Call Ahead for This OneBy Shana Nys Dambrot Thursday, Mar 24 2011
Author, visual artist, curator and allaround aesthetic provocateur Christopher Russell is known for illustrated writings and haunting mixedmedia gallery installations that put memory and perception to the test. Russell's perennial subject matter is the precarious co dependency of damaged human beings (aka everybody) and their struggle to make something of themselves. In his soontobereleased novel, Russell revisits the 2002 Baltimore Snipers' killing spree as a character study in bad influence, in which repressed memories, oppressive authorities and raw emotion combine to violent effect. Which brings us to Christopher Russell: Sniper at 323 Projects, the city's preeminent telephonebased art gallery. Beginning with tonight's "opening," Russell reads installments of the novel every day until it's finished on April 22, leaving his serialized book on tape on the gallery's public line for anyone with a phone to hear from wherever they happen to be. In advance of the book's physical release from the cult favorite Bedwetter imprint, Russell also has created the sharp and striking limited edition print Uncut especially for this exhibition, combining his love of layering stories with his penchant for collage and juxtaposition, in a program that gives new meaning to phoning it in. 3
23 Projects, PhoneIn Gallery; Fri., March 25, 69 p.m.; free. (323) TIEINLA or (323) 843 4652. 323projects.com. Fri., March 25, 69 p.m., 2011