https://easyreadernews.com/local-art-death-cult-intergalactic-industry-of-meaning/
On the street, on the waves, or lost in space
“Death Rider,” by Liz Craft, in the foreground, and “Denimz Rogue, Porirua, MMIX,” by Jono Rotman, in the distance. Photo by Bondo Wyszpolski
Local art shows: “Death Cult,” “Intergalactic,” and “Industry of Meaning”
by Bondo Wyszpolski
Not to start off on a dour note, but it’s been said that there are two kinds of motorcyclists, those who’ve gone down and those who will. In short, being on a motorcycle gives one a sense of freedom and even ecstasy that’s hard to imagine if you’ve always been confined to a standard, four-wheeled vehicle. However…
The downside of all that freedom, grace, and ecstasy can be what happens when the SUV up ahead doesn’t see you and makes a sudden lane change. “Death Cult,” which opened last weekend at the Torrance Art Museum, seems to acknowledge this. Not the SUV, but the ever-present risk. The exhibition, nicely installed and curated by Max Presneill and Sue-Na Gay, states its “particular focus on the motorcycle world lifestyle” and duly notes that “its participants have one of the largest mortality rates among these sub-cultures.”
If there’s a particular motif that accompanies the images of bikes and their riders, it’s that of the skull. You’ll see a lot of cool skull imagery in “Death Cult,” and this is all first-rate art as well.
Ronald Price and his work on view in “Death Cult.” Photo by Bondo Wyszpolski