Date: Fri 25-Dec-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Aldrich-Here-Philbrick

Full Text:

Look Here: Installation Art That's Fun

(with photos)

BY SHANNON HICKS

RIDGEFIELD -- There is a fully-equipped child-size submarine sitting on the

lawn outside the main entrance to the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art. The

three-ton vessel is just the right size for a child.

It also happens to be correct in scale for the vehicle's creator, the

Ridgefield sculptor David Gelfman. As a child, Mr Gelfman was told he could

not climb on sculpture he found in a public sculpture garden, and so he

answered that admonition by building sculpture he could play with as an adult.

Hidden within the pines of the museum's sculpture garden, in the lower field

that many visitors miss, an elegant evening dress seems to be standing on its

own.

The beaded dress is the design of the artist Justen Ladda, but it isn't a

dress any woman could ever wear. The "dress" is actually a sculpture

constructed of welded steel and acrylic chandelier beads.

Ten additional pieces of sculpture can be found at the museum for just two

more weeks. The presentation is the result of an invitation sent out to a

dozen installation artists to work their magic at the Aldrich.

The age of the original building itself, over two centuries, added to the

character of the site-specific installations that resulted in "Here: Artists'

Interventions At The Aldrich Museum." The exhibit continues in the gallery

spaces, lobby, sculpture gardens, and even bathrooms of the museum until

January 3.

There really was no common thread in theme between the artists in creating

"Here" except that each was given a space to work in, a space each artist was

allowed to alter in any way they felt necessary.

Each was singled out, the museum says, "because of his or her recent

innovative contribution to the genre of installation art." Lee Boronson, in

fact, was recently cited by ArtNews magazine as "one of the top ten latest and

most promising talents to hit the international scene," while museum director

Harry Philbrick calls Liza Lou, who has been on the "Today" show and featured

in People magazine, "equivalent of the art star right now in this show."

"No one knew what any of the others were doing, unless they happened to visit

the museum at the same time as another artist," said Heide Hendricks, the

museum's director of public affairs. Each artist chose their own space for

their installation, she added.

Most of the installations were created specifically for "Here," while a few

were re-sized creations of existing work.

"The installations tend to be fun, very playful," said Harry Philbrick. Mr

Philbrick, an artist himself, co-organized the show with Aldrich assistant

director Richard Klein. "Interpretations are really left up to the individual

viewers."

Indeed, there is no need for explanation when walking around a corner on an

upper floor of the museum and running into Liza Lou's very busy closet

installation. Ms Lou covered her sculpture of a kitchen closet, complete with

everything down to a plunger, cleaning supplies, and sporting goods, with

glass beads.

Amazingly, it reportedly took the artist only three months to complete her

sculpture. One look at the tools and buckets, the dish detergent and board

games -- the six shelves are absolutely overflowing with kitchen materials --

shows how labor intensive the piece was.

On another nearby wall is the wallpaper of Mary Esch, a Minneapolis-based

artist. Her green-backed paper, called "The Hyena Repeat," is at first

reminiscent of a Dr Seuss cartoon, but closer inspection refutes that

conception. The work is a little more complicated and adult.

In all, there are three exterior and nine interior installations. The

exhibition indeed covers almost every available space -- Ms Esch's work shows

up again on the walls of one of the museum's bathrooms. In addition to the

aforementioned artists, art is on view by the artists Roberley Bell, Judy Fox,

David Gelfman, Sharon Louden, David Nash, Michelle Segre, Susan Stockwell, and

Brian Tolle.

Thanks to a creativity constantly encouraged by the staff of the Ridgefield

museum, "Here" is a show meant to make light of the sometimes intimidating art

that can be found in the art world.