Believe the Hype! Location Gallery supports League of Women Voters of Coastal Georgia with new show

Catchphrases like “Just Do It” are designed to be clear and succinct, with zero ambiguity to their message. But just because catchy slogans inherently have one meaning, doesn’t mean that they aren’t open to reinterpretation.

Location Gallery is hosting “HYPE,” an art exhibition featuring over a dozen local artists visually reimagining popular catchphrases like, “Have a Nice Day,” or “There is No I in Team.”

“Hype” was conceived and curated by Location Gallery Director Peter Roberts who reached out to several established Savannah artists including Stacie Jean Albano, Chariton Alexakis, Lino Azevedo, Jenny Eitel, Maxx Feist, John Harkins, Rob Hessler, Deborah Sherron Miller, Melody Postma, Adam Stafford, and Michelle Stafford.

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“I felt it was important to update some of these mottos and phrases and ubiquitous sayings that have been with us for a long time and sort of do a refresh on them,” said Roberts. “See if the artists themselves can make a piece that speaks as powerfully without the text actually in the piece.”

Represented mediums include paintings, sculpture, drawings, and mixed media. Trying to convert a piece of text that has been entrenched in the public conscious for decades is no easy task, but the artists were able to capture the essence of the words in exciting new ways.

Lina Azevedo’s “The Truth is Out There,” for example, presents a UFO sighting in the style of a Renaissance painting. Melody Postma’s “Go Big or Go Home” is a splash of pop art stencils and cartoon iconography. Michelle Stafford’s vibrant “Keep Calm and Carry On” presents a spiritually enlightened dog meditating amongst happy daisies. And Stacie Jean Albano relocates the dangling “Hang in There, Baby” kitten into a Paul Cézanne-like cubist landscape.

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“There are definitely some where I didn’t see that coming, but are definitely great,” said Roberts. “It’s also a bit of a wobble affect for the viewer because they see the art and then they see the title. So ‘Loose Lips Sink Ships’ becomes something completely different.”

Each artist was given the option to produce three pieces. Roberts himself produced three works based on the phrases “Keep America Beautiful,” “Give Peace a Chance,” and “This is Your Brain on Drugs.”

“One of course is relying on my usual punster stuff and the other two are more, for lack of a better word, expansive, and not quite as silly,” said Roberts. “It was tough not to put text in the work.”

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Proceeds from HYPE will go to support The League of Woman Voters of Coastal Georgia, an apt choice considering their mission to protect and empower voters, and present politics in ways that go deeper than campaign poster sloganeering.

“I was having a little of a struggle deciding which non-profit to use and then I realized that what the League of Women Voters do is they cut through the hype, meaning they have debates between candidates and have very pertinent questions that you’re not going to hear in a campaign ad,” explained Roberts. “They’re realtime answers. That’s necessary for people to make the right call and an informed vote. I love that they’re non-partisan and that they get the information out in a way that doesn’t always happen.”

HYPE opens on Friday with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m., and will remain on display in the main gallery through mid-July. With mid-term elections looming on the horizon, HYPE provides an excellent opportunity to support the democratic process.

“It’s also a way for people to get original art at a good price point,”added Roberts. “I think that’s important, as well. We’ve all seen the ‘Keep Calm Carry On’ poster relentlessly, but to get that framed and on a wall, you could have had an original piece of art and supported a local artist.”

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah GA art galleries: Location Gallery hosts Hype!