The Collective has a current show of glass pipes, the kind that are found in headshops with the tags "For Tobacco Use Only", which means they will never be used for that. These are hand-made, mostly glass pipes, or bongs in the vernacular, along with the everpresent Frank Strunk III rusty metal Strunk-Punk variety, and a few paintings themed around playing/Tarot? cards. One of the principals there told me the show "wasn't curated", which leaves the imagination to wonder how it all happened. Did the participants just come in and hang whatever they brought?
I can't recommend this show as a fine-art exhibit, and that's the strength (and weakness) of it. This is the kind of show that should get the viewer thinking about what art is. Some of the glass pipes are decorative at best, some are very utilitarian, others are objects of contemplation. All are beautiful. I do think this show is well worth seeing, for engaging in a dialogue with what is there, and not so much how one would categorize it, but questioning its identity -- and your own.
--- Luis
Collective, 601 Central Avenue, St Petersburg. 727.851.6767
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