"MASTER PLAN" Plastic doll installation, by R, St. Louis

In astrology -- easily the most exacting of all the sciences – the four cornerstone elements, or Triplicities, are Fire, Air, Earth and Water. There are three signs of the Zodiac associated with each Triplicity (thus the name), and when deciphered, they contain our true, unalterable fate. Now tell that to a flat-chested 9th grader with braces and correctional footwear. In experimental upstart R’s stunning power play, the Triplicities anchored at each corner look more like buxom triplets (avec one) while two of the chosen giggle through eternity on pink and purple dolphins at the center of this dolled up universe. I want in! The easy critique is to claim bitterness – young artist on the fringe, fighting simultaneously for and against acceptance in a tug-of-war of the soul. But it’s R’s deft, less noticeable treasures that lift her above Mean Girls fare. See how the animals have found each other; how the minorities (African American and roller derby) have not been given a proper seat at the “table”; and if you look closely, it appears that pool of silly pleasures at the center may indeed be empty. As Billy once opined through character so many years ago, “The fault, dear Barbie, lies not in our stars, but in oursleves.”