Home / Arts and Entertainment / Distorted Art Reflects US Identity Crisis
Distorted Art Reflects US Identity Crisis
2 Oct
Summary
- Artist Robert Lazzarini's exhibition features distorted American identity symbols.
- Works intended for the Venice Biennale were withdrawn due to a politicized process.
- The sculptures challenge perception by reshaping familiar objects into impossible forms.
The MassArt Art Museum in Boston is exhibiting "Metes and Bounds," featuring artist Robert Lazzarini's compelling sculptures. Three significant works stem from Lazzarini's rejected proposal for the U.S. pavilion at the Venice Biennale, intended to coincide with America's 250th anniversary.
These sculptures reimagine iconic American symbols like a flag for fallen service members and a 1700s lectern, contorting them into impossible shapes. Made with authentic materials, the art reduces objects to pure form, defying function and exploring how power manifests in the United States.
Curated by John Ravenal, the exhibition's connection to the Biennale and its subversion of American icons hint at a critique of the U.S. role in a bygone global order. The "History Maker" pavilion proposal collapsed amid government shutdown and sponsor withdrawal, leading to its replacement.
"Metes and Bounds" showcases Lazzarini's distorted objects, categorized as molten or forced perspective. A New York City police barricade stretches like cartoon noodles, while street signs read "Dead End" and "Private Property" riddled with bullet holes. Other pieces include a distorted rotary phone and a wooden institutional chair.
The exhibition runs through February 28, 2027, at the MassArt Art Museum in Boston.
