By Garrison Frost

In any other exhibit, the murky and evocative video installations of Jim Campbell might dominate, but in the impressively diverse show now being held at Gallery C in Hermosa Beach, such is not the case. "Image and Idea: San Francisco Art Today" shows off the work of eight Bay Area artists who, through diverse media, are advancing some bold new ideas.

Of course, Campbell's work does stand out. Using digital video and a technique that allows him to in some instances distill images to fewer than 800 pieces, or pixels, the artist aims to strip images to the barest minimum before they lose meaning. Doing that alone wouldn't have been too difficult, but Campbell is clearly up to much more than that. In "Library," the artist juxtaposes an illuminated black and white image of a big city library's front steps with shadowy moving images of people walking, creating a moving statement on the transitory nature of humanity before architecture, government institutions, maybe art and learning itself. In "Wavelengths," Campbell has perhaps gone a bit over the line he has set for himself, and the formless movement he captures over his five squares is captivating for it. It could mean anything, could represent anything – and it's damn cool to look at.

Another piece that's hard not to like is Ian Treasure's "Scissor Piece," which gives us a few dozen scissors dangling over our heads from wires. Thanks to ingenious mechanical and electronic manipulation, the scissors snap shut – first one, then another, then a few more, then all of them in a wild frenzy, and then quiet. It's unnerving – no one would ever put such a thing in his living room – but also whimsical and appealing. Again, who gives a shit about what it means.

If the viewer finds these installation pieces a bit overwhelming, then the more traditional two-dimensional pieces by Larry Yung will probably attract. Yung has a lot of work in the show, which gives him the chance to show off his evolving creativity. His series of Chinese women standing awkwardly against faded backgrounds is simple, honest work that combines a certain mastery of mood and color. But Yung goes further in pieces such as "On the 71" – presented through photographs, oil painting and a can of frozen orange juice – that captures the emotion in an entire day for a young Chinese boy riding the bus with his family.

I was also pleased to see the return to Gallery C of Michelle Muldrow's paintings of freeways. I'm a sucker for freeway paintings, particularly those like Muldrow's which observe the way these inhuman concrete structures interact with our human space. Muldrow adds a distinct sunny obliteration to her images, which really looks like some of these neighborhoods in the City feel.

Video work by Tony Labat also impresses, as do a few of the distorted emulsion pieces by M. Caren McCaleb. We particularly liked McCaleb's "Juliet."

"Image and Idea: San Francisco Art Today" runs through July 24 at Gallery C in Hermosa Beach.

(July 18, 2004)

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