Double Your Pleasure

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, according to the old saw, so we indulge the fantasy of celebrity look-alikes and laugh at the professional impersonator. But if you were walking down the street and bumped into someone with your same features, you'd be a little freaked out, no? This compelling dichotomy is explored in I'll Be Your Mirror, the new exhibition at the Sheldon Art Galleries. Slater Bradley's Dark Night of the Soul, a film in which his artistic collaborator, Benjamin Brock, acts as Bradley's stand-in, strolls through a museum to the strains of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, deals directly with the idea of the double; Charles Ray's photograph, The Most Beautiful Woman in the World, plays with the inversely named Ray Charles' big hit single, "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World," and explores the oblique doubling that occurs when people share a similar name. I'll Be Your Mirror opens with a free opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, September 30, at the Sheldon Art Galleries (3648 Washington Boulevard; 314-533-9900 or www.thesheldon.org). The work remains up through Saturday, February 11, and the gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday.
Tuesdays-Saturdays. Starts: Sept. 30. Continues through Feb. 11, 2011