Just Do It

Benjamin Long's "Mini-Portraits"

by Jakob Dorof

Through Feb. 22, Art Star, 623 N. Second St., 215-238-1557, artstarphilly.com

You can imagine what it must have felt like to be an artist when color photography dropped in 1861. James Clerk Maxwell's drab, grainy print of a small ribbon in a bow may not have seemed like much at first glance, but as the technology became easier and cheaper to manage in the coming decades, the threat to the trained painter's income grew clearer and more direct — sort of like being a part of the whole print journalism thing with the advent of the Internet (ahem).

But similarly, there was a sense of liberation among artists, and the richly avant-garde and abstract portraits of the 20th century were the result: Picasso, de Kooning, Pollack, Rothko — pressure makes diamonds, baby.

Nowadays, Philly's own Benjamin Long happily combines the best of all worlds (computer included) in his own strange, bite-size way. For his ongoing "Mini-Portraits" exhibition at Art Star, Long collected vintage figurines over the course of five years, scouring yard sales and flea markets for plastic pets and friends. He was on the prowl for his wife's vintage housewares biz, but liked his new old toys enough to keep a few for himself every now and then.

"Around the same time, I was acquiring old film cameras," Long says. "And it seemed natural to take pictures of the miniatures." After a few flicks of the wrist and a quick scan 'n' print, the Polaroid portraits were ready for Long's painted abstractions. The result is a harrowing set of pics that blur the line between reality and the surreal. Some are graphic and obvious — like the acid-trip elephant that spews regurgitated rainbow, or the decapitated poodle staring skyward — but most of the 20-odd composites keep his contributions ambiguous. Try to find the seam.