Designing a New Reality
originally published April 4, 2007
Athens Design Development (ADD)
Athens as Art: What if all aspects of life were art? What if everything in Athens was designed for aesthetic appeal? Athens Design Development (ADD) sees this possibility. ADD is a group of prominent local artists who have ventured into the field of design, including Didi Dunphy, Carol John, Lou Kregel, Michael Lachowski, Carl MartinandMichael Oliveri. In order to bring attention to the design community of Athens, ADD is holding a Design Rally at the new Ciné art-house theater in downtown Athens. (Many of the members of ADD were integral in the design of Ciné, from Dunphy’s seating, and Kregel’s graphics, to Martin’s architectural work.) The Design Rally features an exhibit of work by individual members of ADD and information about their collaborative projects, including a bus shelter selected by the Athens Area Arts Council for installation on Baxter Street, and a proposed cigarette receptacle for installation around Athens. Also available at the Design Rally will be the "ADD411," a list of local resources to help designers achieve their visions. The opening reception is Thursday, Apr. 12, 7–11 p.m. There will be a discussion panel with ADD members on Saturday, Apr. 21, 3–5 p.m. See www.add411.org for more info.
Design as Art: During the Design Rally at Ciné, Didi Dunphy will be displaying her playful products from Modern Convenience(www.modernconvenience.com), her furniture design company. She will have a swing set for two with laser-cut tiara on top, as well as her Indoor Bong Boards, available for play. Carol John, whose work is currently on view at Eyedrum in Atlanta, will have a long, narrow painting installation at Ciné, stretching 15 feet up one wall. See www.caroljohnpaintings.com for more. Lou Kregel’s rugs, which were recently added to the Target catalogue, will be on view, as well as her vibrant patterned paintings. View more of Lou's work at www.loukregel.com. Michael Lachowski’s contribution will be a living sculpture, scaffolding filled with spotlights, mirror balls and live models, in support of his new magazine project, Young Foxy and Free (www.yffmag.com). Carl Martin will display furniture wrapped in photographic images. Visit him on the web to see more, www.docunlimited.com. Michael Oliveri is exhibiting his Ulterior Farming Operation (UFO), which is a hydroponics growing room designed to look like a spaceship. Inside the growing room are upside-down tomato plants, started from seeds that orbited the earth for six years in a NASA program. See www.conceptrecycling.com.
Science as Art: While viewing nano-scale images taken by a scanning electron microscope in the University of Georgia Engineering Department, Yiping Zhao said, “This looks like art!” So he and his collaboratorZhengwei Pan contacted Michael Oliveri in the Art Department. Oliveri and his assistants, artists Josh Bienko, Sean Mills and Robert Peterson, digitally manipulated images taken with the electron microscope to create the "The Art of Science" exhibit, which was on view in the Georgia Center for Continuing Education last month. They focused on adding color to the black and white images, and creating patterns from isolated areas. If you missed the exhibit, do not despair: The collaboration will continue over the summer, and the result will be exhibited at the UGA School of Art Main Gallery in September. Until then, see more at www.nanoimagebank.com.
Play as Art: Didi Dunphy’s work has been included in the new sculpture park at the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center (MMCC). She has both a swing set and a see-saw from her “Recess” series on view. Also included in the new sculpture park are works by two other artists. Tobin Hines, who graduated from UGA with a BFA in printmaking before attending Maryland Institute College of Art's Mount Royal School of Art for his MFA, has two pieces on display, titled “Signature Piece” and “In Your Face.” Phil Proctor, a sculptor from Atlanta, is displaying “Impact,” a steel and granite piece. The sculpture park will rotate annually. Also featured at MMCC are two paintings by Lou Kregel in the exhibit "Ladylike? Women Artists Working in the South.” For directions, go to www.madisonmorgancultural.org.
Rhinoceros Makes Art: Students in Michael Oliveri’s Computer Aided Design and Fabrication class at UGA are exhibiting their work in the Thomas Street Gallery. Using the computer program Rhinoceros, the students have created a diverse set of images.J.B. Courson’s “Alpha Hab and Worker Drones” could be plans for the set of a Star Wars movie. Caroline Covington’s “Closure” re-invents the kamikaze bomb, with essential accompanying text. Diana Gurley’s circular imagery hovers on the page like hot-air balloons. Matthew McDonald’s “Lupa Ad Nauseam,” as the Latin title states, is an image of a wolf vomiting. The drawing of the wolf appears to be taken from a realistically executed etching, while the vomit is discretely portrayed as a splatter of color. Edward Whelan’s abstract geometric piece looks back to the Italian Futurists, with a fresh new design. Evan Mullins and Louis Grabowski have both created images of realistic-looking objects of play. Works by Andy Anzardo, Alex Castellanos, Jason Maddox, Chris Merz, Winston Parker and John Powers are also included in the show, which runs through Apr. 5, so hurry! The Thomas Street Gallery is located in UGA’s Sculpture Annex just off Broad Street.
Opening Makes Art: There will be an opening reception for “Forty Nine Hundred”on Friday, Apr. 6, 6–8 p.m., at the Clayton Street Gallery. Look for an art-generating performance by McDavid Moore; prints by David Broughton, Alex Cargile, Katherine McGuire and Samantha Mosby; paintings by Susan Bryant, Brandy Levens, Angela Morales and Libby Willis; jewelry and metalwork by Nikki Couppee and Laura Wood; ceramics by Maggie Akstin; drawings by Brianna Immel; and photography by Libby West. The show runs through Apr. 27. Clayton Street Gallery is located on Clayton Street above Frameworks. Go to http://art.uga.edu/fortynine100 for more info.
Endnotes: Paul Pfeiffer will participate in Art Talk at the UGA Visual Arts Building Room 116 on Wednesday, Apr. 4 at 5:30 p.m. Pfeiffer will give a lecture at the Student Learning Center Room 171 on Thursday, Apr. 5, at 5:30 p.m. Pfeiffer’s “work in video, sculpture and photography uses recent computer technologies to dissect the role that mass media plays in shaping consciousness.” For more info on Pfeiffer and his work, click on www.pbs.org/art21/artists/pfeiffer/. For more info, call 706-542-1511. Don’t miss this year’s FLUKE at Tasty World on Saturday, Apr. 7. Check out the preview in this issue.
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