SKULLPHONE SPEAKS, CELL PHONES CREEP

By Antoine du Rocher

NEW YORK, 2 JUNE 2008— Skullphone is an artist who works anonymously in city streets and deserted highways, incorporating his artwork into the detritus of the urban environment. While ten foot tall posters loom high above building walls, small supporting incarnations of his image blend into utilitarian spaces. In these, Skullphone's image immediately cuts through the typically mundane environment of gas stations, public bathrooms, parking meters, roll-up gates and trash dumpsters - the unique platforms and non-blank canvases from which Skullphone "speaks." According to the press release, "Skullphone's installation at the Riverside Art Museum (RAM), Skullphone History Museum creates an environment reminiscent of a natural history museum's dioramas. Replacing nature with entirely man-made objects, this unnatural exhibit monumentalizes the quotidian objects of our world."

Skullphone's signature image may also bring to mind and "monumentalize" news reports of health advocates' concern that excessive use of cell phones can be harmful to one's health. Earlier this week, CNN's Larry King raised the question "Do cell phones cause brain cancer?" to a group of physicians and to Dena Cochran, the widow of lawyer Johnnie Cochran. Mr. Cochran died of brain cancer. And while various studies researching the health effects of cell phone use have yielded mixed results, "skullphone" may indeed look like food for thought.

SKULLPHONE HISTORY MUSEUM
Photopourri: Recent Images from the RAM Photo Artist Network
3 June - 26 July 2008
Riverside Art Museum
3425 Mission Inn Avenue
Riverside, California 92501
Tel: (1) 951 684 71 11

Antoine du Rocher is managing editor of Culturekiosque.

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