HYPERALLERGIC
By Carey Dunne
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| McDermott & McGough, “Hic Habitat Felicitas” / Temple of Onan” (detail) (1984 / 2016) (all photos by the author for Hyperallergic unless otherwise noted) |
In the Book of Genesis,
God strikes down Onan, the second son of Judah, for the crime of masturbating. In "
Velvet Rage, Flaming Youth, and the Gift of Desperation," a show by artist duo
McDermott & McGough at
James Fuentes Gallery, Onan gets a gaudy shrine: Three gold-framed paintings picture him masturbating into cotton candy-colored clouds. They’re hung above a carved wooden table composed of phalluses sprouting from breasts, modeled after a table from the collection of Catherine the Great. This very literal celebration of self-love is the centerpiece of a show filled with similarly campy critiques of homosexual oppression through the ages. [
link]
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| McDermott & McGough, “‘Hic Habitat Felicitas’ / Temple of Onan” (1984 / 2016), oil on canvas in wooden gold painted frame, hand-carved wooden table painted with oil and gouache, two ceramic urns painted with acrylic gouache (image courtesy James Fuentes)
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| McDermott & McGough, “God Answers Your Prayers” (1984 / 2016), oil on canvas and artist’s wooden frame, 18 x 18.25 inches |
