The Marriage of Art, Science & Philosophy
October 4, 2008 – September 6, 2009
AVAM’s Official Statement: “This exhibition’s 100+ visionary artists/scientists/inventors and philosophers take a fresh look at the very notion of light, color, sound, pattern, number, scale, and purpose in their personal pursuit of Wonder.”
I got yelled at by security guards like 4 times for taking pictures in the museum. What is the deal with these places?? I did not use a flash so they are a bit blurry. It was a HUGE turnout for the event – hundreds of people came out to peruse AVAM’s newest exhibition and I bet you that some of them even paid to be there! It just goes to show that AVAM continues to be a one-of-a-kind experience that the public really craves.
There were a couple of pseudo-scientific works in this show, and lots of interesting pieces. However, this show didn’t seem to be all that different than past shows – in terms of media, scale, and subject matter – except that different artists are being exhibited. I was hoping for a time machine or some weird spirit/otherworldly barometer!! Oh well. There were still lots of well crafted paintings and sculptures – I just thought the show could have gotten away with being weirder and less pretty.
One ‘scientific’ work of art was this interactive video where the images are color coded by heat. Does this mean that Joseph Young has a ