Purdue Galleries to open new winter exhibits
January 9, 2015
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Bruce McAllister, Abandoned Automobiles and Other Debris Clutter an Acid Water and Oil Filled Five-Acre Pond, it Was Cleaned up Under EPA Supervision to Prevent Possible Contamination of Great Salt Lake and a Wildlife Refuge Nearby , 04/1974 (DOCUMERICA) |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. –Purdue University Galleries on Monday (Jan 12) and Tuesday (Jan. 13) will open new exhibitions of documentary environmental photography and artwork created with digital processes.
“DOCUMERICA” will be presented through Feb. 21 in the Robert L. Ringel Gallery in Stewart Center.
In 1971, the newly established Environmental Protection Agency created Project DOCUMERICA (1971-77), an initiative that commissioned outstanding photographers across America to document the state of the environment and its impact on society. The result was an archive of tens of thousands of photographs amassed over nearly a decade. In spite of its historic and cultural significance, this massive artistic project had been largely forgotten until recent digitalization made it more accessible.
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W. Phillip Rogers (Boulder, Colorado), Coleen-Digital Artifact, urethane, gesso, acrylic (3D scan, CNC), 6-by-10-by-4 inches (MATERIALIZE). (Photo provided) |
Drawing its inspiration from the depression-era Farm Security Administration photography project, project photographers created a portrait of America in the early and mid-1970s, including images of smog, polluted rivers, and waste dumps. But the photos also capture the decade’s fashions, trends, and lifestyles.
Forty years after its advent, the imagery of Project DOCUMERICA is the inspiration for “ETHEL’s Documerica,” a multimedia performance that taps the archive’s evocative potential and brings its visual and emotional impact into dialogue with the 21st century. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with Purdue Convocations, which is hosting ETHEL’s performance on Jan. 24, along with wraparound discussions by Purdue experts on climatological and environmental issues.
From 5:30-7 p.m. Jan. 22, Purdue Galleries will host an opening reception in the Ringel Gallery, with comments by Todd Wetzel, director of Purdue Convocations.
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McArthur Freeman II (Temple Terrace, Florida), Pine App, bronze cast from 3D print, 4-by-13-by-4 inches (MATERIALIZE). (Photo provided) |
“MATERIALIZE: Sculpture Using Digital Fabrication” will be presented from Jan. 13 through Feb. 21 in the Fountain Gallery in downtown Lafayette.
MATERIALIZE is a juried exhibition of 3-D printed artworks developed and recently exhibited by the Robert and Elaine Stein Galleries at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Each of the artists used some form of digital process in their design or fabrication. The range of individual approaches and aesthetic solutions found within the digital application process is surprising and thought-provoking.
Juror and featured artist Tom Lauerman (born in Chicago) works within the overlap of sculpture, craft, and design. He says of the exhibit, “These are first-generation digital fabrications. It is a path laid one step at a time in every possible direction simultaneously.”
From 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 15), Purdue Galleries will host a reception in the Fountain Gallery featuring an in-process 3-D printing, sponsored by MatchBOX Coworking Studio.
The Robert L. Ringel Gallery is located in Stewart Center on Purdue’s main campus. The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and until 8 p.m. on Thursday.
The Fountain Gallery is located at 330 Main Street, Lafayette in the historic Perrin Building. The gallery is open noon to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. All Purdue Galleries exhibitions and events are free and open to the public.
For class and group visits, contact Craig Martin at Purdue Galleries at 765-494-3061. For more information, visit http://www.purdue.edu/galleries.
Contact: Craig Martin, 765-494-3061, cdmartin@purdue.edu
