Review

"Self," Ink and Marker on Paper.

James Trotter

6-9 p.m.
(Opening Reception)

Honeytree Gallery
504 E. 18th St, Unit 102
Kansas City, MO

Hours after First Friday: By appointment, honeytreegallery@gmail.com

Gallery site: http://www.honeytreegallery.com

It's not often that an artist also serves as the musical entertainment at his own opening, but such could be the case tonight for James Trotter's First Friday opening at Honeytree Gallery in the East Crossroads.

Trotter, a past recipient of a Charlotte Street Foundation Visual Artist Award, also spins classic soul and funk as DJ Superwolf. There's a chance, Honeytree's Kate Burke says, that Trotter will get some turntable time alongside The Unknown Souldier.

Even if that doesn't happen, Trotter's ink, marker and gouache drawings, fueled by cartoon and pop culture influences, are perfectly capable of keeping viewers occupied all by themselves.

Just check out the range of imagery in Self, today's featured image: Everything from Santa Claus to the Hamburglar to hot rods to dancing condiments to ... you get the picture(s). Nostalgia buffs could spend a good chunk of time playing "Name that Childhood Favorite," but even those for whom the images carry no emotional weight should enjoy Trotter's sense of chaotic playfulness.

(There are rules to his game, by the way: No pencils, no erasers. If something has to go, it gets covered with white correction fluid.)

The overall effect is childlike (rather than childish), a sense reinforced by Trotter's passion for vintage toys and his use of those toys in art installations. Throw in his vintage musical tastes, and the pattern becomes clear: There's a safety in the familiar, even when it's skewed and jumbled.

Perhaps that's the source of the attraction Trotter's work holds. We don't always want to be grown-ups, to say the "right" things because we're expected to, to chew with our mouths closed, refrain from scratching where it itches and worry about the things that adults worry about. Sometimes, we want to go hang out with Santa Claus, the Fry Guys and our favorite Saturday morning cartoon characters.

And if all that fun comes with a funky backbeat, so much the better.