USC SHOW

Attended tonight First Thursday activities in downtown Columbia, especially the USC faculty show at Tapps. Some of the pieces were nice, especially the photography, but overall I was pretty disappointed in the work displayed. Nothing caught my attention and made me say "Wow." I was particularly bothered by most of the paintings, particularly a small grouping in which the canvasses were the size of stamps, held in frames the size of large postcards, which showed almost no effort or skill. As anyone who reads my stuff (two or so), you know I am not a fan of modernist art for the most part, unless it displays some level of obvious effort and skill. All I could think was "fraud." The ceramics for the most part were not that impressive either. I kind of liked the silvered overlay on carp, when you stepped back from it. The graphics guy had some cute zoo animals, that would appeal to kids. Still, it was nice to wander around and take in the sights. Didn't stay for any music.