The notion of an organization designed to fix all the world’s problems influences Corey Escoto’s work in the Great Rivers Biennial. He explains in his video interview that the idea started when he found an old United Nations cookbook at a thrift store, full of recipes from all over the world compiled by the wives of representatives. He began his collection of UN memorabilia after finding this item. And that, along with the growing culture of “do it yourself” projects (and blogs, and books, and kits, etc.), influenced the creation of the fictional Global Repair Service (GRS). Escoto presents the viewer with a display of GRS memorabilia, rendered in a variety of media and unified by the practice of drawing, and a crisp light blue color palette. I have two favorite pieces, but they are all intriguing. The first is the hexagonal display case that he built and which houses several items, including a Ven diagram projecting “togetherness” for 2015, a limited warranty for the earth, issued by God, and several possible slogans for GRS campaigns. The hand-drawn documents are all so idealistic and feel very familiar-Escoto has managed both to critique and congratulate countless relief efforts in these sketches. By housing them in such a case, they remind me immediately of the document cases found in history museums, giving them an air of importance, but also unrealistic idealism.

My other favorite piece is the giant inflatable drill that occupies the courtyard. It’s funny and profound because of its size and absolute uselessness. Its title, Right Tool for the Job?, embodies Escoto’s explorations of “the conflict between idealism and futility that occurs when endeavoring to better a troubled society.” It’s also a nod to iconic artist Claes Oldenburg and his anti-Vietnam War piece, Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks (which is pictured and discussed here). The beauty of Escoto’s body of work here is in its dualism-there is a clear tension between wanting to trust that the efforts of organizations like the GRS (or UN) will actually work, while recognizing that the best laid plans-like the vehicle fleet shown in frames on the wall, collecting money through an appealing display like the coin funnel, or catchy slogans-probably miss the deeper issues of a troubled society.