Under The Big Tops (2022)
John Manion & Leopold Masterson
Ladies and Gentlemen, Thems and Theys, Boys and Girls, Children of all ages, genders and ethnicities, welcome to Under The Big Tops. In this space we dazzle the mind, marvel at the various ways of occupying a male body, and postulate just why the old patriarchal representation of men as hard, erect and tough has dominated for so long. Our fragmented heads and multiple faces morph into fruit, desserts and animals that flaunt the intoxication, joy and celebration for your every desire. The work embraces the vulnerable and emotional man yearning to burst forth like confetti out of all of us… even you ladies and thems. The ceramic sculptures are figuratively penetrable while the paintings are physically pierced, floating in the wind as you enter the Big Tops.
As ringmasters we bring to this soiree our personal histories as gay men: one being bi-racial/Chinese-American grow ing up within a traditional Christian anti-LGBTQ home and the other a life of excessive medication, petty crime and over-education within a secluded Catholic environment in the middle of the American abyss. Certain sculptures con tain imagery, such as peaches and bananas, that allude to gay social media and cruising apps (a low rumble of giggles from the children in the audience). These exemplify joyful and lustful bodies, anticipating a hedonistic life of erotic sin frozen in time. Through offering cupcakes and sex, the queer or genderless characters tempt you to engage with desire.
Our fervid clowns drink alcohol, vape weed and offer their bodies as a juicy and salacious piece of fruit. Hermes, the ring master and the messenger of the gods, is nude as the day he was born as a goat and spreads the ecstatic joy of someone who has seen hell and been back again. Our exuberant many-faced clowns can have it all … but never all at once… always know your dealer kids. Our candy-colored nonbinary, biracial ice cream cone is ready to fall to the ground but is not ashamed of wanting to be picked up and licked up. A sea of faces, colors and history blur together to become the inviting banners leading you to the Big Top Tent. Our spectacle is responsive to the stigmatizing pres sure on everyone of all cultures not to appear as weak sissies.
Afterall, the definition of a clown is an individual who wears unique makeup and a flamboyant costume. Clowns create a diversion to rescue, performing comedy to induce a state of open-mindedness to uncomfortable truths, and maybe wow the masses while they’re at it. Being a clown is hardly different from being an artist as neither are generally taken too seriously in popular western culture, except maybe by other clowns of course. The work in this exhibition shares a different, optimistic narrative outside of the still pervasive hetero-sexist value system of America. So please, sit back, relax and join us for Under The Big Tops. Step right up folks and let the show begin!
