Ralph Pugay: Vanishing Totalities, March 24 – April 14, 2012. Installation view. Springfield, Oregon: Ditch Projects, 2012.
Ralph Pugay creates humorous visual propositions that are rooted in the investigation of anxiety, confusion, and alienation that exist in an era of rapid globalization and information consumption. Through the convergence of ideas inspired by philosophical inquiries, popular media avenues, and word-play, Pugay portrays an allegorical world that is in a constant state of flux– anxiously navigating the line between substance and futility. With a tinge of humor, his work thematically covers a range of everyday existential concerns, embodying questions about morality, the nature of truth, meaning, etc. Pugay’s work is a celebration of humanity in its attempt to master the unpredictability of natural forces. Vanishing Totalities features works catalyzed by concepts derived from game theory on the topics of nature and the individual player. This exhibition focuses on themes of collectivism and the multiplicity of the self, with works generated through various game-like operations such as rhyme schemes, hypnotic inductions, categorization, and various ideation processes. Through use of such tactics, Pugay attempts to produce works that address various complicated themes with an objective point of view, simultaneously exposing the fallibility of such attempts.
Courtesy of Ditch Projects.
Artist Credit: Ralph Pugay
Exhibition: Ralph Pugay: Vanishing Totalities, March 24 – April 14, 2012