Brian Gordon's "Saturday Evening Preposterous" at the Pig's Eye in Salem

It's no surprise that someone predisposed to comedy might also dabble in other forms of art. What is surprising is how good Brian Gordon is at his chosen second (or third or fourth) form -- collage. Gordon doesn't get up onstage as much as he used to (he now uses the principles of stand-up to help people with autism), so if you want to see the way his mind works, you'll have to make it out to In A Pig's Eye Restaurant in Salem, which is showing Gordon's exhibit, "The Saturday Evening Preposterous," through the end of June.

Here is Gordon's artist's statement, along with a couple of pieces from the show.
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It sprang from the burn out I was experiencing making other art. I thought collage would be a great way to free my mind and let my instincts take over with no fear of there being a right or wrong to what I was doing. At first the pieces were small enough to fit the purpose of being art to be folded within one of my hand-made envelopes (ask me about this if you dare!). Soon after I found that the pieces were getting bigger and bigger. 300 vintage magazines and photographs later what you have here are the 11 pieces you see scattered around the Pig’s Eye.

In life I believe who we are is based on the way that each of us associates detail in the world. One person may turn up the volume when a Pink Floyd song comes on the radio in the car. I on the other hand immediately change the station and hope the few notes I have heard don’t cause 20 minutes of slight, irreversible depression. I can’t wait for the day that I develop a fondness for Pink Floyd…and raw celery (it is my food nemesis!).

In my opinion, growth as a human occurs when we expand our process of associating detail in the world.

I have taken images from magazines (Life, the Saturday Evening Post, Look, and National Geographic ), children's books, and countless other materials that span the early 1900s right up through the 1980s to create a series of pieces dedicated to expanding one's process of associating detail.

Why not try to make sense of things that do not seem to conventionally belong together, right? What you get is: "The Saturday Evening Preposterous."

The rules for creating this work were consistent and simple:

1. All images must be cut straight from vintage materials
2. Instinct is the guide
3. Do the work.
4. Have fun.