Story and photos by Erin Alexander / Contributing Writer
The Todd Art Gallery held an opening on Monday for its new feature, a collaborative art exhibit called “ADD TO BAG,” comprised of works from Cindy Hinant, Derek Larson and Marc Mitchell.
Larson, a Georgia-based artist, has a featured animation in this exhibit that was originally entitled “Monk.” The work was done for MTSU in collaboration with Mitchell and Hinant. The presentation was inspired by Philip Guston’s “Painting, Smoking, Eating.” Mitchell and Larson kept a daily record of activities such as how many steps they took in a day, calories burned, studio dimensions and time spent on the internet among other things.
Mitchell is an assistant professor of art and the director of exhibitions at the University of Arkansas. Mitchell has based past works on the notion of a “cycle” in consumer landscape and popular culture. Some of his pieces featured in this exhibit have a geometric abstract look.
“Often appearing naive or graphic, my current work addresses an aesthetic that resides in nostalgia as well as contemporary popular culture,” Mitchell said.
Hinant is a New York-based artist that uses video, audio, internet and digital technologies, as well as traditional art mediums, to reflect feminist representations. She has worked with conceptual artist Dan Graham and uses interesting and disruptive content, as evidenced in her featured piece “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” which consists of several plastic bags full of water. This piece sparked speculation among some gallery attendees.
Chair of Art and Design Nicole Foron discussed the usual layout of how these exhibits go down.
“Every three weeks we feature new artists in the exhibit,” Foron said.
“ADD TO BAG” will be featured from September 26 through October 18. Todd Art Gallery will host its next exhibit, featuring artists Rachel Abrams and Meredith Setser, on October 25 through November 15.
More information about “ADD TO BAG” and Todd Art Gallery can be found here.
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