Critics' Picks: Francis Palazzolo artforum.com Francis Palazzolo THE PROPOSITION 559 West 22nd Street March 05-April 09 When the gods - or media corporations- are angry, you're probably doing something right. Francis Palazzolo's current exhibition at The Proposition publicized itself through an image appropriated from the New Line holiday film Elf. Palazzolo had chosen the image to exemplify the quandary of what is and isn't apparently true, titling the photo, I Believe It's Snowing When It's Not, 2005. Faced with a cease and desist (or we'll sue) call from Mark B. Fallon, New Line's Vice President of Merchandising, Palazzolo recounts how he tried to defend his position by asking Fallon, "What is the nature of signs in visual culture? Do the essences of things rule (are they prima facie)? Or, do the appearances prevail (via consumer copyright laws)?" Finally, Palazzolo agreed not to make further art featuring Elf, or actor Will Ferrell—although he refused to remove the photo from the exhibit, and insists, "For that they will have to come down to the gallery themselves and have it taken off." The event marks a sea change for Palazzolo, who originally established himself as a painter. In three oil-on-linen works in a philosophical, mixed media show, he exhibits a deft and contemporary brush handling. His work Garden of Undecideables, 2002, points up his skills, with a bizarre and vivid figuration of unreality. —John Reed