Arty Girl: The Trouble with Boys and Girls

By Lilia Menconi Wed., May 6 2009 at 10:40 AM

Categories: Arty Girl

"For Your General Bliss" by Rebekah Bogard.

The miserably single Lilia Menconi of a year ago would have had a lot to say about an art show called "The Trouble with Boys and Girls". I'm inclined to assume that the under-sexed and over-exercised version of me would certainly have bored her readers with a five paragraph rant about the show's title.

These days, I'm happy to report that I'm the "so-in-love" version of me ( although the unfortunate side affect is I'm now under-exercised but, oh well) so we can skip the rant about any trouble with boys and girls from my perspective.

Instead, we'll chat about the perspectives of the four local artists who make up "The Trouble with Boys and Girls" exhibition at Mesa Contemporary Arts.

All the artists are ceramicists who use childhood images to take-on complicated themes. It's certainly a contemporary viewpoint, as we've all come to rely on such methods. Think The Simpsons, Family Guy and South Park - these are avenues through which we can tap into bigger, more serious issues in a playful way.

Rebekah Bogard is an expert at this game. She is an artist who has impressed me in the past and she includes her signature weasel-like ceramic creatures to talk about relationships, sex and romance in this show. I'm less familiar with artist Cynthia Consentino, but all I had to do was look at the first image that popped up on her website (a ceramic figure of a heavily-thighed woman with a pressing iron instead of a head) and I was immediately intrigued. Artists Jason Huff and Max Lehman are two more ceramicists whose works are riddled plenty of snark.

With this line-up of artists and this choice of subject matter, I'm expecting a pretty hilarious visual conversation about all the trouble boys and girls can get into...the potential is thick.

"The Trouble with Boys and Girls" runs until May 24th at Mesa Contemporary Arts, 1 East Main St. in Mesa, 480-644-6560, www.mesaartscenter.com.