The magic, not the meaning, matters
Edward J. Sozanski, Inquirer Art Critic
September 14, 2001
Proposal Model
Artists' intentions aren't always manifest in their work, but often pure visual sensation compensates.
This is especially true of an installation by Brian David Dennis at the Fleisher Art Memorial called Roustabout's Hold. It's a cloud like form made of folded window screening, brightly illuminated from within.
Dennis has "anchored" the piece to the floor with a spiral array of cardboard "weights" that don't weigh very much.
The descending "cloud" represents an ethereal phenomenon made material - a seeming contradiction - while the "weights" are supposed to suggest a labyrinth, or perhaps DNA; creation; and similarly elevated concepts.
None of this comes across, but the piece is so delightful that it doesn't matter. Dennis' transformation of mundane materials is visual magic.