• DAVID MINTON, CONTRIBUTING ART CRITIC
• LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER, LEXINGTON, KY
• APRIL 13, 1997

Any time you hear that there's going to be a Bruce Burris show, expect a sensory overload. His last two or three shows in Lexington have featured paintings so full of text, exhortation, in-your-face colors and overall liveliness that initially they seemed overwhelming. His current commentary or examination of Appalachian culture at the Hip Joynt is called "DIDIDEWTHISTOOYEW," and it is not just a show of two-dimensional paintings that jump. It is an installation that puts the viewer inside one of Burris' paintings. Texts and images are painted directly onto the walls in some places, tape recorders provide audio blasts, shelves are full of "plastic tourist hillbilly icons" and "other debris related to 'hillbilly' and cultural stereotyping'' (Burris' words). There are trophies and there is a gun rack (without a gun).

Burris aims to deflate preconceived notions about Appalachian culture, to deal with "identity development and the role played by institutions like Berea in it," and to address an experience unique to people from Eastern Kentucky.

The installation will remain on view at Hip Joynt, 115 South Upper Street, through April 26. In August, it will be shown again at The Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning on Second Street. In November, it will travel to the Carnegie Center in Covington.

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