11/06/09 Risa on Ramon Montoya III's Diptychs

Montoya currently has a show up in JusticeWorks Studio consisting of 5-6 silver gelatin compositions. Each piece is framed, with a black mat, and is composed of two horizontal images placed next to each other. The images on the left all contain the same basic subject matter: a sign that was found out in the world with a written message on it, posted by a company or group whose name has a religious theme (IE Noah's Ark Storage Unit). The accompanying images all contain a nude figure engaged in a staged activity for the camera.

On their own, the two images may not seem directly related, but with a little investigation, the relationship becomes clearer. The information that is posted on the signs in the left image has direct relation to the events that are being depicted in the right. For some images, this relationship is quite obvious, for some it is less so. The titles are very descriptive and have a narrative quality that serve to further tie the two images together.

The print quality and presentation of these images is spot-on. The size of the photos does not overwhelm by their domination of the space, nor does it cause the viewer to feel any sort of myopic discomfort, but rather allow the viewer to experience the images from a few feet away (generally considered a comfortable distance, particularly in small galleries). Each composition is presented plainly, but the entire series has a very tongue-in-cheek style that is very amusing. Many of the religiously affiliated signs say things that can be interpreted in sexual ways, and some of these alternate meanings are humorously explored in the accompanying image. Montoya does not use gratuitous nudity, none of the models really confronts the viewer head-on with their nakedness. An example of this is his image "Put This In Your Mouth and All your Sins Are Forgiven" (I might not have the title exactly right...). The sign on the left is a sign for a church whose message tells the viewer that the more time spent kneeling, the closer to heaven you can get. The image on the right shows a man(the photographer, I believe), standing naked in front of a similarly unclothed woman who is sitting on the floor. No genitalia is truely exposed in this image, but the man's groin region is strategically obscured by the back of the woman's head. from the distance apparent in the image, there is no sexual act going on, but the reference is inescapable. Upon closer examination, you see that his hand is in front of the woman's head, also somewhat obscured, but in a gesture that is obviously meant to imply communion. I found the religious irreverence of the series to be greatly amusing and wonderfully executed, but I can imagine that it might offend others... which I don't think the artist would really mind.