Review

"Ready" (detail), Graphite on Paper.

Paul Flinders
Belle Epoque

7 a.m.-2 a.m.

The Bourgeois Pig
6 E. Ninth St.
Lawrence, KS
785.843.1001

Hours: 7 a.m.-2 a.m., 7 days
Runs through: June 13

Artist's site: http://www.paulflinders.com
Gallery site: http://myspace.com/bourgeoispig

Try to pick one word that sums up Paul Flinders' art.

Go ahead ... we'll wait.

"Dark" works. Then again, so does "charming". Ditto "wistful", "odd", "innocent" and "disturbing" None of them cancels out any of the others. And just when  you have him filed in the same drawer as Edward Gorey and Tim Burton, purveyors of the elegantly and hilariously macabre, he hauls out something from a cold-sweat Tool-video nightmare.

If it's any consolation, Flinders (who embraces his work's likeness to Gorey's) is also unsettled by his work ... albeit for a different reason.

Humans are natural creators.  We do it every day, whether in conversation, action, or state of being.  At any point that I nail things down, my world tilts or flips over completely, Flinders writes. I used to hate it. Now I prefer it. I enjoy being constantly subjected to new experiences.  It has caused me to view my life experience as one of creation rather than reaction.  It has helped me to loosen up and get to work.

That work takes a lot of forms: from graphite drawings to oil paintings, from bleached abstracts punctuated by birds and butterflies to the wide-headed, big-eyed, pencil-necked characters who populate Flinders' worlds.

Sometimes, as in Ready (a detail of which is shown above), Flinders' characters look vaguely worried. Others appear disgruntled, in varying degrees. The general sense, though, is of a deep, pervading -- almost crushing -- pensiveness. These people are being worn down literally and figuratively, by the sheer size of their heads and the weight of their thoughts.

Whether in places of heightened joy or despair, there are instants of pure expression, whether it's being verbalized or felt through tears or laughter, Flinders writes.  It's real and honest. Ringing over everything is this sensation, or realization, that life is overflowing.  I seek to capture these moments and place them in a context that can offer perspective for the viewer.

For all the fretful introspection on the walls of the Bourgeois Pig, though, this is a festive occasion.

The downtown Lawrence coffeehouse and bar is hosting a "Black and White" party tonight, to mark the opening of Flinders' month-long show. Guests for the open reception  are encouraged to dress in keeping with that theme.

The color motif is especially fitting for Flinders' show, and not merely because his portfolio is graphite-intensive. It also meshes with his ability to combine opposites -- light and dark, pensive and tense, whimsical and menacing -- into something unforgettable in all the best senses of that word.

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