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[art]
 
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Downtown
Journal
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Massive: by Anna Pratt | October 10th, 2005
Artists
Shawn McNulty and Dave Whannel are seasoned bus riders (and probably
have mastered other kinds of mass transit, too). They showcase the dynamics
of mass transit — emphasis on the mass — on their monumental
canvases.
McNulty and Whannel render passage via light rail, buses, bikes, cars
and more (figuratively, not literally). Their pieces are textured, with
uneven lines that act as a metaphor for uneven roads and varying circumstances.
For example, can you pick out where the SUV picks a fight with a bus?
Sparks from where the train turned corners are created with palette
knife-carved streaks. Or, how about the bus that’s filled to capacity
and the other that’s vacant?
How about that cab driver? Do you recognize him? There’s someone
who just missed his bus, running to catch it at the next stop.
Whannel’s collage-style paintings even include some fragments
taken directly from the streets. A sunburst form could be a tunnel while
McNulty’s pieces can be viewed as aerial or micro views of the
road. They appear more linear, as if traffic runs from left to right.
You could be watching the entire network of Metro Transit buses moving
from stop to stop, or be seated inside the bus. Everything’s a
brief figment — or a movie that passes outside your window.
