Left:"Love in the Time of
Cholera" was inspired by the prose of Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Right: "Sperm Bank," a mannequin equipped with the necessary
accessories to create a made-to-order baby, is a comment on technological
innovation.
Inspired by a song: "On the Banks of
the Wabash" is a reminiscence of childhood. |
|
"But I've always done art, and I always wished I could
do more," Matthews says. A house in Walla Walla with a big basement
gave him opportunity. After setting up a woodworking studio and embarking
on a brief but highly successful career as a custom furniture maker, Matthews
turned his talents to creating the works now on display in his museum.
At first glance, the Museum of Un-Natural History's collection
seems like a lighthearted assemblage of unusual artifacts, but a closer
look reveals far more. All of Matthews' works have complex underlying
themes derived from personal experience. The animal restraint devices
dangling from "Without Sanctuary" evoke the inhumanity of human
slavery. "Fool," an assemblage
of masks and other artifacts recapping the artist's own career, is a thought-provoking
illustration of the multiple roles everyone plays in life. Other works
reflect themes from literature, current events, and technological innovation.
Some, like "Chaos is All," a grand assemblage of doll heads,
toy parts, found wood, and bric-a-brac covering one of the gallery's walls,
are simply fascinating collages. "It proves that if you put enough
stuff on a wall, it looks good," jokes Matthews.
When Matthews first opened the Museum of Un-Natural History,
he sold a few pieces from the collection, and he now regrets it. "I'm
trying to get them back," he says, "but so far, no luck."
If it's not surprising that the owners don't want to sell, it's also easy
to understand why Matthews feels the loss. His entire collection is really
just one work. The Museum of Un-Natural History qualifies as a truly singular
magnum opus.
Megan
Edwards
09/03
