Category Archives: Plastic Art

Art made from plastic.

FUTUREPROOF

Futureproof, HAVERFORD'S CANTOR FITZGERALD GALLERY

FUTUREPROOF at Haverford’s Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery Explores Our Present by Interrogating How We Imagine THE FUTURE

Artists, writers, inventors, moviemakers, militaries, and think tanks have long tried to predict coming technologies or foresee catastrophic events — not merely for entertainment’s sake, but to prepare for possible outcomes, quell anxieties, or gird against tragedy. Shell Oil even has a “Scenarios” team, founded in 1965 and still working today, whose job is to explore “possible versions of the future by identifying drivers, uncertainties, enablers and constraints, and unearthing potential issues and their implications.” A new exhibit at Haverford College‘s Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, Futureproof, gathers work from contemporary artists on this theme with real-world images and archives from governmental and corporate scenario planners to explore how we have imagined and continue to imagine different futures.

In engineering, industrial design, and architecture, “futureproofing” typically refers to creating something in a way that minimizes or slows down technological obsolescence. Futureproofing methods are often reflective of people’s anxieties, aspirations, and assumptions about the present, sometimes acting as self-fulfilling prophecies. In this sense, they recall another form of proof—proof as mathematical argument, defined by a series of accepted axioms and truths. The artists in Futureproof engage with the many malleable interpretations of futureproofing, drawing from both the legacy of military and corporate scenario planning and the use of semi-fictionalized artifacts or archives as “proof,” or evidence, of alternate timelines or futures yet to come.

So, a 1991 in-house film on climate change produced by the Shell Corporation will be shown alongside a multi-faceted installation by Ilona Gaynor (“Everything Ends in Chaos”), featuring 2D and 3D objects with video in a piece that deconstructs corporate risk assessment. The Guantanamo Bay Museum of Art and History, which foresees that the detention facilities in Cuba have been closed and replaced with a museum that reflects on Guantanamo Bay’s social and political significance, will be represented, as will images and archival documents from Cybersyn Project, the real-life cybernetics economy-management operation of Salvador Allende’s Chilean government.

In a time when each day seems to bring a new cascade of political uncertainties, when every “now” is assumed to be “more than ever” and every crisis feels more unmanageable than the last, Futureproof encourages viewers to interrogate the fraught systems of the present moment and imagine how they might be otherwise.

Futureproof is curated by Ingrid Burrington and features the work of Morehshin AllahyariSalome Asega, Gui Bonsiepe and the Cybersyn Project, the United States Department of Energy, Ilona GaynorAyodamola Tanimowo Okunseinde, Shell Corporation, and The Guantánamo Bay Museum of Art and HistoryFutureproof is supported by the John B. Hurford ’60 Center for the Arts and Humanities.

Futureproof will be on view Oct. 27 through Dec. 17, at Haverford College’s Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery. On Friday, Oct. 27, to celebrate the show’s opening, there will be a talk by curator Ingrid Burrington at 4:30 p.m. followed by a reception at 5:30 p.m. An associated screening of Peter Galison and Robb Moss’s film Containment will take place Nov. 29, at 7 p.m., in the Visual Culture, Arts, and Media building’s screening room. For details and additional related events: exhibits.haverford.edu/futureproof.

Overseen by the John B. Hurford ’60 Center for the Arts and Humanities and located in Whitehead Campus Center, the Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery is open Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., and Wednesdays until 8 p.m. For more information, contact Matthew Seamus Callinan, associate director of the Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery and campus exhibitions, at (610) 896-1287 or mcallina@haverford.edu, or visit the exhibitions program website: www.haverford.edu/exhibits.

Haverford College is located at 370 Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, Pa., 19041

Thank you to Rebecca Raber for the content of this post.

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Warbler Migration

Deirdre Murphy and Scott White

Deirdre Murphy and Scott White, Warbler Migration

Wife-husband collaborators and UPenn School of Design faculty Deirdre Murphy
and Scott White recently completed a 5 by 25 foot sculpture that was installed last month in the burgeoning Silicon Valley city of Dublin, CA.

