Longjohn Minimal, mixed media

 

Welcome to the whimsical artwork of John Dillemuth.  The artist weaves narratives through the uncanny mix of materials and processes.  He likes to juxtapose the natural and cultural by piecing together whittled wood in tinker toy fashion and then adorning his constructions with various items and fabrics found in the bathroom, bedroom, close, playroom and garage.  The whittling of wood, often associated with a boyish, back woodsy, or crude craft, is keenly exploited by the artist as a readymade narrative. The sticks serve as the skeleton for his installations that offer a full range of sensual experiences- the sound of running water, chatter of gears in motion, baths with musical accompaniment, smell of hay, contraptions to crank, and Gomos to take for a run. 

There are a number of other narratives to discover in the work.  The artist's choice of fabrics worn close to the body creates a human presence, and also relates to our sense of touch.  The soothing running water plays into a cleansing and purification narrative that points toward a Puritan ethos reinforced in Dillemuth's large-scale Americana toys and homespun snapshot paintings. The artist's contraptions act-up, work hard to perform simple movements.  Some appear on the verge of falling apart with their spindly awkward gyrations.  There is a see-through element in his installations with his use of sheer fabric that may induce a voyeuristic presence.  Perhaps you as viewer can find more stories worthy of your attention.

The work above titled Longjohn Minimal relates to Dillemuth's Mini-Max theme.   In the 70's the artist practiced minimalism through writings and film.  He has tried to combine the minimal aesthetic in his Maxy work of today with funny results. The sense of play is a thread that runs throughout Dillemuth's work.  His aim is to mix the fantastic with the ordinary, crude with the sophisticated, absurd with the puritanical, and the visionary with the comical.