More interesting are Emilia Edwards's Swallow, an elaborate charismatic black-and-white wall doodle in paint and screenprint of strange, oozing plants, and Michael Brandes's report on spending his thesis year trying to get better at basketball. Brandes's project includes video stills of his practices marked up with analysis of his jump shot as well as handwritten lists of what he thinks about when practicing and "What I want to be as a basketball player" ("A beast. A man. The man. . . . Unconscious. Unpredictable. Unguardable. Smooth. Cool."). It's a funny, serious meditation on sports and competition and masculinity in America.

Curtis Singmaster offers Leaners with Luxury, a row of 2x4s splattered with paint and plaster, patched together, and leaning against the gallery wall. The ends of the boards that touch the wall are upholstered with nice cushions for an absurdist riff on minimalism. Audrey Barnes's Lil' Rhody Native ("Goodness grows in Rhode Island") is a prototype for a paper happy meal box to distribute samples of locally grown foods and recipes to school kids four times a year. A small gesture, perhaps, but something to feel optimistic about.

Read Greg Cook's blog at gregcookland.com/journal.

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ARTICLES BY GREG COOK
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    What does it mean to be a man? That's the question at the heart of this smart, sumptuous exhibit — one of the best shows in the region this year.
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 See all articles by: GREG COOK

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