Java.NOV.2016

ARTS
TAKE/AIM
at ASU’s Northlight Gallery
By Amy L. Young
At the beginning of the year, we covered artist
William LeGoullon’s exhibition at Modified Arts, (Un)
Intended Targets. It put a spotlight on found objects
that had been left behind, sometimes on National
Forest land, after being used for legal and illegal
target practice. LeGoullon is interested in examining
man’s relationship with nature and how humans
inhabit and utilize the land.
With Take/Aim, LeGoullon is in the curatorial role,
and it’s hunting and hunting culture that is the focus.
This exploratory show is a natural extension of his
own work’s interest in nature and environment. It
runs through December 2 at ASU’s Northlight Gallery
and is presented in conjunction with Phoenix Institute
of Contemporary Arts (phICA), a local nonprofit.
LeGoullon is a fan of the organization’s collaborative
nature and turned to phICA for support in bringing the
exhibition to fruition. The programming also includes
lectures from participating artists.
LeGoullon said that Take/Aim was developed
over the last four years and has culminated in an
intriguing look at hunting culture via the work of ten
nationally and internationally recognized artists. “It’s
my own self-exploration into the topic,” he said. “I’m
not a hunter and I’m not advocating for or against it.
I’m simply observing. I am looking at the relationships
between predator and prey, life and death, and the
romance of what it means to go hunting and to have
that experience.”
In researching hunting culture, LeGoullon says that
it allowed him to think more broadly about the topic.
“I used to think of it as a sole-focused act; that there
was only one point—a need and desire for someone
to have a dominant force upon nature,” he said.
“The more I have learned about it though, especially
through the work of photographers in the show and
hearing their stories, I came to realize that a lot
of people involved in this culture have a lot more
respect for nature, and a stronger desire to be out in
it, than many who aren’t involved or who advocate
against it. That was really interesting to me.”
“For some, there’s this idea that they can just take at
will,” LeGoullon said. “Then there are people who go
hunting for other reasons—not for dominance or the
adrenaline rush—but for things like family traditions.
And of course there are those just going to kill stuff.
Where is the line drawn, is there a right or wrong
side, and what defines that?”
LeGoullon continues, “The work offers different
perspectives visually and aesthetically. Many of
the photographers come from families who have
longtime hunting backgrounds. Then there are people
like Brooks [Dierdorff]. He’s not a hunter; if anything
he advocates against it through his work, which is
metaphorical and observational. It asks questions and
put the viewer in the position of the prey.”
Take/Aim
Curated by William LeGoullon
Through December 2
Northlight Gallery
asuevents.asu.edu/content/takeaim
Erika Larsen, The Watering Hole
Andrea Tese, The Hungry Moon
Erika Larsen, Wayne Bailey
Jason Vaughn, Waupun
16 JAVA
MAGAZINE