February 2008 fill in the _______.
a community based art experiment
-- Press Release --
Root Art Gallery is hosting an unusual exhibit for the month of Feb. The gallery becomes a studio for people of the community to come and participate in the creation of the work on display. Everyone is invited people interested in art, people who make art, people who don't know anything about art, people who want to try something new. The viewers become an integral part of the exhibit, becoming the artists featured. The viewer must engage, experiment, think, and explore as they add to the panels around the space. Materials will be available for the artists to create with.
Panels will be hung on the walls of the space and each will have a prompt of some kind. The prompts will range in topic from very abstract concepts to more concrete, visible things. Materials such as paint, pastels, markers, and pencils will be available for the artists to use. A small explanation of the idea, process, and method will be provided at the door.
Galleries have been predominantly places to sit back and view someone else's work. To leisurely stroll through a space, deciding on the value, and making judgments about the work. There is a place and value to this way of doing things, but more and more artists have challenged the past/current stiff structure of the art world.
Artists are looking to comment on the way society influences us, good and bad, creating an open-air social critique, happening in many cities around the world. The statements are being made through sticker art, stencil graffiti, video projections, posters, and street installations, moving art to places where people live, work, and play. Websites like woostercollective and fecalface have become places to document the artists' critique on society.
The work at Root Art Gallery will be in flux throughout the month, being available for anyone to come in and add to each piece. An Opening Reception will be held on Fri., Feb. 1, 2008 from 6-9pm at Root Art Center, downtown Mount Vernon. For more information, contact Katie or Andy Lane 740-326-3126