Saturday, July 23, 2011

Things on Strings at MARN

If you didn't catch the opening of "Things on Strings" at the Milwaukee Artists Resource Network gallery, stop by and check it out from now through August 13. As usual at MARN, there was a lively crowd ogling the diverse collection of sculptures, which, as the title suggests, were all hanging from the ceiling.

I didn't have my camera along (what was I thinking?!), but fortunately my friend Frank Juarez was there and has posted on his flickr site a set that he took: Things on Strings.

Frank missed my favorite piece. Three cups were placed on the floor, a tea cup, a coffee cup, and a plastic cup. Above each was suspended the frozen contents of that particular cup: tea, coffee, and some colorless liquid that might have been soda. By the time I got there the three cups were about two-thirds full again and the frozen remains had shrunk to small balls of ice. There was a steady drip from each that continued to fill the cups. Whimsical and clever. The ephemeral quality that provides conceptual depth to this piece makes me wonder what will remain for subsequent viewings or if you "had to be there" for the opening.

"Things on Strings" was conceived by Becky Tesch, who participated in the MARN mentor program this past year. She worked as a curatorial protégé with Mark Lawson, who is gallery director at MIAD.

2 comments:

  1. I, too, liked the melting tea/coffee/lemonade. I saw it when it had only a few drops in the containers. It was so hot, it melted fast! I gallery sat on Saturday and felt very disappointed that the cups were full and the strings were empty. It made me think of the morning after a party when you find a few glasses, missed during night time clean-up. However, it doesn't seem right to have back-ups in the freezer... the party was over and the space had lost it's energy and ice. I also loved the houses & keys on strings by Jessica Poors. Sorry, I cannot recall the collaborator's name.

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  2. Thanks Edee, the drinks were made by David Tesch, yes, very creative! :)

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