We’ve all done it. Knees covered in dirt, noses in the earth searching for four-leaf clovers that will ensure good luck. We’ve scrupulously avoided stepping on cracks to assure that we don’t come home to find our mother with a broken back. Whether in our childhood innocence or if the practices have become habit, we are all guilty of playing into irrational oddities.
Sanithna Phansavanh (pronounced suh-neat-nuh pon-suh-von), a local artist in the burgeoning local art scene, has taken his superstitious tendencies one step further. He’s created a visual conglomeration of irrational thought from around the world.
“The psychology of it really intrigued me, so I started looking into different superstitions that people had and as I started researching it, these images started popping up in my head,” Phansavanh said.
These images became the foundation of the artist’s first solo exhibit. Phansavanh will be breathing life into age-old adages that have followed most of us since childhood, and some you may not have heard of.
“Everyone, no matter their culture and creed or geography, all have fears and we all have things that we worry about, so we use superstitions to quell anxiety,” he said.
“Knock on Wood,” the aptly-titled art exhibit will explore cultural superstitions from all over the world. The artwork for this show has been created using only acrylic paints on canvas and colored pencil. The featured pieces will archive commonly used actions, attitudes, and objects to placate apprehension over common shibboleths.
The show will run from Sept. 11 to Sept. 26 at Young Blood Gallery, the foremost truly independent spot to showcase art in Atlanta. Along with the art, another main focus of the opening reception on Sept. 11 will be the music.
“Music is always a piece of the process, it colors the feeling of any piece I do,” Phansavanh said.
Modern Skirts, an indie-rock band from Athens, will be playing a scaled-back acoustic set for the reception. Phansavanh has worked closely with the band before, providing the artwork for their sophomore album. The band provided the artist with their demo tracks and Phansavanh weaved a visual narrative around the tracks. His design won Best Album Cover Art at the Flagpole Awards in Athens.
The soundtrack for the gallery viewing of the show will be provided by Alex Goose, a close friend of Phansavanh. Goose produced The Blueprint 3 Outtakes, a collection of beats created for Jay-Z that did not make the album but created enough buzz that he decided to release his work.
Also making an appearance at the opening will be StreetLocal, one of Atlanta’s highly respected street-wear brands. The King of Pops will also be providing handmade popsicles to the crowd.
Phansavanh, who traces his cultural lineage back to the Southeast Asian country of Laos, attributes not only some of his superstitious beliefs, but also his work ethic and some artistic inspiration, to his mother.
Working for years as a senior web designer for Phillips Design in Atlanta, Phansavanh began to feel the pang that a career devoid of authentic art created.
“It had drained a lot of energy out of me and it felt like going in and flipping digital burgers all the time,” said Phansavanh. “It was not fulfilling. Doing that kind of design is soul-less and my heart was always in art.”
After leaving Phillips Design, Phansavanh sent out various proposals to underground galleries, some of which were familiar with his work from various group exhibitions that he has participated in. Finally, Young Blood Gallery took advantage of the offer and granted use of their space to house this exhibit.
Phansavanh’s work deals with the wide spectrum of the human condition. Anything that is part of human existence, running the gamut from death to love is figuratively documented in Phansavanh’s art. Preferring to be a voyeur than mix in with the crowd, the artist is drawn to interactions between people.
“I’m inspired when I take MARTA and I’m seeing the interactions of people. Seeing how the city breathes is my inspiration,” he said.
A self-proclaimed “lowercase a” artist, Phansavanh is steering his art towards a more classical and less contemporary feel, much like the “uppercase A” artists such as Henri Matisse and Egon Schiele that he ‘s influenced by.
“I had delusions of grandeur when I was young,” he said. “Now I want to feed my family doing what I love to do. I feel like an emerging artist with a little bit of experience.”
Phansavanh graduated from Georgia State with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in 2003, and now, along with his up-and-coming career as an artist, is teaching an introductory graphic design class on campus.
Don’t miss the opening reception party at Young Blood Gallery, 636 North Highland Ave., on Saturday, Sept. 11, from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. The exhibit will be on display through Sept. 26.
