Summati
THE
n Weekly USPS Publication Number 16300
T h is C om mu n i t y N ewsp a p er is a pu bl ica t ion of E sca m bia / S a n ta Rosa B a r Assoc ia t ion
Section A, Page 1
Vol. 17, No. 26
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July 5, 2017
1 Section, 12 Pages
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Pop Culture Meets the Avante-Garde at Pensacola Museum of Art
This summer, be sure to check out the two unique and engaging exhibitions that opened last month at The Pensacola Museum of Art. One exhibit features the ever evolving art of sculpture through the use of LEGO bricks and features the work of NYC-based artist Sean Kenney. The other combines art and literature to showcase the various collaborative works of Jasper Johns and Robert Motherwell. Amy BowmanMcElhone, the museum’s new director, describes the summer exhibitions as a variety of programming and content that connect with different audiences and communities ranging from explorations of pop culture to the abstract and emotive. Piece by Piece Art with LEGO Bricks by Sean Kenney Through September Piece by Piece, an exhibition of art with LEGO® Bricks by NYC-based artist Sean Kenney emphasizes the nostalgic play of childhood created with childhood toys. This interactive exhibition engages the subject matter and aesthetics of the everyday. Rubber ducks, robots, tricycles and bicycles all work together to bring childhood nostalgia back to life. “When you think about it,” says BowmanMcElhone, “a LEGO brick is the essence of creativity. From its basic rectangular form, everyone from a professional artist to children and hobbyists alike can manifest their creative vision. Furthermore LEGO bricks and the LEGO brand hold a special position in visual culture both as a staple toy for children and in relation to the brand’s growth into the world of adult LEGO subcultures and mainstream Hollywood films. As such, the LEGO brick as an artistic medium engenders a sense of play and nostalgia that connects with many visitors.” The content of the works in the exhibition attend to a variety of subjects that include sustainability and urban commuting; Claes Oldenburg-esque over-scaled pop cultural objects; and industrial design and abstract mosaics that pull from the artist’s own narrative as a designer. Kenney also depicts his journey from corporate designer to independent artist in a series of playful LEGO brick vignettes. Sean Kenney left his corporate career for this art form to become a “professional kid.” Quickly becoming The LEGO Com-
pany’s biggest customer with almost 5 million LEGO bricks, he turned his hobby into a career. His work starts out as a sketch, and through engineering, design and creativity Kenney captures the more than just the shape of the original. The essence of the original piece is captured with LEGO bricks. The Piece by Piece exhibition features the work of and consists of playful sculptural and 2D works crafted with LEGO bricks. Accompanying the exhibition is an interactive LEGO maker-space, designed by UWF students and faculty that aims to engage visitors of all ages in the process of making by turning the gallery space into an activated lab for creativity.
Metaphor as Manifestation An Exhibition of Prints by Jasper Johns and Robert Motherwell Through August 27 Metaphor as Manifestation is an exhibition of works by Jasper Johns (b. 1930) and Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), two very significant and well-known artists of the post-World War II and contemporary periods. The exhibition features prints produced in cross-disciplinary collaborative efforts between Motherwell and the Spanish poet Rafael Alberti (1902-1999); and Jasper Johns and the avant-garde novelist and poet Samuel Beckett (1906-1989.) “These creative projects address war and the absurd and interrogate the intersections of visual and literary art forms,” says Bowman-McElhone. “The exhibition is part of Justin C. Baldwin’s personal collection, which has been assembled through
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travels, dealers, auctions and artists across the globe.” The nineteen lithographs by Motherwell included in this exhibition are the artist’s response to a poem written in 1980 by Alberti to the artist. For Motherwell, the moral struggle embodied by the Spanish Civil War served as a central metaphor in his art. The civil war in Spain, which marked the beginning of an international struggle against Fascism, became a vehicle through which Motherwell explored the archetypal themes of freedom and loss. In 1976 the American Pop artist Jasper Johns produced his livre d’artiste (artist book), Foirades/Fizzles in collaboration with Beckett, the Irish-born avant-garde poet, novelist and playwright who lived in Paris and composed his verses in French. Beckett’s contribution to the project included five short stories, while Johns produced 33 etchings. The majority of Johns’ images are based on his painting Untitled, which includes many of the elements used in his etchings, such as hatching patterns, flagstones, body parts with casts, and slats. Johns’ images were not intended to illustrate Beckett’s five short stories, but rather to serve as the visual equivalent of the poet’s verse.
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1. Installation view, Piece By Piece: Art with LEGO® Bricks by Sean Kenney 2. Robert Motherwell, Lamento Negro, lithograph, 1982-82 in the exhibition Metaphor as Manifestation: Jasper Johns and Robert Motherwell Sean Kenney, Success Story (detail), LEGO® brick 3. Sean Kenney, Success Story (detail), LEGO® brick 4. Jasper Johns, Hatching Pattern, 1976, aquatint and drypoint