Exhibit showcases usual material in unusual ways

Online Poster

Online Poster

By Liz deAvila

Beaded beer bottles, car tire rubber, twist-ties, pencil tips and playing cards can all be found in the works of art on display in the Krannert Art Museum’s exhibition “OVER + OVER: PASSION FOR PROCESS.”

The exhibition, which closes Sunday, is made up of meticulously crafted art pieces created from everyday materials ranging from clothes catalogs to marker caps. The Krannert Museum Web site states, “the artists’ materials are ordinary, their patience and results extraordinary.”

The exhibition features the artwork of 13 artists from across the United States. Some of the better-known artists include Liza Lou of Los Angeles, whose works on display are “Cup of Coffee” and “Six Pack of Budweiser,” each created out of thousands of sparkling beads.

Chakaia Booker is another well-known artist from New York City, whose featured piece is made of folded tire rubber, wood and other materials. Jennifer Maestre, from Massachusetts, is one of the lesser-known artists. Her piece, “Spine,” a sculpture made out of hundreds of sharpened pencil tips, was used in brochures and advertisements to promote the exhibit.

Kathleen Harleman, Krannert Art Museum director, said featuring the sculpture in the exhibition ads helped bring in more visitors.

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“People were quite fascinated by it,” Harleman said.

Harleman worked alongside guest curators Judith Hoos Fox and Ginger Gregg Duggan to put together “OVER + OVER,” according to a museum brochure. It is the first exhibition in Harleman’s tenure at the Krannert Museum that speaks to her vision, she said. Harleman said Duggan originally came up with the idea to create a collection of artwork dedicated to a “passion for process” after Duggan’s father made a comment on the time commitment required to create an art piece.

Harleman said one of the objectives of the exhibition was to create a “sense of control versus chaos.” She used the work of Elizabeth Simonson, an artist from New York, as an example. Simonson’s piece is a construction of hundreds of 36-inch wires fastened to the wall in what seems to be an unorganized manner, but actually follows a specific formula.

When viewed from the side instead of head-on, a noticeable pattern emerges. Harleman said it took three and a half days and two people to properly set up the piece.

“It was a very systematic production,” Harleman said.

When choosing artists to include in the exhibition, Harleman said there was a conscious attempt to use works that challenge assumptions of what is classified as art and what is non-art. She said there could have easily been three times as many artists in the exhibition, but that the artists whose works are displayed were chosen because their work had a balance between chaos and control.

Jake Johnston, junior in business and museum guard, called the exhibition the “OCD exhibit,” referring to the artists’ complicated and painstaking efforts.

Johnston said he liked the exhibit in general, and that “the bird one,” artwork by Fred Tomaselli of Brooklyn, N.Y., was his favorite. Tomaselli took pages from a bird-watching guide, removing the birds to leave the outlines of bird shapes. He then filled in the outlines of the birds using strategically placed cutouts from a Land’s End catalog. Harleman said the effect is surprising because a viewer cannot tell the birds are actually polar fleeces and sleeping bags until closely inspected.

Chris Hemphill, senior in LAS and museum guard, also said he liked the exhibit, but thought “Discard,” a collection of 255 playing cards found on city streets individually mounted on a wall created by Tom Fruin, was “unimpressive.”

Kim Hartelius, senior in FAA, said her favorite piece was the work of Juliann Cydylo of Boston, who used cut paper to create different designs.

“The shapes are really interesting,” Hartelius said. “It looks 3D.”