“Ghosts in the Machine” takes over Fireplace Gallery

Mt. Hood will be featuring art by Mark Crummett in the Fireplace Gallery through Jan. 30.

The works is part of Crummett’s “Ghosts in the Machine” exhibit, which illustrates humanity’s interaction with technology. “What I hope people get out of this show is a different way of looking at technology. It’s so ubiquitous, it’s really easy to make it disappear into the world,” said Crummett.

Along with the prints displayed, Crummett also creates assemblages, which are pieces of art that consist of miscellaneous items in a certain arrangement.

Most of Crummett’s assemblage work illustrates the flow of energy. “They are modifying whatever mysterial energy is flowing through them,” he said. This idea of the flow of energy also gets translated into his prints.

Crummett explained that his art demonstrates a deep and personal connection between the figurines and the technology that surrounds them.

“Most of my people are kind of everyman. They’re kinda working class Joes who technology comes to pervade their lives,” he said.

The exhibit contains work from different series, one titled “Pilgrimage,” and another called “Climbing, Jumping, Falling, Flying.”

Work from the pilgrimage consists of little people who wander to sites and facilities that they see as sacred and mysterious. The figures often appear to deeply revere the electrical components that surround them.

Images from “Climbing, Jumping, Falling, Flying” consist of exactly what the title suggests. Some of the images feature people being lifted by a beam of light. “I kind of like the idea of these people being snatched up off the earth by a mysterious beam of light,” said Crummett.

He views technology as a “benign mystery.” He said, “It’s easy to do art sometimes that makes technology look evil, and I don’t think technology is inherently evil. Technology is what we make of it; we could also do a lot of really good things with technology.”

Crummett has a degree in computer technology. “I’ve taken classes in computer repair and stuff,” he said. “I found I like the look of the stuff that’s inside the box, rather than what it did. That’s kinda how I got into taking pictures of the little people.”

Initially, Crummett started setting up the figurines for his prints, he used one figurine at a time, “But then I put two characters together on a board, and all of a sudden I had a story. All of a sudden these people were interacting with each other and the environment around them. The addition of one more character adds a whole many layers of meaning to the story,” he said.

Although Crummett’s art may have deep meaning and a mysterious vibe, he hopes that students will also laugh. “I mean, they are kind of amusing silly pictures. Some of the pictures I shoot, I just have to laugh out loud at them.”

Being surrounded by technology in the real world, Crummett encourages everyone to “enjoy this stuff; what we have available to us now is just mind-blowing, and we take it so for-granted. Step back and look at what you’ve got sometimes and appreciate it for what it’s doing.”