Review: “˜Drawings of Removal’ merges artist with art

In “Drawings of Removal,” the artist is actually
part of the exhibit. That is if Edgar Arceneaux refrains from
removing himself from the art space where he occasionally drops by
on a whim to add more sketches to the unfinished canvas.

This unusual exhibit consists of merely one small room with one
wall covered in mirrors and the others by giant canvases waiting to
be transformed into art. Perhaps Arceneaux never got past his
childhood impulses to draw on the walls.

The sign on the floor (“Please do not clean this room!!!
Or throw anything away. Thank you.”) resembles an
artist’s version of a child’s “Keep out”
warning sign meant to ward off parents and siblings. The artist
makes his presence known even when he’s not in the room.

Although work-in-progress art is nothing new to Arceneaux,
“Drawings of Removal,” which will be evolving until
Feb. 29, is different in its inspiration, which came from a trip to
his father’s hometown of Beaumont, Texas, in 1998. During
this trip, he and his parents found the city completely changed
from their memory. This sudden realization motivated Arceneaux to
dig into his memory, particularly of his formative years. However,
even with this background information, it’s still difficult
to understand the purpose of the eclectic drawings and cut-outs
which decorate the room.

There is no coherence to the drawings already in place, but it
is interesting to look around and see tidbits of his imagination
that have made it onto the walls. On the floor lie pencils with
sharpeners and pencil shavings, giving the room the appropriate
look of an ongoing project. A chair and stereo are present in the
exhibit for Arceneaux’s sporadic use, as well as a half-empty
bottle of apple juice likely left from his last visit.

With all of the pens lying about and the huge, blank papers on
the walls, visitors may be tempting to pick up a pen and start
finishing his sketches, but this is of course off limits unless a
visitor wants to get kicked out by security.

“Drawings of Removal” is intriguing in its variance
from the typical art exhibit, but hardly worth stopping to see by
itself. It would be much easier to dust off that old childhood
easel, find those Crayolas, and draw rainbows and stick figure
families.

-Jessica Warren