Judith Kindler
Consuming Youth

January 12 - February 11, 2007

Consumers In this exhibition at CoCA, Judith Kindler tackles the subject of consumer marketing to children. In a series of over 20 large scale photographs the artist presents headless child mannequins disturbingly interacting with typical childhood toys, foods, or each other. "Whether cigarette companies offer candy flavored cigarettes to attract the youth to smoking or dolls and other figurative toys are increasingly fashioned as indisputable sex objects or fighting, killing machines, there is a serious anxiety in our culture about the undermining of familiar boundaries and traditional hierarchies as children are being influenced by the media at increasingly younger ages and parents feel they are losing control over establishing their own values" states Kindler. Bumpy Love Concurrent with Kindler's solo show at CoCA will be an exhibition of mixed media paintings and sculptural installation at Woodside/Braseth Gallery. In both exhibitions, Kindler challenges us to think about how our identities are defined through what we consume. The One Who Consumes the Most Wins Consume is a mixed media body of work looking at the impact of current consumer trends. Judith Kindler, through mixed media paintings, photography and sculptural installations, presents a view of contemporary life that at times is humorous yet reveals the hard truth underlying the type of dependency on consumerism prevailing now, as well as our cultural exploitation of it. But I Want . . .. Tired of Her All images are ultrachrome photoprints 60 x 40 inches, and were created in 2006. For press inquiries, please email mikesweney@gmail.com or dan@kany.net. A full-color catalogue accompanies this exhibition, with essay by Daniel Kany and preface by Robyn Roehm Cannon (2007, CoCA editions). It is available through the Center on Contemporary Art. Consume at Woodside/Braseth Gallery is on view from January 11th through February 6th. Please contact the gallery for more information. CoCA serves the Pacific Northwest as a catalyst and forum for the advancement, development, and understanding of contemporary art. CoCA provides opportunities for the art audience in this region to view new and experimental artwork firsthand in exhibitions which show the work of international, national and local artists.