Provocative themes highlight ‘Short Stories’ art exhibit of drawings

Age doesn't always breed a sage.

Yet in aging artists, it can inspire a deeper -- sometimes darker -- reflection on life that only time, experience, regrets and mistakes can create.

Examine, for example, "I'm Sorry," in which a man in a suit sits on a box in an otherwise empty room, the words "I'm Sorry" written all over the walls, as if a teacher had assigned it to an errant child to repent for an offense.

Or a lifetime of them.

"He could be a stand-in for me, for some of the things I've done wrong and some missteps," says 67-year-old Bobby Ross, whose "Short Stories," an exhibit of graphite drawings, hangs at the Charleston Heights Arts Center through mid-March. "It shows him as a surrogate for all of us. We all have things we're sorry about."

Apologies due in life join such weighty topics as politics, religion and, yes, inching closer to death, in a series of often intense depictions that may be downbeat or cynical, but carry an undeniable wisdom. "I concoct little stories about some character that seems to be having some of the problems that I can see myself having," he says.

Numerous pieces demonstrate his unblinking eye toward mortality and our inevitable physical decay. Consider "Hasta La Vista Baby," in which little figures line a street waving flags -- as if celebrating -- as a hearse is parked in front of a decrepit cemetery.

Addressing the cradle-to-grave theme, "Destiny" offers a baby, wriggling in infant delight underneath a giant hanging boulder that threatens to fall and crush it. "From his birth, his destiny is to be dead," Ross says flatly. "In that rock is a skull. And there is a jack-in-the-box, the element of surprise and chance that can pop up."

Thematically similar: "Equal Opportunity," in which children of varying races are depicted in the corners of the frame, while a skull -- bugs crawling around it, decomposition-style -- centers the piece. "It leads to the end, you might say," Ross says.

Another, titled "years," depicts an elderly woman, looking chagrined behind barbed wire, as if imprisoned by old age. Behind her are boxes labeled with the years of her life. "It's the accumulation of the things she does and the memories she has," Ross adds. "That's what it comes to."

Random, animalistic destruction is amusingly shown in "Just Feels Good," in which dinosaurs attack and munch on each other's torn-off limbs as if enjoying a midday snack.

Religion is especially targeted in "Short Stories" in pieces such as "Allahu Akbar" (approximately translated to "God is great"), showing a skyscraper being blown apart 9/11-style, billowing smoke, wreckage everywhere.

Or in "Ministry of Love," in which images include a biblical quote in front of a large institution, framed by the arm of a man on one side wielding a knife and making a stabbing motion, and a figure falling on the other.

"I see a difference between religion and spiritual issues," Ross says. "Spiritual issues I find extremely compelling and positive. Religion, however, is more often a divisive and dangerous factor in life, and not necessarily spiritual."

Turning a critical eye toward art itself -- but with a visual wink -- is "Art Restoration," in which Disney's Goofy, carrying a bucket of tools, and a statue's arm, plans to fix one that decidedly doesn't need it: the armless Venus de Milo. "He does it with the crudest of techniques," Ross says. "And he does more damage by putting it together the wrong way. It's a fun picture making fun of art."

Age? Sage? Even rage?

"Short Stories" addresses them with visual panache and an outlook both cynical and smart.

Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.