American Weird. A Celebration of Genius
MACA Museum presents American Weird. A Celebration of Genius, a new exhibition that delves into the cultural dynamics between the United States and Europe, bringing together perspectives from literature, Illustration, film, and fine art, and the influence of American folk themes from the time of the early European settlements to the present day
American Weird. A Celebration of Genius explores the influence of writings of Edgar Allan Poe and specifically Poe’s disturbing 1845 poem “The Raven”, and the profound effect that the poem had on some of the greatest authors, poets, and artists of western Art and literature over the centuries.
The artistic relationship between the United States and Europe has always been complex, dynamic, and often paradoxical; a transatlantic conversation marked by admiration, rebellion, appropriation, and reinvention. From the earliest European settlements to contemporary art movements, the arts in the United States and Europe have reflected shifting power dynamics, cultural anxieties, and mutual fascination. This entangled relationship is especially vivid when viewed through literature, illustration, film, and fine art, and when traced through the influence of American folk themes.
From Edgar Allan Poe’s gothic universe and the subsequent influence of his poem “The Raven” on European arts & culture of the 1800s, to David Lynch’s nightmarish images, and the pop-surrealist works of Mark Ryden and Marion Peck, the exhibition shows how artists through time have used the bizarre as a mirror, reflecting both our fears and our imagination.
Experience legendary filmmaker David Lynch’s disturbing suite of Distorted Nude Photogravures; a series of contorted figures that bend, reach, and pose within deep velvety black squares that are reminiscent of film stills, aligning with Lynch’s cinematic work, and lending a voyeuristic edge to the images.
Explore the whimsical world of contemporary artists Mark Ryden and Marion Peck,, whose paintings evoke a bizarre fairyland where forest animals, grotesque creatures and melancholy children coexist, and which recalls Alice's fantasies in Wonderland.
Enter a world where the familiar is shifted toward the strange and unsettling. A poem can transform a raven into a harbinger of death, a portrait can take on a grotesque cast, and an idyllic scene can suddenly crack, revealing something dark beneath the surface.