2023 SEASON
TRANSLATING THE SUBCONSCIOUS
An installation by Matthew Tanner
On View:
Saturday, February 25, 12:00 - 8:00 pm
Sunday, February 26, 12:00 - 6:00 pm
The INSTALLATION SPACE is excited to kick off the 2023 season with an installation by artist Matthew Tanner!
This pop-up show explores doodling as a means to de-clutter the mind. Small scale doodles are translated into larger format concepts, to enable exploration. Each composition is comprised of layers of mixed media, collage, acrylics, oils and found objects to create balance and clarify perspective.
Matthew Tanner is a Massachusetts artist who works in mixed media (paint, watercolors, collage, wood, and fiberglass composite).
SPECTRAL STRATA &
VENUS SPECTRA
Installations by Massachusetts College of Art & Design's Studio for Interrelated Media
On View: March 10 - April 22
Spectral Strata installed at the INSTALLATION SPACE is an optically driven light, glass, and sound installation by a student collaborative from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. The piece refers to an optical translation of the concept of Strata, often associated with the formation of mineral deposits over the course of time that create layers or a series of linear layers of rock in the ground. The installation consists of a series of blown glass vessels floating in space with projections of light engulfing the space and interacting with the moving vessels.
Using light and projection to produce visual dynamics on the glass, the physicality of each object takes a back seat, and draws attention to the light phenomena that the vessels are able to produce. Glass is unique in its optical properties, and by utilizing projection on top of visually complex forms, the space is transformed. Inspired by the sound of glass, the score further activates the atmosphere. Textural elements–using synthesizers, theremin, and tape-reversed guitar–weave between layered and isolated to emphasize the strata on a sonic level. The projections are structurally composed of scenes used to exemplify the refraction of the glass it is being projected through.
We are inviting viewers and explorers to take note of the environment around them and immerse themselves in another world whether that be an earthly yet alien landscape, a mystical underwater cave, or anything the mind can imagine.
Installation by: Sam Cohen, Amelia Allison, Anna Vincent, Hannah Zahr, Sophia Kasparian, Riff Lehto, Sam Webb, Raina Bhartia, Janine Bensen, Adine Raboy, A’knesha Davis-Darkwah, Onyx Raia
Venus Spectra installed in the windows of the Design Lab at MCLA's Gallery 51 is an exploration of femininity and persona of today. We are all amalgamations of different archetypes along with our own personal signature, ever-changing and evolving with the seasons, and with the tides.
The water in our bodies is connected to all the water in the world. All water is old water. Our ancestors drank, played, swam, and loved in the same water we bathe in now. The power that mammals with wombs possess to bring spirit from the ether to the physical realm is akin to the mechanism all humans regardless of biology and gender identity use to birth their dreams and ideal self into reality. The power of femininity, which anyone can tap into, is to feel your true self and be vulnerable in embodiment.
Using water, sunlight, reflection, recycled fabrics, natural dyes, photography, and jewelry we express our personal affinities for colors, images, and textures that reflect the people we are on the inside. This is an unveiling of light and spirit through adornment and compositions of nourishment from the lens of sisterhood.
Spectra (noun): Plural of Spectrum.
Venus (noun): The Roman goddess of love and beauty. The planet second in order from the sun. Considered the sister planet of Earth. In astrological meaning it is the planet of love, flirtation, personal style and beauty.
Oxford Reference: The Female Gaze. A term coined by feminists in response to the claims made by Mulvey that the conventions established in classical Hollywood films required all spectators, regardless of their sex, to identify with the male protagonist and to adopt the controlling male gaze around which such films were held to be structured. The"female gaze" thus marked out neglected territory. For many, the term alludes to the right of women to adopt the active and objectifying gaze that has traditionally and stereotypically been associated with males, undermining the dominant cultural alignment of masculinity with activity and femininity with passivity. Despite the label, this need not involve replacing one form of gender essentialism with another: the objects of the gaze need not be confined to males. The ways in which women and girls look at other females, at males, and at things in the world. This concerns the kinds of looking involved, and how these may be related to identification, objectification, subjectivity, and the performance and construction of gender. See also gaze.
Installation by: Adine Raboy, A’knesha Davis-Darkwah, Janine Bensen, Raina Bhartia
ENMESHED
An installation by Katy Rodden Walker
On View:
May 5 - June 25
Growing and withering, constantly evolving, ENMESHED draws inspiration from microscopic images of mycelium (fungal spores and roots). Embracing the diverse ways that life cooperates together, ENMESHED evolves and merges, expanding in all directions, non-hierarchically, allowing for new offshoots and possibilities. Focusing on the complexities and interconnectedness of how microscopic organisms like mycelium contribute to the health and vibrancy of the communities they live within and the sustainability of our planet, ENMESHED challenges us to consider what we might learn from our nonhuman counterparts, and how we may imagine a symbiotic relationship with them for the benefit of our combined future.
The scaled-up microscopic forms are suspended from the ceiling and walls within the immersive installation space, like uncontrolled organic growth. Combining various elements to activate the senses, the installation is intentionally layered and responsive to the architectural space that supports it and the audience who move throughout it. Certain forms become illuminated, creating pockets of darkness and light, and casting shadows that extend and contract as the environment responds to activity.
