The digital revolution has accustomed us to a near-perpetual state of image immersion. Swipe this way, tap that, snap, and the whole world snaps you right back. Assume vivid astro focus (avaf), the art-making collaborative founded by Eli Sudbrack and Christophe Hamaide-Pierson, embraces this flood of stimulation even as it comments on and criticizes certain aspects of it. In avalanches volcanoes asteroids floods, their current show at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Santa Barbara, the group uses custom wallpaper, video projection, and dozens of brightly colored area rugs bearing images from their previous output to transform the space into a dizzying, challenging, and frequently satisfying postmodern rec room.
It’s impossible to ignore the first important difference in how this show is presented, for in order to enter the space, you must either remove your shoes or cover them with disposable white booties. The reason for this precaution quickly becomes obvious; in order to see this work, you have to walk on it. In an age when almost anything can potentially end up hanging on a gallery wall, this simple act of displacement is a canny move. There’s something inherently comforting about a nice rug — it says, “Relax. I’m here to make you comfortable.” But as you look more closely, the images beneath your feet begin to complicate that cozy sense of “we’re all in socks here.”
In terms of design, the fundamentals are both strong and familiar. Take geometric abstraction, add pop iconography, and crank up the intensity of the colors and the contrasts. If that were the whole story, avaf designs could be available at Target. But I don’t think you’ll be seeing “Nazi Dick Mandala (Jamaica),” a flag created for Glasgow International, on any beach towels soon. It’s a symmetrical piece, horizontally oriented, with identical left and right mouths in black, flashing, big red tongues, just like in the Rolling Stones’ famous logo. Those white swastikas toward which each tongue so suggestively extends? Upon closer examination, they’re penises, and if you get even closer, well — they’re leaking some fluid. Yellow and green stripes complete both the flag design and the Jamaica reference, leaving the viewer to puzzle out the significance of this wildly provocative juxtaposition.