The project, which took nearly two years to complete, combines Murphy’s fine arts expertise and climate science research with White’s unique knowledge of digital modeling and 1930’s car design. Murphy and White will be discussing the groundbreaking project at UArts’ Design Philadelphia event this October, detailing their unusual design and build process—an integration of traditional and digital fabrication techniques.

Warbler Migration was inspired by a shy species that resides in the Dublin ecosystem, and one which Murphy developed a particular fondness for in the course of her research. She has been researching the effects of global warming on bird migration for several years, using the visual data that scientists share with her to conceptualize and execute her paintings. The couple sees the opportunity to create environmentally-aware public art as an especially fulfilling one because of the potential to touch so many lives.

“Climate change has created new flight patterns; birds are staying in their summer homes longer, depleting the food supply they rely on to fuel their autumn journey,” says Murphy. “As educators, it’s important for us to share this knowledge. Embedding information about climate change in our art is a softer way to reach a broader audience.”

It was White’s task to take Murphy’s mesmerizing depictions of flocking birds and activate them into 3D space, which he did by digitally designing, then hand cutting and assembling more than 500 aluminum plates into a handcrafted hyperbolic curve.

Murphy’s and White’s presentation will take place Monday, October 9 at 6.30 at 211 South Broad Street, Terra Hall, room 511/513. Process art from Warbler Migration will be on display, along with the Industrial Design NOW exhibition prior to the presentation, from 5:00-6:30. The event is free and open to the public.

Deirdre Murphy and Scott White

Deirdre Murphy is an adjunct professor of fine arts at the University of Pennsylvania. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally, at institutions including the Philadelphia International Airport, New Bedford Museum, Tacoma Art Museum, University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. She is the recipient of numerous awards and grants, including a Pennsylvania Council for the Arts Fellowship and a Leeway Foundation award, and is represented by the Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia; her work can be viewed at www.deirdremurphyart.com.

Scott White is a senior lecturer in animation at the University of Pennsylvania. His sculpture, animation, and designs have been shown nationally and internationally at venues including Design Philadelphia, Philly Works, Woodmere Art Museum, Gross McCleaf Gallery, and the Abington Art Center. Scott has been a visiting artist at institutions such as Philadelphia University, Moore College, and Wilmington University, Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum and is the owner and operator of Preservation Coachworks LLC.

Thank you to Christina Cook, Media Relations, Deirdre Murphy Art for the content of this post.

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Out

Out of the Box, Open Juried Art Show at The Plastic Club

Out of the Box, Open Juried Art Show at The Plastic Club

UNLEASH YOUR INNER CREATIVE BEAST AT THE PLASTIC CLUB

The Plastic Club is inviting artists to break new creative ground for the club’s next juried art exhibition. The February show will feature the theme of ‘Out of the Box‘ – highlighting ‘work related to the notion of invention and inspiration’. The exhibition will run from February 5th to February 23rd, with an opening party on Sunday, February 5 from 2 PM to 5 PM.

The prospectus explains that the subject may be ‘personal, political, scientific, or otherwise’. Submitted work may also be ‘a piece that is itself an experiment, new subject matter, or new medium for you as an artist’.

“Some example ideas,” the prospectus explains, would be “a piece that represents a new direction in your practice or features a material or medium that is new for you; a portrait of an inventor or innovative thinker; a depiction of an inspirational place, event, or historical turning point; subject matter about a break in convention; an illustrative or abstract response to any of these concepts.”

The show’s prospectus is downloadable from The Plastic Club‘s website, www.plasticclub.org.

The show’s juror will be interdisciplinary artist Jacob Rivkin, a teacher at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design and a member of Philadelphia’s OOF Collective, an animation collective.

Jacob Rivkin Bio

“I am an interdisciplinary artist living in Philadelphia, PA. I currently teach Fine Art courses in the University of Pennsylvania School of Design and at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. I am currently a member of the OOF Collective. I received my MFA from the University of Pennsylvania in 2013 and BA from Vassar College in 2007. My animations and sculptures focus on understanding how, and if, environments and its geological qualities imbue sentiment and distinct character to its inhabitants.

