Future, Tense

The Internet is a big deal. Its omnipresence forces most Homo sapiens to make a choice. They can either flee for the hills to grow beards like wooly mammoths and live as Luddite lichen farmers -- or they can take the other, slightly less-sane approach, which is to dive headfirst into the information flux, hook a T1 straight into their cortexes and commence drinking up. Artist Matthew Ritchie is of the latter group, and The Iron City, his work that is showing at the Saint Louis Art Museum in Forest Park (314-721-0072 or www.slam.org), is a doozy. In this “viewer-activated installation,” you’ll peer through a porthole to take in a Mad Max-ian mise en scène of structures in decay and, well, destruction. Creepy narration and music complete the vision of a sad and lonely future. However, spend some time with the film piece, and you may find a bit of beauty, too. The Iron City is on view in Gallery 301 from Friday, June 29, through Sunday, September 30, and admission is free.
Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: June 29. Continues through Sept. 30, 2007