Ethan Hutchinson at Scot’s

By: Heather Liberman

Singing Redhead

The exterior package of any one man cannot fully capture his identity.  Whether many different men, or many sides of the same man, in his recent exposition Ethan Hutchinson illustrated the happy, dirty, hopeful, sexy, vulgar and contemplative nature of man.  Typically shirtless and sketched in blue, green, yellow, orange or black, the expressions of the men’s faces exude a complex combination of raw sexuality and the natural human instinct to desire love, compassion, and acceptance.

Self-described as a series of ink, gouache, and watercolor images with a queer and masculine bent, Ethan Hutchinson delivers a fifteen piece cross-section of the male image in his showing at Scot’s on 1829 W. Montrose.  Each piece is hand-drawn on top of pages from either vintage hymnals or scientific journals ranging in size from 8×10 to 11×14.  Hutchinson, a self-taught artist, has been credited for the covers of records, t-shirts, and posters for bands such as Das Kapital, The Atari Star, and Dakota/Dakota.

“Dirty, Dirty Thoughts” is a portrayal of a slight man with a full, grey moustache and a septum piercing.  A thought bubble emerging from his head containing nothing but black ink demonstrates one end of the masculine spectrum.  While his dirty thoughts allow the viewer’s imagination to wander

Terry Laughing

to vulgarity, “Teddy” has his eyes cast downward, evoking a lovable, and gentle sentiment.  Small yellow ears and the outline of a larger shape, perhaps that of a teddy bear, surround “Teddy.”  The ears assist in depicting his soft, sensitive side despite two steel nipple piercings.

Almost entirely the image of a protruding tongue, “Rim Job King” is quite literal.  Three ball bearing piercings intersect the curvature of the red serpent-like tongue emerging from the mouth of a faceless person – presumably male.  The exposed teeth assist in conjuring up borderline violet reactions to the piece.  Simultaneously, “Terry Laughing” also hangs on the wall.  This piece is slightly larger in size and is drawn on top of the musical score for “O Come, Let Us Sing.”  Terry is jolly with a blue beard with deep smile lines and a comforting presence.

Other pieces such as “The Happy Gimp” and “The Pick Up Line” assist in Hutchinson’s successful representation of the various dimensions of man.  The men’s expressions against the backdrop of the science journal pages or the hymnals add an element of intelligence and curiosity behind what is obvious from their exterior.  The show will be available for viewing until 2/26.