The Weston Art Gallery (supported by Alice F. and Harris K. Weston) is a non-profit exhibition space devoted to the promotion of local and regional artists. The space is located in the heart of downtown Cincinnati's restaurant and theatre district. On the website for the gallery space, it reads "Independent curator Matt Distel (Cincinnati, OH) returns to the Weston with a group exhibition, Material Witness, that examines artworks in which the exposed structural components dictate the conceptual and formal readings of the objects."
www.westonartgallery.com
In this review I will be discussing the work found in the exhibition of Material Witness.
Upon arrival through the main doors with my Advance Sculpture class taught by Linda Einfalt, we viewed a very large pale blue deer carved out of sculptural foam. The title of this fawn, formed by Matthew Flegle, is Bewilderness. It stands ten feet tall and twelve feet in length. Grounding the massive but lightweight structure are cement blocks at the base of each hoof. The fawns left rear leg is supported by three metal rods and a bucket filled with cement. Across the deers nose and covering its eyes lies a very large white and angular horn. behind the entire sculpture is a drywall structure created for the display of the piece. within the wall is a gaping hold which is a perfect fit for the horn upon the deers head. When walking behind the wall one can see its form projecting through the structure.
Directly across the large room can be found a collapsible house which can be folded and unfolded to allow for protection or extra space. The house is made of materials which would be destroyed by weather if it were located outside in a natural environment. The house is made of plywood and cardboard, drywall and etc. All of the walls of the house are on cabled which can be lowered or pulled tight. Currently in the exhibit the walls are up only allowing slight cracks for the viewer to peek through. On one side of the structure is an open door way. Upon entering the viewer can see a cushioned seat with a video projection reeling on the wall. The video demonstrates the function of the house and informs the viewer that what they see is only portion of the entire creation. This piece is created by Philip Spangler and is titled Open Source Project Space (prototype).
After leaving the top level, the viewer proceeds down the staircase and around several turns to arrive at a new location. They enter a room where a single cushioned and damaged chair sits propped up on planks of wood and other such scrap material. The walls in the space are painted in a disarray of gray and white stripes similar to those once painted on submarines which were designed as camouflage similar to that of Zebra's which is meant to confuse the attacker. The work produced in this room is five TV screens across the walls all showing different videos. Each video has its own soundtrack of instrumental music. The work produced is created by the organization called Design 99 and titled Total Benefit Solutions.
In one video a bulldozer travels around in search of abandoned mattresses to the sides of streets. Collecting them the bulldozer creates a totem in their commemoration by cutting down a tree and sawing its remaining form into a sharp spike. It then pushes each mattress onto the remaining tree until the tree protrudes from the springs and cloth. After placing several mattresses on the tree in this way it tops of the totem with a cushioned chair. This piece is titled Clearing a path to the Future: Garbage Totem No.1 which is part of a bigger project titled the Powerhouse and Neighborhood Machine. Copy and pastthe link below to watch the video.
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=H-EmIYFbAFE"
Furthermore, other videos in the room display film of the Heidelburg Project. This project produced by Tyree Guyton, takes place in Detroit, Michigan. This artist purchases run down and abandoned neighborhoods and alters them by painting vibrant colors and designs across the buildings, houses and walls. He also sets up signs which have inspiring and thought provoking messages about religion and life. On Heidelburg.org it is stated regarding the project, "Tyree Guyton’s vision has created a world-wide audience of both artists and non-artists and at the same time brought a renewed sense of health and hope back to an impoverished community."
In a room near this previous space can be found a thirty foot long array of hanging rings ranging in size from large to small and back to large. This piece is constructed out of carved and smoothly sanded wood created by Terry Berlier. The piece is made to reflect the age and formation of tree rings. It is titled Divergent Timing
Finally in regard to the pieces involved in the exhibit Material Witness displayed at the Weston Art Gallery I will discuss the work produced by Chris Vorhees. He found a disregarded cardboard box which previously contained a "Sofa Server" purchased from Ikea. He designed a structure nearly identical to the picture of the "Sofa Server" portrayed on the box. Quoted about the process involved in the creation of the piece it was stated, "The discovery of a discarded box for a bentwood side table on wheels — marked down to $3.99 — prompted Vorhees to try to replicate the design. About $2,000 later, he figured it out. I’m still trying to figure out if the joke is on him or on us."
In regard to all of the work involved in the exhibit which I did not reference, especially my favorite pieces which I could not find images for, I greatly enjoyed my experience at the Weston Art Gallery and plan to return as soon as possible to visit the next upcoming exhibition.
