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ART CAN BE WEIRD. But art that pays tribute to the weird is even weirder.
Take, for instance, Philadelphia artist James G. Mundle's work, which embeds human deformity into classic paintings. He's as likely to give Anne Boleyn a third breast as to replace Saint Christopher with Andre the Giant.
These pieces are part of "Step Right Up! Sideshow Wonders and Human Curiosities," an exhibit that opens tonight at Orange Hill Art gallery in Inman Park, with an after-party in Little Five Points. The show includes work by a handful of artists and celebrates sideshow curiosities.
In P.T. Barnum's day more than a century ago, physically unique circus acts were called "freaks" and showcased across America in tents. But Mundle said sideshow history is about more than a fascination with the abnormal. It can help people address their discomfort toward the disabled.
"A lot of people would rather not confront their fears about the handicapped," he said. "[The exhibit] gives them permission to think about it."
Other scheduled entertainment tonight includes belly dancers, sideshow-related acts and an after-party at the Star Bar with music by Those Legendary Shack Shakers.
Shakers lead singer and sideshow poster artist, J.D. Wilkes, describes his work as lowbrow folk art.
"There is something very Southern gothic about it, something innocent, but unsettling --- Americana," said the Kentucky-based artist. "What's on the inside [of both the sideshow tent and one's self]? What you get never seems to live up to your expectations."
> THE 411: Free. 7-10 tonight. Also, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. Through Sept. 1. Orange Hill Art, 331 Elizabeth St., Suite C, Inman Park. 404-215-2100. www.orangehillart.com.
Copyright 2005 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
