Being a student and resident of Colorado for three years now, I have been familiarized with Allie Pohl's work, and ideal woman icon. However, it was not until spending the last few weeks with Pohl's newest exhibit, Mirror, Mirror at the Plus Gallery that the meaning behind her work really came to life. Not only does Mirror, Mirror offer beautiful aesthetics through the combination of reflection and light, but as is consistent with all of Pohl's work, it speaks to and questions vital contemporary societal values and ideals.
Growing up in the age of Barbie dolls and Disney princesses combined with the progression of digital enhancement, we find ourselves living in a time of grossly over exaggerated standards, where idealized perfection has become impossible to obtain. By utilizing the classic Barbie doll torso and further digitally enhancing the image, Pohl has created an icon that highlights our societies absurdities in a raw and honest way. The graphicness of Pohl's ideal woman icon, and the way in which she presents it, allows for the transformation of our societies physical ideals away from something we strive for, towards something dehumanized, and separated from reality. It is in this way that Pohl's work hits home for me, especially after spending so much time with her new exhibit in the gallery. The ideal woman becomes something to admire, to reflect upon, and not something to attempt and obtain. Mirror, Mirror shows the impracticality of aspiring to look like something, or be something that only exists through digital creation.
Unlike previous exhibits, Mirror, Mirror includes a strong emphasis upon personal reflection and the value our society has put upon finding the "perfect mate". The exhibit displays a caryatid of five chrome ideal woman figures, surrounded by a variety of rectangular mirrors displaying words that are most commonly used in online dating profiles, as well as a neon ideal woman. Through her exhibit, Pohl emphasizes the juxtaposition between how we present ourselves to the public, and how we see ourselves in private. The mirrors display words such as "creative", "witty", "smart", etc. adding to the idea that in our contemporary world, even our personalities are open to digital enhancement. The experience of Mirror, Mirror cannot be experienced in a greater way than through interaction. Experiencing the exhibit first hand, one can see themselves, the ideal woman, and the ideal personalities we project, resulting in a culmination of a beautiful visual experience, and a forum for societal criticism. A truly unique experience.
The Plus Gallery provides the perfect setting for Pohl's new exhibit, due to the gallery's ideological contemporary-progressive nature, and how the simplistic beauty of the space accents the inherent simplicity of Pohl's work. I have never seen an artist speak to and criticize societal issues in such a unique, beautiful way as Allie Pohl. Pohl has successfully taken the absurdities of our society and brought them into a new light, a light that allows us to move past unattainable goals of perfection, and begin to see ourselves in reality. I look forward to sharing Pohl's work and the creation of social change that will undoubtedly ensue.
