With the new spring and summer installation of the exhibition “All The Buzz!” at the Racine Art Museum this summer, children and adults will find a multitude of inspiration in the fields of art and science. Curator of Exhibitions Lena Vigna and Executive Director Bruce Pepich gave a gallery talk when the exhibit opened and expounded on the insect as an art form, this time expained through Madison's Jennifer Angus's installation “Patterns Of Insect Life." .
Lena Vigna spoke to the specific wall installation:
Angus incorporates dead insects from countries around the world, which she often reuses or recycles as she can in her artwork after an exhibition. The Victorian idea of home [seen in her wallpaper patterns applied to the gallery walls], is usually thought of as a place of comfort. Angus subverts what might be comfortable. In her wall installations, she uses the “Dead Leaf” butterfly, and uses the underside of the butterfly's wing, the less colorful side. The commonly seen side is blue and gold, but because she [Angus] wants to make you think about it in another wa, she uses the less beautiful side…The whole installation draws on the Victorian era's ‘cabinet of curiosities' and historical ‘objects of wonder.' Her objects made from beeswax [on the ledges in the installation] resemble cinnabar or ebony that you might have collected in traveling the world during that era. These Victorian curiosities were the precursors to today's museums…exploring the world changes our perceptions of the world.
Bruce Pepich spoke to how the insect world inspires art:
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Each artist's body of work has ecological implications, how they play into the world's view of insects. These forms of insects have inspired people for centuries. The Art Nouveau era used the insects, their form for beautiful jewelry and adornments, the patterns and investigations of color [in the insects], along with scientific studies inspired the artists and the times [the people during that time]. We hope [by offering these exhibitions] to bring back the wonder you experienced when you were young, the magic seen in the flora and fauna, so you'll be intrigued once again by this flora and fauna, scientific observations and awe…to recapture the awe about this natural world of insects.
Visit the Racine Art Museum this summer and study the insects in relation to both art and science….The RAM's "Free First Fridays" occur May 7 and June 4, from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., with the artist's hosting gallery talks on those evenings. Special programs are planned for the exhibition all summer: 262.638.8300/www.ramart.org. Engage the entire family in exploring art.
