Diamond Stingily: Doing the Best I Can @ The CCA Wattis Institute

Doing the Best I Can is an installation artwork by artist Diamond Stingily that debuted this year at The CCA Wattis Institute. Diamond Stingily is an artist that I had not heard of before so I was not quite sure what to think, and I was equally interested to see what kind of art is exhibited by California College of the Arts. This large installation is quite interesting in its splendor, and is decidedly a Barocco church pop-up. I really had to do some reflecting on this one.

I arrived shortly before the gallery opened, so the doors were locked, which made for an awkward introduction. I paused and wondered if there were some sort of mistake, especially since the windows were papered over. But while I paused a gallery attendant came out and told me they would be opening shortly. So I pondered a bit while looking at the newspapered windows.

Eventually the gallery did open and I went in an took in the large body of trophies that were assembled in a faux-mahogany case. I looked closely at the inscriptions on the trophies and noticed that instead of player's names there seemed to be a bunch of mantras. Mantras such as "We Didn't Have This Sport Where I Was At", and "I Did The Best I Could With What I Had". Instinctively, I knew the heart of this work was about struggle and perseverance, and character. Stingily (and her siblings) have a background in youth sports, and such experience and mantras have shaped her character and perspectives. I could honestly relate to all of the mantras one can hear in the back of their mind when facing obstacles and adversity, and as I was reading them, I realized there was a baritone voice on-high that was repeating those same mantras as part of this exhibit. Though Diamond Stingily is originally from, like, Chicago, I could very well relate to what it is like to hear these words from family members. Just as well, some of these mantras are reminiscent of Faith Evans' early songs and mantras from a voice-on-high.

So indeed, after some pondering and ambiguities I came to the conclusion that this installation artwork functions much like a Barocco alter, comprised of readymade splendor. The magnificence is assembled of golden angels, laurels, flying icons, stars, and (faux) marble pediments. As a baseball player I am sure Stingily has seen some pop-ups, which suddenly hit you like the awe of St. Peters Basilica, or Notre Dame. Looking back at the papered windows the one thing that struck me as unusual was that the newspaper was not black & white, but colored advertising tapestries, in rectangular frames, like stained glass. Like many, in hindsight, Stingily did not always understand the demands and rules of sports, but she eventually realized there was a lot of character building and molding taking place.

"Sports are something to do, but at the same time they're much more"