To kick off the new semester, Activities Commission Arts & Exhibits Coordinator junior Chelsea Butkowski wanted to invoke a fresh perspective in the Kinetic Gallery. This month's exhibit, running from Sept. 3 to Oct. 3 features not one but 10 different artists, all of whose works' were brought in “around a central theme.”
Butkowski's theme, Kinetic Conceptions, inspired by the Kinetic Gallery title itself, called for a widespread interpretation of motion or kinetics through art.
“I feel like I saw the gallery and never really thought about the name before,” she said.
Butkowski added that her literal interpretation of title attracted artists beyond that of the gallery's typical realm.
“Usually … we'll do a local artist … definitely around the state,” she said. “This time I have artists from around the state but also from a couple states over. They're all different ages; they come from different backgrounds.”
These artists' individual interpretations of motion through art allow for a variety of media in one exhibit, another rarity for the Kinetic Gallery, for medium is often limited in exhibits of a single artist.
Kinetic Conceptions features a fantastic variety of media, from handcrafted moving sculpture to film, gelatin prints, oil paint and much more. Each artist's passion differs from the next and all are strongly felt in the presence of their works.
Kalliope Amphorous, a self-portrait photographer of Rhode Island and New York City, exhibits two c-prints titled “Taken” and “Learning to Fly.” These works are from the same “Dream” series, one in which Amphorous employs a stroboscope to capture multiple images of the human body in motion.
They strike the viewer immediately with aesthetic appeal, alongside a sense of beautiful simplicity. The entire process of creation is done by Amphorous, who, according to her biography, plays the role of “model, stylist and photographer.” Her passion lies in exploring and depicting the “fluid nature of identity through photography.”
This exhibit also features works of literal motion, such as Ryan Buyssens' Promenade, to which he refers as an “intertrope.” Assembled with aircraft plywood, a micro controller, stepper motor, carbon fiber and matchsticks, this crafty work depicts the illusion of motion, with the use of motion.
As you step on the motor, a circular device upon which several matchstick figures stand in various poses proceeds to swiftly spin counterclockwise. It conjures the effect of a live flipbook as the figures dance to life before your eyes.
Buyssens combined moving image with sculpture, stemming from his love of old mechanical devices, particularly movie cameras and watches. In his biography, Buyssens said the sculpture “resembles the classic parlor toy called the 'zoetrope' yet is an entire new, contemporary concept of animation device.”
Kinetic Conceptions is an exhibit to be seen, so put yourself in motion. It runs through Oct. 3.