Unfolding Doughtie’s Concepts Behind Placeholder

Placeholder from October 10 to December 9, 2023 at The Stamp Gallery | University of Maryland, College Park | Written by Ellen Zhang

The Stamp Gallery’s newest exhibition Placeholder pays homage to the power of materials and images in their ability to contrast absence and presence, permanence and impermanence. Four artists (Elliot Doughtie, Richard Hart, Danni O’Brien, and James Williams II) have manifested these concepts into works of art that represent their individual interpretations. For those that keep up with the Stamp Gallery’s exhibitions, you may remember Elliot Doughtie from his iconic piece, Laundry Day Dubuffet, as part of the Gallery’s Spring 2023 exhibition UNFOLD. This time around, Doughtie has opted for fruits, instead of socks, as his muse. 

Elliot Doughtie, Laundry Day Dubuffet Series, (2021-ongoing), Plaster and transferred dyed cotton.

As the name suggests, Orange features a collection of partial oranges arranged on a pole. Each orange looks like it has been sliced at a series of odd angles and curves, creating the illusion that the oranges are sprouting out of the pole. What I find intriguing about Doughtie’s work is his ability to play with structure and shape in order to create illusion. In Laundry Day Dubufffet, Doughtie arbitrarily stacks sock replicas, made out of plaster, leaving the viewer confused as to how this work is able to stand on its own. In Orange, the artist also utilizes plaster to mold the shape of partial oranges into the sides of the pole. While it is unclear how these oranges are able to stick to the pole, it creates the perception of oranges growing out of a pole. 

Elliot Doughtie, Orange, 2023, Steel, plaster, wood, epoxy putty, ink, and concrete. 

This visual effect raises the question of permanence versus impermanence: Is this body of work permanently “done”? Will these partial oranges grow into whole oranges? By using fruit as his medium, Doughtie cleverly pokes at the idea of continuous growth. As an organic fruit grows, it undergoes various stages of development until it fully matures and detaches from its source. In Orange, I interpret the pole as the “source,” providing the necessary nutrients for each orange’s growth. Given that the partial oranges have not fully developed, we as the viewers are seeing a snapshot of something “in progress.” 

In addition to permanence versus impermanence, Doughtie alludes to absence versus presence. Upon a closer look, you will notice that the base of Orange has holes with imprints of an orange. This is evidence of a ripe orange that has dropped from its source, yet the orange itself is nowhere to be seen. As a viewer, we are seeing evidence of the full life cycle of an organic orange, from its “in progress” phase to evidence of its maturity. In a way, the sculpture reflects a kind of dynamic life on its own. Through this, Doughtie also simultaneously invokes absence and presence. In this case, we are aware of the existence of something, but its physical presence remains hidden from view. Perhaps, Doughtie will add the ripe orange later on, thus indicating the imprinted hole as a placeholder for the ripe orange. 

Elliot Doughtie, Orange, 2023, Steel, plaster, wood, epoxy putty, ink, and concrete. 

The concepts of permanence versus impermanence and absence versus presence are more than abstract notions. They manifest into individual thoughts, experiences, and emotions. For many students, permanence and perpetuity are sources of fear. They fear making choices due to the anxiety of making the wrong decision and becoming trapped with the consequences of that choice. In my own life, I have also experienced how absence and presence interact with one another. As Doughtie shows the presence of an orange through its absence, I can’t help but think of the well-worn cliche of “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” However, it doesn’t seem so cliche when I think back on my friendships that have come and gone; I have been forgetful in appreciating present relationships until they have faded away. 

While some may think Placeholder as a purely abstract exhibition, the themes that the artists convey certainly permeate into the real world. I particularly enjoy how Doughtie experiments with structure and shape to craft the viewer’s perceptions in a way that enhances the message he is communicating. From Laundry Day Dubuffet to Orange, he continuously challenges conventions surrounding form and composition to express nuanced yet relatable concepts. 

Doughtie’s work is included in Placeholder at The Stamp Gallery of the University of Maryland, College Park, from October 10 to December 9, 2023. For more information on Elliot Doughtie, visit https://elliotdoughtie.com/. For more information on Placeholder and related events at The Stamp Gallery, visit https://stamp.umd.edu/centers/stamp_gallery. 

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