Couched Constructions (CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO)
Friday, March 2, 2012
Opening reception 5:00pm
Herron School of Art & Design, 735 W. New York St., Indianapolis, IN
Sometimes a couch is just a piece of furniture . . . and sometimes–through the eyes of a visionary–a couch becomes a source of alternative building materials, a commentary on our prodigious solid waste stream and a view into the lives of the most economically disadvantaged citizens of our city.
Couched Constructions, a new exhibit opening at Herron School of Art and Design’s Eskenazi Hall on March 2, will challenge the viewer’s concept of the couch’s purpose. The free public reception begins at 5:00 p.m. through 8:00 p.m. outside the Berkshire, Reese and Paul Galleries in Herron’s Grand Hall. The exhibition continues through April 19.
Couched Constructions: Part 2 opens March 6 and runs through May 4 at the JCC. The public is invited to a reception on Wednesday, March 21, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for complimentary refreshments mingling with the artists in the JCC Art Gallery. The Arthur M. Glick Jewish Community Center is located at 6701 Hoover Rd. in Indianapolis.
The works in both shows are being created out of couches retrieved from the curbsides of Indianapolis. They are meant to be explored by visitors who may reconsider their relationships to conventional items and, in a broader sense, to the ephemera of our lives. The exhibits implore us to rethink the purposefulness of standard objects and to find ways to reuse them.
Wes Janz, professor of architecture at Ball State University and the exhibition’s curator, included a number of architects by training among the artists in shows.
Herron Gallery Director Paula Katz said she was “blown away†by Janz’s exhibition Big/Small at the Swope Museum in Terre Haute. “The depth of exploration achieved in sustainability issues was tremendous,†she said. “I knew this was the type of learning I wanted to bring to Indianapolis.â€
A Family Affair
For designers Wil Marquez, Omar Munante & Alejandra Lagunas “A Family Affair” tries to understand the formal & respected “Living Room†space as the protected hollows de los sofás (the couches). For many Latino families el sofá was a family treasure and social symbol that often represented ideas of home ownership, family culture, and labor. For me and my sisters, los sofás were monuments well-guarded and completely off limits, except to the following: The Pope, Jesus Christ, Joe Namath, JFK, and Chachi from Happy Days.
Recently walking the city streets of downtown Chihuahua Mexico, Omar Munante and I stumbled upon a three block commercial pi̱ata district. The area without a doubt was a hotbed to a highly sophisticated pi̱ata empowerment zone. Captivated by their color, production, and purpose Рthe pi̱ata took its place as the motivation to appropriately
celebrate the many stories involving nuestras familias and sofás in our lives.
Contributors:
Diana De La Fuente, Guillermo Crovali, Javier Estrada, Cesar Roman
Materials: Cardboard, Balloons, Newspaper, Glue, Wood, Candy
(variety)
Size: 8’x8’.
A Family Affair
Couched Constructions (CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO)
Friday, March 2, 2012
Opening reception 5:00pm
Herron School of Art & Design, 735 W. New York St., Indianapolis, IN
Sometimes a couch is just a piece of furniture . . . and sometimes–through the eyes of a visionary–a couch becomes a source of alternative building materials, a commentary on our prodigious solid waste stream and a view into the lives of the most economically disadvantaged citizens of our city.
Couched Constructions, a new exhibit opening at Herron School of Art and Design’s Eskenazi Hall on March 2, will challenge the viewer’s concept of the couch’s purpose. The free public reception begins at 5:00 p.m. through 8:00 p.m. outside the Berkshire, Reese and Paul Galleries in Herron’s Grand Hall. The exhibition continues through April 19.
Couched Constructions: Part 2 opens March 6 and runs through May 4 at the JCC. The public is invited to a reception on Wednesday, March 21, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for complimentary refreshments mingling with the artists in the JCC Art Gallery. The Arthur M. Glick Jewish Community Center is located at 6701 Hoover Rd. in Indianapolis.
The works in both shows are being created out of couches retrieved from the curbsides of Indianapolis. They are meant to be explored by visitors who may reconsider their relationships to conventional items and, in a broader sense, to the ephemera of our lives. The exhibits implore us to rethink the purposefulness of standard objects and to find ways to reuse them.
Wes Janz, professor of architecture at Ball State University and the exhibition’s curator, included a number of architects by training among the artists in shows.
Herron Gallery Director Paula Katz said she was “blown away†by Janz’s exhibition Big/Small at the Swope Museum in Terre Haute. “The depth of exploration achieved in sustainability issues was tremendous,†she said. “I knew this was the type of learning I wanted to bring to Indianapolis.â€
A Family Affair
For designers Wil Marquez, Omar Munante & Alejandra Lagunas “A Family Affair” tries to understand the formal & respected “Living Room†space as the protected hollows de los sofás (the couches). For many Latino families el sofá was a family treasure and social symbol that often represented ideas of home ownership, family culture, and labor. For me and my sisters, los sofás were monuments well-guarded and completely off limits, except to the following: The Pope, Jesus Christ, Joe Namath, JFK, and Chachi from Happy Days.
Recently walking the city streets of downtown Chihuahua Mexico, Omar Munante and I stumbled upon a three block commercial pi̱ata district. The area without a doubt was a hotbed to a highly sophisticated pi̱ata empowerment zone. Captivated by their color, production, and purpose Рthe pi̱ata took its place as the motivation to appropriately
celebrate the many stories involving nuestras familias and sofás in our lives.
Contributors:
Diana De La Fuente, Guillermo Crovali, Javier Estrada, Cesar Roman
Materials: Cardboard, Balloons, Newspaper, Glue, Wood, Candy
(variety)
Size: 8’x8’.