Verne Voshell’s painting “Kong, ‘Rage Monkey'” is on display this week at Hoyt Sherman Place. (Photo: Michael Morain)
By Michael Morain
For 117 years now, the Des Moines Women’s Club has organized an annual art show. But it’s safe to say the club has never displayed something quite like this: a painting of a roaring King Kong, teeth bared, made with a scoop of human cremains.
Verne Voshell created the painting as a memorial to his younger sister, Theresa Voshell, who had always supported his artistic endeavors. Before cancer took her life last fall, a month after her 50th birthday, she had requested that he use some of her ashes in his work.
That was her idea. King Kong was his.
“I like to think of it as the ‘Rage Monkey,’” said the Indianola artist, who usually doesn’t title his works. His sister “was a great woman, generous and giving. She went to church every Sunday and tried to show everybody the love of Jesus. But being a Voshell, she had a little anger streak. I think somewhere, she’s amused by that.”
The monkey, in its handmade bamboo frame, is one of 160 artworks on display through Saturday in the gallery at Hoyt Sherman Place. Voshell used to work as a tattoo artist around town, but he submitted the painting in the show’s nonprofessional division and noted its unusual materials on the entry form.
The Des Moines Women’s Club typically allows artists to sell their work in the show, and the club collects a 25% commission. But in Voshell’s case, they decided any potential buyer should contact him directly. One club member called her daughter, a lawyer, who determined it’s legal to sell human remains in Iowa, but the club decided to steer clear of any commercial transaction.
“Who would have thought that next year we’d have to add a rule: no human remains,” said club member Kathy Elliott, who helped organize this year’s exhibition.
Voshell could have kept the painting’s details a secret, but he decided to share them as a way to honor his sister’s wishes. “It seemed relevant,” he said. “It’s a story. It’s part of the process.”
That process was harder than he had expected. He said when he mixed in the ashes — about a tablespoon into the acrylic he used for the gorilla’s fur — he started “trembling and shaking.”
“It was a physical response,” he said. “Art is very emotional for me. You put a lot of yourself into it, a lot of emotion into it. It’s almost like you feel connected to the person you’re painting.”
Due to today’s blizzard, exhibition judge Diane Kunzler’s talk has been postponed to 11 a.m. next Wednesday, March 12, at Hoyt Sherman Place. The exhibition remains open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily through Saturday, with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday. Admission is free.
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