An artistic focus oninsects comes together in “All the Buzz,” an exciting collection of exhibitsand programs that started in April at the Racine Art Museum(RAM). “All the Buzz” includes three individual exhibitions featuringnationally renowned artists Catherine Chalmers, Jennifer Angus and JoAnnaPoehlmann. Two complementary exhibits, “Insects and Invaders” and “EccentricInsects,” open June 13 and will display additional artworks from the RAM’spermanent collection.
The upper-lever galleryexhibition “Catherine Chalmers: American Cockroach” offers an intriguingviewpoint on this frequently maligned insect. Chalmers, who was recently nameda 2010 Guggenheim fellow, expands on the implicit hierarchy of the insect worldin various cultures, where butterflies are often preferred to cockroaches.Chalmers explores these concepts through silver gelatin and C-prints withprovocative visual clarity. Her compelling photographs show respect for thecockroach’s unique place in the world and promote the value of all organisms.
Two Wisconsinartists continue the theme in the lower-level galleries. In “Jennifer Angus:Patterns of Insect Life,” Angus, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor,installs tropical insects on the gallery walls. This spectacular displayreplicates Victorian-era wallpaper visualized with contemporary applications.Angus also covers miniature Victorian houses with an insect byproduct, beeswax,and then fills the interiors with anthropomorphic insects. In so doing, Angusquestions how human and insect worlds coexist.
“Angus brings the giftof seeing insects you’ll never see from other countries,” Curator ofExhibitions Lena Vigna says.
In a retrospectivetitled “The Insectopedia of JoAnna Poehlmann,” Milwaukee’s Poehlmann offers playful insectimagery. The intricate details of the artist’s small-scale, mixed-mediadrawings and accompanying poetic text enhance the witty, imaginative picturesand concepts that reflect Poehlmann’s intense interest in her subject.
“This suite ofexhibitions is a way to challenge our perceptions on how we view thesecreatures that we may not think about,” Vigna notes.
The RAM hosts a numberof corresponding activities throughout the summer, including workshops andclasses that relate insects to artistic expression. Chalmers appears at theRAM’s “Free First Friday” gallery walk beginning at 6:30 p.m. May 7. The June 4“Free First Friday” event features gallery walks by Angus and Poehlmann.
Here in the city, AnnieB.’s Milwaukee Artbeat celebrates its one-year anniversary at 6:30 p.m. April30 at the Hide House, 2625 S. Greeley St.An $8 donation includes a lesson in salsa dancing, a Latin dance performanceand J.D. Rankin’s reggae music along with food, wine and gallery art from localtalents.
