KAREN KAISER

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Karen Kaiser

Through a complex and humorous synthesis of fairy tales and domestic iconography, Kaiser recreates the intimate space of a childhood fort complete with hanging sheets and domestic objects temporarily borrowed for play. The scale, arrangement, and selection of objects, however, evoke a far more insidious nature. From the sentinel-like towers of bath towels to the door that leads to nowhere, the artist reveals the tension that frequently underlies child's play. Via her installation, Kaiser transforms viewers into a participants in a fairy tale, moving them through the text painted on the sheets to a series of altar-like stations, where they encounter mundane objects such as dishes and soap transformed into fanticiful castles. Each acts as a stage set for the transcendence from the particular details to the archetypal universals that mark the instructional parables we share with our young.