From local art to international art, to interactive art, the First Friday event featured a variety of ways to connect with viewers at receptions held at the River Campus, Catapult Creative House and other downtown venues Sept. 7. Here’s a sampling of the pieces on display.
Flow Chart
The Seminary Building at the River Campus held an installation by Illinois artist Joe Page. His installation or “sight specific art” was titled “Flow Chart,” which allowed viewers to virtually follow. This installation was put together in six days with help from Page’s assistants.
“Putting each installation together is a new challenge with every space we move into since the space begets the work,” Paige said. “It’s a generative work where I give guidance, but my team is really who makes a lot of the final decisions.”
The installation features bright colors, rounded shapes and various lines Page said are reminiscent of Hot Wheels tracks and Microsoft Paint running from wall to the floor. There were also 3-D ceramic clouds protruding from the walls, and pink outlined clouds on wheels encouraged people to move around the room.
“For this piece I was inspired by my childhood from the late 80s and early 90s. Things like video games, movies like “Tron” and even “Lucky Charms” were all a part of this,” Page said. “I’m trying to describe movement through a space and I want the environment to feel like it could give you a sugar rush.”
Amid the color throughout the room are sporadic grey clouds. Page said the grey represents glitches during a video game. This exhibit is open to the public until Sept. 28.
Arte Cubano
At the Crisp Museum was an exhibit titled, “Arte Cubano,” which displayed Cuban art from private collections.
In recognition of First Friday there was a reception that included Cuban-themed food to accompany the exhibit’s theme.
The exhibit features several types of art, most of which are mediums on canvas. It also includes photographs, pieces made of bronze and interactive work.
Some of art was centered around women, including a digital print titled “Jezebel” by Aterlier Morales. It was apart of a 16-piece series depicting important women from history. Jezebel is a biblical character who suffered a gruesome death, and the print depicted her walking through a large cemetery by herself.
The interactive piece titled “The Kiss” was created by Yoan Capote. It featured several noses presented in shades of bronze, and viewers were encouraged to get close, much as kiss, to pick up unique scents that individuals might have. Each nose is supposed to have a different scent like different people would.
Catapult Creative House
Kevin Hand and Darian Norfleet were the artists featured at Catapult Creative House.
Hand, a graphic artist by trade, former surfer and cancer survivor, was showing his first installation titled “Wave of Emotion.” This commentary on recycling was made of 12 panels of reclaimed wood supported around 5,000 plastic bottles in the shape of a wave. The bottles took two years of gathering from his home and the recycling center in Cape Girardeau. The panels coincided with a timeline showing 12 decades of the U.S. government dealing with environmental issues.
“This symbolizes, in my mind, how physical recycling crosses paths with metaphysical recycling. It’s also a visual representation of how I feel about recycling,” Hand said. “It should be a natural thing for us to sustain our existence. Biologically, in your body, things are recycled. The blood, your hair, nails, and in my case, the liver. The wave in general has a very special meaning for me, plus it is a natural symbol of cycles.”
The bottles used were filled with cards submitted by students, general public and some of Hand’s family members. Each card represents memories-blue cards for good memories and green cards for bad.
He said he wanted to illustrate how memories are recycled. “Good memories, bad memories, they all come back,” he said.
Hand also wanted people to think about their impact on the planet.
“I’m hoping this just may give someone a second thought to tossing that plastic bottle in the garbage instead of the recycling,” Hand said.
The public is invited to come add their memory when they view the art at the Catapult House.
Upstairs in Catapult, Southeast student Darian Norfleet was showing her work titled “Flowers: Pointless or Purity.” The collection of photographs was taken and arranged to make people think about how flowers really make them feel, she said.
“I’ve noticed that no matter what doctors office you go to, you always see pictures of flowers or some other nature scene, and they’re there because it is supposed to make you feel calm, but for me, it does the opposite,” Norfleet said.
Norfleet’s exhibit will run through the month of September.
First Friday with the Arts will continue to bring all forms of art to the community on the first Friday of every month.