My animation work has screened at the Animation Block Party in Brooklyn, NY, Vox Populi in Philadelphia, PA, and the Peephole Cinema in San Francisco. My sculptures have been exhibited at the Vancouver Art Gallery in Vancouver, BC, The Chemical Heritage Foundation Museum, Philadelphia, PA, the Arlington Art Center in Arlington, VA and Julius Caesar Gallery in Chicago, IL. Awards include the Juror’s Prize at the 25th Annual McNeese Works on Paper Juried Exhibition in 2012, a Fulbright Grant in 2008 to study Chinese traditional landscape painting in Hangzhou, China, and the Weitzel Barber Art Travel Prize in 2006 to study Buddhist sculpture practices in Western China. In 2014 I was an Artist-in-Residence at the Hacktory in Philadelphia. My studio is located at the Queen Memorial Work Studios in Grays Ferry.” – Jacob Rivkin

The Plastic Club, located on quaint Camac Street, the Avenue of the Artists, was founded in 1897 to promote the visual (plastic) arts. Although initially formed as a women’s group, membership was expanded to include men in 1991. The Plastic Club has over 200 members from the Philadelphia area, long-distance members hail from three continents.

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Open

Philadelphia Open Studio Tours 2016THIS OCTOBER: Explore. Discover. Enjoy.

Philadelphia’s Vibrant Visual Arts Community

Discover Philadelphia’s visual arts community this October with the Philadelphia Open Studio Tours, a free citywide arts festival Oct 8 – 9 and Oct 22 – 23 #POSTPHL

 Explore open studios and art experiences in every Philly neighborhood this October with the Phl Open Studio Tours #POSTPHL www.philaopenstudios.org

Starting October 8, 2016 The Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA) is pleased to present the 17th Annual Philadelphia Open Studio Tours. As Philadelphia’s premier fall visual arts festival, the Philadelphia Open Studio Tours (POST) presents a behind-the-scenes glimpse of visual artists at work through self-guided tours of artist studios and creative workspaces, hands-on workshops, gallery exhibitions, demonstrations, artist talks, special receptions, and more. Great for all ages, POST is the most comprehensive tour of artist studios in the region. For complete program information, including a list of more than 200 participating artists and community partners, neighborhood maps, artwork and studio images, and a detailed schedule of events, visit philaopenstudios.org.

Featured Exhibition Series

CFEVA and POST are pleased to feature several noteworthy exhibitions and events in all corners of the city, springing from ongoing collaborations with commercial galleries, local businesses, fellow arts organizations, educational institutions, and non-traditional studio spaces. Of the many corollary programs taking place throughout October, POST is proud to announce its 2016 Featured Exhibitions:

Philadelphia Open Studio Tours 2016, Nick Cassway Above the Sounds of Ideologies ClashingNick Cassway

Above the Sounds of Ideologies Clashing

An exhibition of work by Nick Cassway, the Antonia W. Hamilton Fellow

October 8th – November 10th, 2016

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10am – 5pm

Opening Reception: October 13, 5 – 7pm

Open during POST West and POST East, noon – 6pm

The Center for Emerging Visual Artists, 237 S. 18th Street, Suite 3A, Philadelphia, PA 19103

Nick Cassway merges a fine arts practice with commercial design, iconography, and illustration to create vibrant works with bold and impactful imagery. Coinciding with POST, “Above the Sounds of Ideologies Clashing” will transform CFEVA’s gallery into an immersive room-sized installation. Inspired by the story of Johannes Kelpius, the Hermit of the Wissahickon, Cassway’s custom designed wall coverings explore systems of belief through an evolving scene of an encounter between a believer and a skeptic.

