Artist Will Speak About Textual Images

Nothing is more boring than art that doesn’t say something.

Of course, making statements is a relative exercise. Sometimes the visual attributes of a painting alone are enough to rouse controversy. But when what is portrayed collides with how the subject is portrayed, the result can be unforgettable.

And unforgettable is how some people view the art of Sue Coe, who will speak on the topic “Drawing on Words: Images as Text, Text as Images” at 7:30 p.m. today at the Cheney Cowles Museum, 2316 W. First. Admission is free.

A native of Britain, Coe came to the United States in 1972. Now living in New York, she has exhibited in both New York and Europe.

Clearly, Coe don’t shy away from making statements. As Cheney Cowles curator of art Barbara Racker says, Coe is a political activist whose “work incorporates text into visual imagery.”

She does this, Racker says, by referring “to contemporary events to create pointed social commentary.”

The titles Coe gives to her paintings alone indicate the stands she takes while confronting what she sees as social injustice. How much more direct can you get than by titling a painting “Woman Walks into Bar - Is Raped by 4 Men on the Pool Table - While 20 Men Watch”?

Or illustrating a book titled “How to Commit Suicide in South Africa”?

Such art can be described with numerous adjectives. But boring is likely not one of them.

, DataTimes