Mark Nelson, Elk Norseman, Kramo

On December 2nd from 6-8pm the opening reception for Shrines: Power, Desire, Fetish Obsession by Mark Nelson, Elk Norseman, and Kramo will be showing. This exhibition will stay open until February 6th in Gallery 1308, which is located inside of Union South. Light refreshments will be served.

Artist talk by Mark Nelson: Power, Desire, Fetish, Obsession, Gender 

Feb. 4, 3-5pm

Mark Nelson is currently a professor in the School of Human Ecology, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  

According to Mark Nelson, A shrine lies at the nexus of the past and the future, triggering memories while at the same time channeling aspirations. Shrines bring people together while at the same time supporting introspection. This show creates a context for all of these activities, incorporating a series of shrines that reference pop art, Celtic patterns, blackwork tattoos, fetish culture, street art, Byzantine paintings, and Gothic pilgrimage shrines.

The ideas expressed in the show are ones that artists find compelling. Right on the surface, the idea of a shrine is about how one has the power to design a space that can elevate mundane objects (such as bones or entrails or cloth) to an otherworldly status. The figures appear to float in a space that is slightly beyond emotion, contemplating a world beyond our own, like inverted Byzantine figures that exist outside of time. Exploring the ideas of power, desire, fetish, and obsession through an installation has multiple levels of engagement.