Adam Farmer will host another “GLITCH” art show Friday, July 28th at his Midtown home.
His last “GLITCH” show took place July 21st, but it wasn’t the show the artist originally planned. Thanks to a glitch, the power went out.
“‘Glitch,’ if you look it up, is a mistake or a malfunction of something’s normal operation,” says Farmer, 34. “When something screws up.”
Thanks to a generator, GLITCH went on with about 35 or 40 people attending. But it was more of an open house, so Farmer decided to hold another show more like what he originally envisioned. Those who attended last week’s GLITCH will see a different show this week because Farmer changed a lot of the work. The recent exhibit was titled “Second Nature,” so his upcoming show is “Second Nature (Second Chance).”
When his house is being used as a GLITCH show, it’s not a house. It’s a glitch because it “becomes something new and different” for a brief time.
A native Memphian, Farmer, who graduated from Memphis College of Art, says, “I’m a post-modernist painter and I’m focusing mainly on installation right now. And collage-based processes. The most dynamic installation I’ve ever been a part of would have to be my home.”
Between July 2013 and July 2016, Farmer held 40 art and music shows in his home. “Each show was different and I never gave myself a solo show. I always gave other people the opportunity to take over the space and do whatever they wanted.”
Farmer featured at least 175 artists, including local, national, and international, over those 10 years. The upcoming GLITCH will be on the 10th anniversary of his first show.
He also features bands and performers. “GLITCH was and is more than a venue. It’s a living, breathing work of art, one big immersive hybrid assemblage. It’s one piece.”
Farmer uses the German word Gesamtkunstwerk to describe Glitch. “It means total art work — an art that resonates with all of your senses. It’s audio, visual. It’s sensory.”
His entire house is artwork: “What extends beyond the main space, the transformative GLITCH gallery space, is still part of GLITCH. There is art on every square inch of these walls. From the gallery space to the kitchen to the laundry room and even the bathrooms are carefully curated installations.
Farmer stopped doing the shows because they were too labor intensive. “So much work and I wasn’t being paid for it. Ultimately, giving up your home is a major sacrifice. And doing it every single month for three years would be a lot on anybody — and there were a few extra shows in between.”
He decided to bring it back this year as a test and a celebration. This two-part show is the “first, last, and only solo show” for Farmer at his own space.
His art work is on view inside as well as in the backyard. “The new work is mostly portraits. And they come from screen shots from films or TV shows. My work is about collage or borrowing or stealing. It’s about appropriation. So, if I’m watching something, it becomes a part of my life. It’s a response to life, both digital and physical.”
One of his favorite TV shows is Survivor, which he describes as “a guilty pleasure.”
The show features portraits of participants from Survivor and characters from Stranger Things and the 2019 movie, Villains.
One of his portraits is of Allen Iverson, one of his favorite NBA players growing up. Farmer’s grandmother gave him six Iverson jerseys three years in a row as Christmas and birthday presents, he says.
He also will be showing his video collages made on VHS tapes. He paints the tape box covers
Farmer features large sculptures and installations in his backyard. “I call them ‘shrines.’ They’re all about moments and different choices in my life. I try to remember them. One of them is about never leaving Memphis. It’s a basketball goal. And the foliage is growing into it.”
He created his own lacrosse goal with Santa Claus as his goalie “My backyard is more of a gym than anything else.”
Another piece is a stationary bike. You can ride it as a bicycle but “it makes sound when you ride. It creates a wind chime effect. It’s physical. It’s sculpture. It’s painting. And it also makes music.”
Live performances at his upcoming show after 8 p.m. will include Wallace Leopard and Quinton Jevon Lee a.k.a. Outside Source.
Farmer will provide “soundscapes for the opening” with his Avant Gauze music project. Avant Gauze was the name of a type of bandage. “Since I’m interested in appropriation, I stole their brand name.” And a bandage fits perfectly. “I think art is healing.”
So, is Farmer going to start doing GLITCH shows again? “I don’t know. I’m open to doing them more sporadically, but not in the same routine as before. Not a monthly thing. Maybe two or three a year at the most.” The schedule, he says, will be “more like a glitch. More random.”
Second Nature (Second Chance) will be held 6 to 10 p.m. July 28th at 2180 Cowden Avenue.
Note: The show will be “all ages friendly,” Farmer says. Using an old copy machine, Farmer will make free coloring books for children 13 and under.
