1.26: "So completely different at night..."

When artist/friend Catherine Dixon and I went to see "1.26," a piece of public art by Janet Echelman on display for the Biennial of the Americas last week, our impressions were captured by an audio crew... you can hear both of us expounding on the soundtrack of this video. I'm quoted at the beginning and the end, plus somewhere in the middle. (Unless we are "virtual" friends, you'll probably recognize my voice.) The crew really captured what people all along the sidewalk, under the artwork, were experiencing and saying.

1.26 Teaser Trailer - Janet Echelman from Zerosun Pictures on Vimeo.Janet Echelman was commissioned to create a sculpture that would suspend over 14th Street in Civic Center Park. http://www.echelman.com/denver.html

Denver's Biennial of the Americas

I've thoroughly enjoyed dipping in and out of events related to Denver's Biennial of the Americas over the last month. I didn't make it to the more heavily promoted Roundtable speaker series, but have focused my attentions on the art happenings around town.

"The Nature of Things" exhibition at the renovated McNichols Building is quite wonderful. Westword's Michael Paglia has written a comprehensive review of the artwork there and elsewhere. I've been to several really good talks as part of the speaker series there too.

 I love the whimsical transformation of the outdoor space by Jeronimo Hagerman (see above). Adding the vegetation to the capitals on the building is intriguing from the exterior but also refreshing and engaging when glimpsed from the windows on the third floor of the exhibition. I just wish the McNichols exhibition and talks had been free throughout the Biennial, rather than just during the last week -- I think they would have been so much better attended and as a result provoked much more consideration and discussion.

Civic Center Park looks fabulous. The gardens are amazing this year with creative plant combinations that compel me to pull out my camera again and again.

My favorite Biennial work is the temporary public piece, "1.26," suspended over the street between the Denver Art Museum and Civic Center Park. Janet Echelman has created a netted aerial work that is vaguely interesting by day but phenomenal when viewed at night. My photos don't do it justice so if you are in the area, try to get down to see it some evening soon. (Or see better photos on the artist's website via link above.) The work was inspired by a simulation of the February 2010 Chilean earthquake and speaks to the "temporality and interconnectedness surrounding the 1.26 microsecond shortening of the day that resulted from the redistribution of the earth's mass." Most of the people looking at it last night seemed to think it looked like a jellyfish or a butterfly, but from certain vantage points it has both ethereal and explosive qualities. Truly wonderful. 

Family treasures

Just got back from a long 4-day road trip to pick up some family artwork created by my late uncle, Maurice Bernson -- work from a lot of genres, done over many years' time, that had been collected by another uncle, Claude Bernson. A veritable treasure trove of inspiration.

I'll write more about the whole adventure soon, a family history tour of sorts, covering over 1800 miles.

One highlight was a visit to the River Valley Pioneer Museum in Canadian, Texas where we found out about old family photographs that were discovered among the glass negatives of Julius Born. The collection was recently digitized and is available for viewing on The Portal to Texas History. My grandparents' amazing wedding photo, circa 1916ish, (shown here) was among them. Click to enlarge and see detail.

Green Spot

This is the collage that I ended up sending to the National Collage Society's Postcard / Small Works Show. Hard to capture in a photograph, but the area above the plant spiral is a piece of dull silver leaf.

It was great to hear that "Green Spot" has earned an award from juror Craig Lucas, Kent State University Emeritus Professor. The award-winning collages, all 4 x 6" format, are posted online here for your browsing pleasure. The show, consisting of about 140 pieces, continues through July 25th at the Mansfield Art Center in Mansfield, Ohio.

I especially like the look of Jaynie Crimmins' piece, "Explosion of Debt," and the thinking behind it. More detailed views of her highly textural collage and encaustic work are on her website.

Above: "Green Spot," 4 x 6," contemporary paper collage on watercolor paper. © 2010, Janice McDonald.