Croak sees the low-rider, painted in dazzling red and blue, and elaborately detailed, as a contemporary Pegasus, the car for an outlaw hero. The Pegasus is such a physical and tangible creature here, that the focus of extraordinary power shifts to the automobile. The scene is also absurd, saved from being ridiculous by its monumentality and self-conscious humor.

This element of scale is important to all of the assemblages. Using the animals in their true life size lends an aspect of reality that approaches the surreal. To Croak’s way of thinking, this is a heroic scale, and a quality that is apparent in his earlier large scale, abstract aluminum sculpture. Those works also implied narrative, being painted with symbols, bearing decals, and recognizable cut-out shapes. They were clearly the roots for the current assemblages.

Croak is interested in extending myth into the present. In some cases, he achieves this by identifying with the mythic character. In the assemblage, Truth, Justice, Mercy, he represents himself as a centaur, by casting his torso and head as the top half of a horses body. Countless modern artists have identified themselves similarly with the randy beasts – Picasso comes immediately to mind. Croak is representing one of the centaurs of Greek mythology, who was considered so just and wise by the Gods that he was brought to the heavens to preside as Sagittarius. Croak’s centaur is the heroic outlaw. He is strangling a snake in one hand while in the other he holds a pennant bearing the ideals of the American judiciary system: Truth, Justice, Mercy. He stands alone and triumphant in the desert scene while at his side there is a baroque, brutal chain of life: A coyote eating a bobcat eating a snake eating a lizard. To Croak, the centaur supports his assertion that human beings are the only species who have a concept of mercy. He uses the graphic battle for survival as a point of contrast. His centaur has restrained the animal instincts while drawing from them for power.

Croak was attracted to the Egyptian sphinx by reading her quote, "To know, to dare, to will, to be silent." His attraction to the statement corresponded to heroic ideals of the other assemblages but his relationship to the sphinx itself is different. He portrayed her as the beautiful and dangerous creature, a metaphor for woman. A being of almost mystical power, she is the strangest of any of his creatures with a pearlescent white scaled tail, and white wings, feathered hair, and odd legs made of boa constrictor skin and goose feet. Her white face is like a mask, enlivened by real human glass eyes that seem to focus and follow a viewer. With the sphinx, one senses a Pygmalion instinct, that Croak wanted to create a maiden-beast of hypnotic, bizarre beauty. Although she is as universal a symbol as the others in the assemblages, the piece has more private value to the artist.

Generally, Croak’s intention is to amplify mythology. Using wild juxtaposition and wit, he alludes to essentially heroic ideals without becoming didactic. In an age of homogeneity and conformity, Croak sees our heroes as the outlaws and outsiders, on the fringes of the eccentric and weird. Borrowing from a classical tradition, Croak has created his own new myths and heroic allegories.



	FALL 1991

	JAMES CROAK: NEW MYTHS & HEROIC ALLEGORIES Hunter Drohojowska The rise of post-modernism has incurred the reintroduction of styles and themes from art history of the past, including mythological allegory. By placing these familiar figures and fables in a contemporary context, juxtaposed with the popular culture of today, or in settings that are detached, humorous or ironic, the myths gain new meaning and become literally re-newed. James Croak’s most recent body of sculpture features creatures from mythology – a Pegasus, a centaur, a sphinx – all composed from taxidermic animals. These universal symbols of myth are cast in a drama of the artist’s own making, one that is separate from tradition. Consequently, parallel narratives emerge – the story line of classical mythology and the personal interpretations of the artist. Mythology’s issues of morality are explored but obliquely, as they pertain to complicated modern life. Croak uses Pegasus, the flying horse of the Muses, in his assemblage titled Pegasus: Some Loves Hurt More Than Others. Historically, the figures of mythology illustrated lessons that were familiar to the art-viewing audience. They described the moral precepts by which a culture thrived. The presence of Pegasus recalls the tale of Bellerophon, a warrior who rode the winged steed to conquer the monstrous Chimera, but who later was punished by the Gods for his excessive hubris. This story is part of Croak’s inspiration in selecting Pegasus for his fantastic assemblage. He’d come across a quote in a book of Greek mythology, "A bitter ending awaits pleasure that lies beyond what is right." Croak relished the myth’s implicit morality but needed to translate it to contemporary context, to lose its historical confines. Croak’s very secular Pegasus bursts through the top of a ’63 Chevy low-rider. Both the horse and car are symbols of renegade personal freedom, vehicles of speed and independence. Croak sees the low-rider, painted in dazzling red and blue, and elaborately detailed, as a contemporary Pegasus, the car for an outlaw hero. The Pegasus is such a physical and tangible creature here, that the focus of extraordinary power shifts to the automobile. The scene is also absurd, saved from being ridiculous by its monumentality and self-conscious humor. This element of scale is important to all of the assemblages. Using the animals in their true life size lends an aspect of reality that approaches the surreal. To Croak’s way of thinking, this is a heroic scale, and a quality that is apparent in his earlier large scale, abstract aluminum sculpture. Those works also implied narrative, being painted with symbols, bearing decals, and recognizable cut-out shapes. They were clearly the roots for the current assemblages. Croak is interested in extending myth into the present. In some cases, he achieves this by identifying with the mythic character. In the assemblage, Truth, Justice, Mercy, he represents himself as a centaur, by casting his torso and head as the top half of a horses body. Countless modern artists have identified themselves similarly with the randy beasts – Picasso comes immediately to mind. Croak is representing one of the centaurs of Greek mythology, who was considered so just and wise by the Gods that he was brought to the heavens to preside as Sagittarius. Croak’s centaur is the heroic outlaw. He is strangling a snake in one hand while in the other he holds a pennant bearing the ideals of the American judiciary system: Truth, Justice, Mercy. He stands alone and triumphant in the desert scene while at his side there is a baroque, brutal chain of life: A coyote eating a bobcat eating a snake eating a lizard. To Croak, the centaur supports his assertion that human beings are the only species who have a concept of mercy. He uses the graphic battle for survival as a point of contrast. His centaur has restrained the animal instincts while drawing from them for power. Croak was attracted to the Egyptian sphinx by reading her quote, "To know, to dare, to will, to be silent." His attraction to the statement corresponded to heroic ideals of the other assemblages but his relationship to the sphinx itself is different. He portrayed her as the beautiful and dangerous creature, a metaphor for woman. A being of almost mystical power, she is the strangest of any of his creatures with a pearlescent white scaled tail, and white wings, feathered hair, and odd legs made of boa constrictor skin and goose feet. Her white face is like a mask, enlivened by real human glass eyes that seem to focus and follow a viewer. With the sphinx, one senses a Pygmalion instinct, that Croak wanted to create a maiden-beast of hypnotic, bizarre beauty. Although she is as universal a symbol as the others in the assemblages, the piece has more private value to the artist. Generally, Croak’s intention is to amplify mythology. Using wild juxtaposition and wit, he alludes to essentially heroic ideals without becoming didactic. In an age of homogeneity and conformity, Croak sees our heroes as the outlaws and outsiders, on the fringes of the eccentric and weird. Borrowing from a classical tradition, Croak has created his own new myths and heroic allegories.