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Poetter Hall was purchased by the SCAD founders in March 1979. Classes began in September of that year.  
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The Arts

The art of self-preservation

Keith Crowley’s installation of personal
Photo courtesy of Keith Crowley
Keith Crowley’s installation of personal "Armor" is on display through April 30 at Starland Alternative Gallery Space.

By Ally Jackson
Published: Friday, April 27, 2001

Keith Crowley is one of those artists. You know the kind.

The type of artist who always has some well-thought-out and beautifully rendered piece. The one who speaks eloquently about not only his own work, but also the work of others. The person in studio who carries an intent look on his face constantly, for some epiphany may strike at any moment.

Well, it has struck.

Crowley’s work has progressed from a concept concerning containment, utilizing gas masks as a symbol for protection and sterilization, to a thesis show at Starland Alternative Gallery Space, 2424 1/2 Drayton St., that encompasses a minimized theosophy surrounding broader, more personal and relatable issues. Crowley keeps the gas mask filter as a primary symbol and eliminates all that is not essential. In doing so, he has diverted the audience away from the typical symbolism of the gas mask, which is war, and makes a striking point about self-preservation.

Aesthetically captivating, the round, formally painted filters come in two sizes: actual and enormously oversized. Crowley has painstakingly replicated not only the filters, but the directional light source as well. In traditional trompe l’oeil fashion, he has left nothing unconsidered.

The small filters, painted in a series of five displayed together, are the actual size of the part of the mask through which the user would breathe. These pieces are about the communication of survival and denying the other senses.

The large series is titled "Armor," for protection as they are about the size of a shield that could protect the body. The number of five is not merely used for aesthetic symmetry, but refers to the fact that five represents humanity in Renaissance painting. There are also five senses.

The oil-based medium, the highly detailed rendering, and the biblical fables have suggestiveness of classicism. The context in which Crowley presents his work by using utilitarian materials gives the subject matter a stark profoundness that will leave viewers pondering the armament of humanity and questioning their own protectiveness.

Crowley’s work is centered on self-preservation and the preservation of the human soul. The gas masks represent devices, and when stripped down, is a function for life support that protects the user from invisible elements. Crowley, who was home-schooled until college, has had a world pretty much contained and self-directed.

The titles of the pieces are tools for direction; the circular forms are spiritual symbols and along with the titles give a frame of reference that the viewer takes to the work.

"There is an ultimate experience with these, trying to create a perfect shape," said Crowley. "My hand refuses to make a perfect circle. There is an irony there of an imperfect being trying to recreate a perfect form. That idea becomes more important whether this is a gas mask or not."

Along with the two gas mask series, there will be an installation, an artificial living space, a video, and an experimental installation Crowley refers to as a "Mural Construction," and several other paintings concerning gender association and parables. About 1,100 square feet of this converted office space will be transformed to host the work through April 30.