By Catherine Dorsey
As other artists begin a return to the figure as subject, a 20-year retrospective of James Croak’s sculptures and drawings at the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia is testimony to the constancy of his unflinching artistic vision.
While his choice of media ranges from taxidermy forms and skins to dirt and latex, Croak’s subjects have always been firmly rooted in the figurative tradition. Promotional materials explain that through his work, Croak continually examines the "values of disposable society, its effects on consciousness, nature and the future."
The earliest sculptures were bizarre Frankensteinesque compilations of skins and preserved animal parts. Sphinx has an alligator tail, snakeskin arms, bird wings and chicken feet. Repulsion gives way to fascination at this mixed bag of an animal with a wise and compassionate human face. Is this mythological creature the after-effect of some nuclear holocaust? The work’s horrific nature cannot be ignored, stating strongly Croak’s recurring message.
His dirt figures are a paradox of hidden meaning. Like life itself, they at first glance seem as immutable as stone, yet they would surely melt away with a little water. Perfect in every anatomical detail, these poker-faced figures lack a soul. They represent solid subjects – stately men in hats and trench coats wielding shovels and umbrellas. The dirt itself represents decay and also the cycle of life, a return to the soil in death, and the creation and renewal of life. A touch of humor is evident in a jaunty umbrella made of dirt. Handle crumbling into dust, it promises scant protection from the rain. Impenetrable cast dirt windows tease with a delicate tracery of leaded glass molded into the gritty black dirt. Here the paradox is obvious, the window is there but we cannot find the means to see through it.
Empty shells hang lifeless on the wall or split open to reveal unexpected innards in a series of latex casts. In Cradle Camouflage, a dog’s stomach hangs open to reveal an infant curled in its womb. These works, inspired by newspaper articles concerning violence and abuse, are gruesome and thought-provoking. Full-body casts with gaping holes for faces hang like empty wet suits. The faceless bodies are witness to a series of Croak’s drawings depicting disasters of war: bodies litter the street in Calcutta, August 1946 –Direct Action Day. Interpersonal Relationship, an empty latex human form crusted with small rocks, suggests a cloak of armor used for protection against meaningful relationships.
Recently the artist has returned to dirt as media. Disjointed arms grasp empty air or gesticulate helplessly. The nude figures from this series have a newfound classical air. Man and Woman could easily be Adam and Eve, their faces set with knowledge and sadness that suggests the Expulsion despite their total nudity.