Posted on Oct. 9: Artists explore re:cycled art

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/recycle_art_2_opt.jpg” caption=”Square/Tubes “]A beach ball that's seven feet tall, a public sign that displays personal journal entries, and a biodegradable sculpture of icy water made from drywall are among the exhibits on display throughout the McMaster community in Re:cycle, a five-week outdoor art exhibit that coincides with the Hamilton 2003 Road World Cycling Championships.

The Re:cycle project, a collaborative programming project co-ordinated by the McMaster Museum of Art, Hamilton Artists Inc., Art Gallery of Hamilton, and the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre, officially kicks off today (Thursday, Oct. 9). It will feature five artists' interpretations of what the word 're:cycle' represents for them, using the word broadly to reflect recreation, activity, and environmental issues.

“We wanted to use the cycling championships as a springboard for ideas and issues surrounding cycling,” says Re:cycle project co-ordinator Ivan Jurakic. “Some artists were very literal in the cycling connection while others were more exploratory.”

Visitors to the exhibit can experience an audio tour of the campus while sitting on a modified bicycle provided by the PED collective, or they can ponder the fluidity of a large compilation of industrial inner tubes by Adrian Blackwell that form an inflatable sculpture, a mobile architecture, or a temporary shelter. The five projects on display at various locations across campus were chosen from 30 that were proposed by artists responding to a call for submissions.

Jurakic hopes the exhibit will reach not only spectators who are in town for the championships, but the University community as well.

“This is an exciting opportunity because there's not a lot of temporary public art outside of galleries,” says Jurakic. “We want the exhibit to start a dialogue about the place and definition of art.”

A series of performances will also compliment the pieces including one by the McMaster Centre for Dance and Hamilton Dance Co. on Sunday, Oct. 26 and an action by Simon Frank on Sunday, Nov. 2.

The project is supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.

All projects will be displayed until mid-November. For more information about Re:cycle contact the McMaster Museum of Art at extension 905-525-9140 ext. 23081.

Photo caption: Square/Tubes by Adrian Blackwell — a set of seven-foot-high bound industrial inner tubes that alternately form an inflatable sculpture, a mobile architecture or a temporary shelter is on display in The Carey Fox Arts Quadrangle behind the Student Centre.