Last chance to catch Tim Hawkinson at UT and Art Harvest returns to Dunedin

SELF-AWARENESS: BODYCON

If you haven't seen the Tim Hawkinson: BodyCon exhibition at the University of Tampa's Scarfone/Hartley Gallery yet, you have a couple of days to catch it before it closes. I had the pleasure of viewing it a few weeks ago, and it really is not to be missed. Hawkinson often works with found objects, but manipulates them in such a way that they bear little or no resemblance to themselves. For example, Laocoon, a sculpture that looks like a white monster-tire blowout, is actually made from white foam rubber, paper, string and caulking, and the title refers to a marble sculpture from antiquity. Another piece to marvel at is Hose, which is made from eggshells shaped into a hose with a diamond grinder.

What I found the most interesting about Hawkinson, and where the title of the show comes from, is his unique approach to self-portraiture. His methods are meticulous; in Screw Self-Portrait, left, he photographed himself while standing on a rotating base, then cut strips of the photos and stacked them in order. In Homunculus, Hawkinson "maps" his body, making topographical models of it, which he achieved through a series of photos of himself in a bathtub that was filling slowly with black paint. The ambitious nature of these projects would have to make one consider their physical being on an extremely deep level. They really are fascinating works of art.

The exhibition is up through Friday at the Scarfone/Hartley Gallery, 310 N Boulevard, Tampa. (813) 253-6217. ut.edu/scarfonehartleygallery.

CREATIVE CROP: ART HARVEST

Dunedin's favorite fine art and craft festival, Art Harvest, returns to Highlander Park this weekend, bringing in another crop of artists working in painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics glass and jewelry. It's a great time to kick off some of that holiday shopping. The festival runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at 1920 Pinehurst Road. Also, the nearby Dunedin Fine Art Center (1143 Michigan Blvd.) opens its holiday show the same weekend, so you could even finish all your shopping in one weekend.