Philadelphia Open Studio Tours 2016, Kelly KozmaDance Magic Dance, Jump Magic Jump by Kelly Kozma

CFEVA@Sonesta

An Exhibition Highlighting Five Philadelphia Artists

January 15th – December 15th, 2016

Open during POST West and POST East, On view 24 hours

Sonesta Hotel Philadelphia, 1800 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103

Grab some food and drinks at the Sonesta Hotel’s Art Bar and see CFEVA@Sonesta: Highlighting Five Philadelphia Artists. This exhibition features work by: Kelly Kozma, Brienne RosnerKristin Schattenfield-Rein, Amy Stevens, Michael Yoder.

Philadelphia Open Studio Tours 2016, Kristen Schattenfield-ReinKristin Schattenfield-Rein

 ArtBox at Shirt Corner

An exhibition of work by Kristin Schattenfield-Rein

August 1st – October 14th, 2016, Open during POST West

ArtBox @ Shirt Corner, 259 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

Kristin Schattenfield-Rein’s paintings utilize various mediums (epoxy resin, glass, sand, graphite flake and silvered tar) to produce a layered, reticulative effect. Rein’s current work adheres, just barely, to the convention of wall hangings—they creep past their edges to become sculptural and suggestive of something beyond the obvious. Kristin’s work is on view in the Art Box street level window gallery located in Old City on the north side of Market Street just east of 3rd Street.

Philadelphia Open Studio Tours 2016, Rob MillerAerospatial 14Rob Miller

POST—Philadelphia Artists in the Community

An Art Gallery at City Hall exhibition

October 10th – November 10th 2016, Monday – Friday, 10am–4pm

Art Gallery at City Hall, City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts,

Culture and the Creative Economy, City Hall, Room 116, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Celebrating the diversity of Philadelphia neighborhoods and the artisans that thrive within, “POST—Philadelphia Artists in the Community” will showcase works by selected POST participants in City Hall during the month of October. The exhibition will be organized by neighborhood, demonstrating the uniqueness and strength of our city’s artistic community.

Philadelphia Open Studio Tours 2016, Ben VoltaPattern Process, Ben Volta

Ben Volta: Pattern Process

A Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts exhibition

September 21st – November 20, 2016, Open during POST West and POST East

Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 10am–5pm, Wednesday 10am—9pm, Saturday—Sunday, 11am –5pm

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Alumni Gallery, Historic Landmark Building

118-128 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102

www.pafa.org

Ben Volta (Certificate ‘02) creates intricate public murals and sculptures, working at the intersection of education, restorative justice, and urban planning. His practice stands on the belief that art can be a catalyst for change, within individuals as well as the institutional structures that surround them.

His exhibition in the Alumni Gallery at PAFA will draw from multiple projects created with students and recently incarcerated youth throughout the city. These projects use a collaborative drawing process to generate complex wholes that are more than the sum of their parts.

Thank you to Julia Fox of the Philadelphia Open Studio Tours (POST), a program of The Center for Emerging Visual Artists for the content of this post.

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Mixed

"Mixed Media", The Philadelphia Dumpster Divers, Media Arts Council

“Mixed Media”, The Philadelphia Dumpster Divers, Media Arts Council

The Philadelphia Dumpster Divers, “Mixed Media” at Media Arts Council through August 28th, 2016. Artist reception August 13th, 4:00 – 7:00. Gallery hours Thursday, Friday & Saturday 4:00 – 7:00.

Featuring the work of Philadelphia Dumpster Divers: Betsy Alexander, Joel Spivak,Diane Keller, Joanne Hoffman, Dan Enright, Jim Ulrich, Sally Willowbee, Sara Benowitz, Kim Alsbrooks, Carol Cole, Susan Richards, Eva Preston, Ann Keech, Alden Cole, Taji Nahl, Gretchen Altabef, Neil Benson, Burnell Yow!, Ted Warchal & I. George Bilyk.

Media Arts Council – What does M.A.C. really do? Our work is organized into several committees made up of dedicated volunteers who bring their skills and enthusiasm to their teams. We have a lot on our plates, but recognize that we’re in it for the camaraderie too. We’re always looking for new volunteers, so please let us know if you’re interested in learning more about our committees.

Media Arts Council 609 W State St, Media PA 19063

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