wsu sculpture guild
Posted on 28. Apr, 2011 by Carrie in muse
words > MATTHEW CLAGG
Often working very independently, artists develop their ideas, styles and bodies of work on their own, but for many artists the presence of a community is inspiring, motivating, and a great benefit in developing work. Wichita is fortunate to have a very close-knit, art community. In this small city there is always a friend close by ready to offer critique and new ideas. One of Wichita’s great art sub communities is the Sculpture Guild at WSU. Working day in and day out together in a small gym on the Wichita State campus they constantly share ideas and advice. This closeness has allowed them to come together in a series of collaborative installation and performance shows both on and off campus. This April, the guild will be putting together a show at NakedCity Gallery; a show centered on breaking presumptions about sculpture and its possibilities. Working with suspension, both literally and figuratively, each member of the guild will create a piece which approaches this idea in a unique way, incorporating a variety of materials. With fourteen artists participating, the ideas centering on the show will be approached from a variety of perspectives, allowing for more extensive exploration on a single idea. Moving outside of art on pedestal or art on wall they will create a collective experience that pushes beyond predictable boundaries and expectations. They have successfully done this in the past with other collaborations. Two years ago at Wichita State’s Clayton Staple’s Gallery, the guild put together The 48 Hours Show. The exhibition was up for a week and was transformed every forty-eight hours until the ending result was unrecognizable from the beginning. This required a new kind of engagement from both the artists and the viewer, requiring constant and recurring visitation and engaging time-based change. Then, last year they again put together a week-long show, this time at the Rhatigan Student Center. The guild created an enormous inflatable bubble. Then, during that week, each artist was given a set amount of time every day in order to carry out his or her own performance inside this unique space. The exhibition this April at NakedCity will take sculpture-making to the precipice, pushing expectations and engagements to the edge and over.
