Jeff Stout's Nuclear Winter at NVISION

The theme of the complete destruction of life has been a common one in mass media today, prompted by dire predictions of environmental destruction by climatologists, geophysicists, and oceanographers.

Jeff Stout, Doomed Human Male (2009), mixed media,
381/4x37in. Photo courtesy of the artist.

In what way does Stout's current show 'Nuclear Winter' contribute to this topic?  In his Doomed Human Male (2009), one witnesses fairly typical features of a bleak future world: monotone grays to black, a figure in survival gear, a wasteland, big insects (it is the only work with large insects; fortunately, because it feels trite here). Most interesting, though, are the arms of the figure.  Extending behind him (I'm guessing a male), and dragging on the ground, they are highly suggestive.  I see in this an expressive rendering of the feeling of impotence before a heartbreaking challenge.  However, the figure walks upright.  The uprightness gives it dignity (and possibly acceptance towards the external world), even as it drags its arms.
This double-characteristic is intuitable in the small drawings.  They typically feature a lone figure's 'portrait': it is a face wearing a breathing mask, the covered face hardly a portrait for one's individuality.  The visage, though, looks right at the viewer, without any sense of loss or aggressivity; I feel even a sense of companionship flowing from their gazes (although I cannot say exactly why).  The only 'portrait' with two figures shows a gesture of intimacy between them via the positions of their heads.
Arguably, a rendition of a bleak future would not include these positive features, but perhaps this is Stout's particular offering: life would go on, however strange it would seem from our vantage point.

A fluky aspect of Stout's show at NVISION is the pairing of theme and location.  NVISION is an eclectic store featuring well-chosen vintage paraphernalia and fashion. Stout's work imagines a future in which humans live in a completely decimated world. In such a context, the store takes on a different tone altogether, like an especially prized place of reclamation and salvage.
-A.C. Frabetti

Jeff Stout, 'Nuclear Winter:' paintings and drawings at NVISION, 4577 Hamilton Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45223. Tel. 513.542.4577.  Hours 2pm-9pm Wed-Sun. Through March 21.