Detail of "Sentry" by Joe Brubaker. Photo by Terry Telford

Detail of "Beth" by Joe Brubaker. Photo by Terry Telford

This vew of "The Garden" shows the collaborative installment in the center of the room. Photo by Terry Telford

Jumbled artifacts on the floor of "The Garden" make art from trash. Photo by Terry Telford

By Terry Telford

With a brooding and ominous scowl, Sentry rises resolute among the figures. His gaze surveys the museum room which he has been left to guard. It is a room filled with memories and reveries, trinkets and symbols — a one-leaf tree, a giant bird’s nest, fading photos, rusty bottle caps, the random hand-me-downs the past has left for today — represented in stone, glass, wood, metal, plastic and paper.

Also present are Sentry’s peers: Faces upon abstract bodies encircling the room — the expressively knowledgeable Beth, the questioning countenance of Valdivia, the optimistic Frank dressed to take on the world near Trojan Woman with her clockwork bosom. Each figure’s frozen lips and sightless eyes seem to hold much to say to the people who move through the exhibit doors to experience Exquisite Garden, a fantastic fantasy which is now on display at the Bakersfield Museum of Art.

This exhibit, with its haunting, melancholy sculptures, its scavenger hunt treasures and parlor game roots, resides in Bakersfield for a short window of opportunity. Visually and emotionally compelling, it is worth making a special trip to the museum to spend some time pondering the extraordinary craftsmanship of Bay Area artist Joe Brubaker. His figures, which certainly fit the label “exquisite,” are primarily carved from wood with added paint, scraps and found objects strategically placed on or around each piece, giving insight into the sculpture’s personality.

As for the “garden” installation in the center of the room, the great, gaping mass of STUFF took approximately two days and more than a dozen workers, not including the artist, to construct. Matthew Slominski, an employee at Bakersfield Museum of Art, was one of the crew who worked to bring The Exquisite Garden to fruition and is responsible for lighting the display.

“When I came in here I had no idea what was going on. Emily (Falke), the curator, had no idea what was really, kinda, gonna happen. And (Brubaker) said, ‘I’m gonna pile a whole bunch of junk in the middle and that’s gonna be a garden.’ … But it started coming together,” Slominski said.

Although there may have been some initial bewilderment by the staff, Falke, whom Brubaker describes as “visionary and competent” had seen a fit for this type of work in the show.

“This is an example of curatorial synergy and wisdom at its best,” stated Brubaker.

Although major portions of the Garden have been displayed in previous incarnations, building the presentation anew for each showing ensures a unique creation for the venue. It is also a style based on an art game, “Exquisite Corpse,” in which a single piece of art is produced by multiple artists, each unaware of the other’s portion until the work is fitted together.

Brubaker, currently traveling in Cambodia, wrote in an e-mail, “My work is an evolution of an individual artist into a practice of art that envelopes a complete lifestyle, and brings other creative people into the ‘tent’ to create works of art … although I make individual pieces of art … I am increasingly excited by team art. Thanks Bakersfield!”

“The artist kind of directed where everything was going,” said Slominksi. “(He) wanted to make little scenes, little spots that’ll make you think.”

There are many stories amid the great pile of relics that blanket the museum floor. But each story will differ for each viewer, depending on generation, lifestyle, and experiences. A musician, for instance, might take special note of the small busts of classical composers strewn throughout the exhibit, while an environmentalist will certainly be interested in the repurposing of items the ordinary world considers rubbish.

Brubaker wrote, “My team members and I gather objects of color, form, and beauty that many people walk by, unseeing and unaware of. Part of the notion of the Garden is to honor the unhonored, and to provide a way for the ‘scales to fall from peoples’ eyes,’ to see fresh, which is something that not only a four-year-old can do … eighty-four-year-olds can do it too.”

Walking among the sculptures of the Exquisite Garden and peering into their bottomless glass, wooden, or hollow eyes can be a bit disconcerting. One has the sense that the stillness inside the room ends when the museum doors close for the night.

When asked if Slominski ever gets a bit spooked by the vacant-eyed figures he replied, “I’m not personally scared of them, but our other assistant says sometimes she’ll catch a glimpse at the wrong angle.”

Brubaker says his creations sometimes take on a life of their own. “When I am creating a piece, I do sometimes have an eerie feeling that I am channeling a past (life) into a stand-in totem figure … I also sometimes talk to a piece I am having a difficult time resolving, and tell it (and myself), we ‘need a break from one another.’”

But in order for their stories to be heard, one thing must be present: The participation of Bakersfield’s art community. The exhibit continues through Feb. 21.

“I haven’t seen anything like this, personally, in any museum. So if (you) want something unique … get out here,” Slominski said.

Other exhibits at the Bakersfield Museum of Art include:

Hobos to Street People — Artist’s responses to homelessness from the new deal to the present

Society’s Edge — Photographs by Felix Adamo

No Place to Go — Paintings of the homeless by Pat Berger

Loss and Redemption — The Art of James C. McMillan

Bakersfield Museum of Art is located at 1930 R St. Admission to the museum is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $2 for students, and free for members. Visit the museum’s website at www.bmoa.org for hours of operation, free admission days, coming events and volunteer opportunities.

For more information on the artist, Joe Brubaker, visit www.joebrubaker.com.