Review

A review of This Is Us Joey Grimm & Jordan Johnson understanding our relationship

Joey Grimm and Jordan Johnson, still from "This Is Us Joey Grimm & Jordan Johnson understanding our relationship," projected video, continuous loop, 23 minutes, 2010; video editing, Blue McNeil. Image: courtesy of the artists (Entire film currently viewable at http://www.joeygrimm.com/gallery1.html)

A video in the 2010 Kansas City Flatfiles
H&R Block Artspace
The Kansas City Art Institute
Kansas City, Missouri
June 4 – September 25, 2010

The opening event for the Kansas City Flatfiles exhibition is a place to see and be seen, yet it is definitely not the appropriate time to view the art. The annual Flatfile exhibition is exactly as described: two large flat-file cabinets holding two-dimensional work by local artists and organized by number. Additionally, there are other examples of artists’ work hung on the gallery walls, in a seemingly random salon- style, curated by various local artists and educators. The work, filed by numbers corresponding to artists’ names, is available for leisurely examination by viewers wearing white gloves, which are provided by the gallery in an effort to protect the art. The construct of this exhibition allows viewers to look only at work done by artists who intrigue them. In this limited space, a smaller crowd maximizes the work one is able to view in the time spent looking.

Work is present here by the usual suspects, Archie Scott Gobber, Peregrine Honig, and Ari Fish, to name a few, and combined with that of many other local artists, forms a plethora of two-dimensional art available for thumbing through. In addition to providing for the namesake “flat” art, the gallery space includes a section for viewing video work in a similar manner (sans the white gloves). Copies of local artists’ DVDs line one wall, and three projector areas allow viewers to experience whichever video they please, at a leisurely pace, provided projectors are available. For those who are hands-off or more lackadaisical gallery spectators, there are pre-chosen videos constantly running. I was in an apathetic mood, so it was lucky that one of the screening videos caught my eye.

Joey Grimm and Jordan Johnson, still from "This Is Us Joey Grimm & Jordan Johnson understanding our relationship," projected video, continuous loop, 23 minutes, 2010; video editing, Blue McNeil. Image: courtesy of the artists

As a person who lacks patience for most video art, I found Joey Grimm’s and Jordan Johnson’s film intriguing enough for me to take a seat and give it a chance. The tiresome effort involved in simply browsing through the flat files is monotonous enough, so the added bonus of the hands-off aspect of viewing Grimm and Johnson’s film felt like much-needed relief.

Joey Grimm and Jordan Johnson, still from "This Is Us Joey Grimm & Jordan Johnson understanding our relationship," projected video, continuous loop, 23 minutes, 2010; video editing, Blue McNeil. Image: courtesy of the artists

In This is Us, Grimm and Jordon create a technically difficult process to complete a mundane task, and in doing so, fabricate an awkward ballet that can’t help but invoke the historical artist partnership of Gilbert and George. In this strangely choreographed ritual, two shirtless men wear only black pants and struggle to prop a pane of glass between themselves, mostly without the use of their hands. The glass becomes a mirror in their performance that unites the two men while simultaneously separating them from each other. The basic laws of physics require the men to work together in an opposing manner to create a mirror image that is separated by the piece of glass. The only other props in this display are two candles and two cups of water. The two individuals’ candles are set aflame, only to be eventually extinguished by the water from each other’s cups. The addition of the fire and water increases the difficulty level of the task at hand. These elements also provide symbolism that viewers are left to ponder in the midst of the uneasiness and humor evident in this video. One empathizes with the two men as they struggle for several minutes, sometimes smashing their faces into the pane, as they create their dance of cringing awkwardness.

Joey Grimm and Jordan Johnson, still from "This Is Us Joey Grimm & Jordan Johnson understanding our relationship," projected video, continuous loop, 23 minutes, 2010; video editing, Blue McNeil. Image: courtesy of the artists

One would expect Grimm and Johnson’s performance to be described in a novel by William S. Burroughs himself. Burroughs’s raspy, gravely voice would be a perfect choice to narrate this spectacle of shirtless men wrestling glass (and each other) — the added obstacle of sweat preventing a speedy achievement of balance. Although reminiscent of Burroughs’s peculiar stories, there is no narration necessary beyond the already present sounds of grunts of exhaustion and skin chafing against glass. Grimm and Johnson display a bizarre, homoerotic portrayal of balance during their quest to ignite and extinguish each other’s flame. Captured on film, this sweaty, physical, and uncomfortable situation displays patient precision with a dash of disaster, trial and error, and pain. With the title Understanding Our Relationship, this performance is reminiscent of a team-building exercise for embattled couples at an after-hours club. Surprisingly, this video performance holds the viewer’s interest, even if this interest focuses simply on waiting for these young men to succeed in what they set out to do (be insinuatingly erotic).

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