Katy Rodden Walker is an interdisciplinary artist from Wayland, Massachusetts interested in exploring complex relationships and interconnectedness between humans and non-humans, and challenging perceptions of boundaries between humans and the environment at a micro and macro scale. She uses various materials to create connections and blur boundaries within space, illuminating what is largely unseen. Katy earned her BA in East Asian Studies with a minor in Japanese, from Bates College. She studied Japanese language and cultural studies at Doshisha University in Kyoto Japan, where she also studied ceramics. She has her MFA from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
www.katyroddenwalker.com @katyroddenwalker
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
AUTOMATIC AURA
An installation by FEMINISTFUTURIST
On View: July 7 - August 27
FeministFuturist is a collective of feminist artists who devise possible futures to address injustice compassionately, holistically, and optimistically. The Collective is not hesitant about describing themselves as feminists; the members embrace that label. Their exhibits present a questioning and thoughtful feminism which speculates on alternative futures to offer visions of coexistence, healing, and community with all living things. FeministFuturists create work which seeks to evolve culture creatively, equitably, with sustainable technologies, and with deep respect for the ecological systems of planet Earth.
AUTOMATIC AURA features individual work by each member of the Collective in film, installation, AR, traditional painting and sculpture, and digital media. The exhibition, which embodies the thought processes the Collective evolved in early 2023, is titled according to a suggestion by the bots of ChatGPT at the instigation of artist Freedom Baird. The artists weave together overlapping themes of hybrid identity, human v animal constructs, the human voice v the bot, and traditional v contemporary gender roles and identities, including those explored in Legacy Russell’s Glitch Feminism Manifesto:
“an error in a social system that has already been disturbed by economic, racial, social, sexual, and cultural stratification and the imperialist wrecking-ball of globalization—processes that continue to enact violence on all bodies—may not, in fact, be an error at all, but rather a much-needed erratum.”
FeministFuturist strives to continually define and redefine themselves as artists, by challenging the media and technologies most appropriate to their message. The Collective’s goal for AUTOMATIC AURA is twofold:
“to probe the cognitive, spiritual, and physical effects of transformative technological advances on our lives and the existence of planet Earth; and to challenge ourselves to present new feminist imagery using recent technologies — including AR and VR—alongside traditional media.”
The Collective has a porous and evolving roster of artists; represented in AUTOMATIC AURA are:
Freedom Baird www.Freedombaird.org
Christina Balch www.christinabalch.com
Marjorie Kaye www.marjoriekayeart.com
Karen Meninno www.instagram.com/karen_meninno
Carolyn Wirth www.carolynwirth.com
Special Guest Filmmaker: Homa Sarabi www.homasarabi.com
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire,
a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
CONFETI
An interactive installation by Pamela Hersch
music by ella joy mEir
On View: September 8 - October 22
Confetti are small colorful pieces of paper that are usually thrown at celebrations.
The origins are from the Latin confectum, with confetti the plural of Italian confetto, small sweet. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
"I was born and raised in Mexico, where we spell it “confeti”. Growing up, I liked looking up and seeing how the pieces of paper fell so slowly that they seemed to be suspended in the air just for a moment.
With this installation, I intend to recreate that moment and invite you to reflect and celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15), when we take time to recognize the contributions and histories of the Latino community in the United States.
The confeti on the screen respond to your movements. The color of the particle system comes from multiplying a series of images generated with Stable Diffusion, a text-to-image AI model, with a visual noise that transforms slightly after each image is generated. This results in an abstract sequence of images that seamlessly evolve. I used prompts that bring back specific memories of my time in Mexico, mainly in nature. Within the Mexican colors and patterns, you might find ocean waves, jungle trees, animals, sunsets, and mountains.
As part of this celebration, I have invited a dear friend of mine, Ella Joy Meir, to produce a soundtrack. Ella is originally from Israel and has lived in the U.S. for over a decade, just as I have. Our community of artists who come from different parts of the world has developed work and grown in this country that is now our second home. Our contributions vary, but our stories and struggles are shared. To represent this diversity, Ella has composed a beautiful eclectic piece. The more people interact with the confeti, the more instruments will be heard.
We hope you enjoy it."
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire,
a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
SYNTACTICAL SHIFTS
AN INSTALLATION BY LYN HORTON
On View: November 3 - November 26, 2023
Syntactical Shifts portrays the development in my artistic language discovered throughout the first year of working in my new studio after I moved to North Adams in March of 2021.
The entire installation is designed to codify the psychological overtones of dealing with the trauma of moving away from my home of forty-two years, making sense of an urban world, and restoring peace to my life. Every drawing represents the assimilation of past experience, creating new image forms and perceiving them in as many ways possible to finish in a flourish of leaving behind, “branching out,” and walking away from the past into a present “line” of thinking.
Since receiving my BFA from the California Institute of the Arts in 1971 and MFA in 1974, my journey as an artist has taken many routes. At the present time, I am associated with Cross MacKenzie Gallery, near Washington DC. I am also a member of ecoartspace, an international group whose focus is on our earth and its preciousness.
I started making art seriously when I was 19. I have never stopped no matter where life has taken me. Art is my only true occupation.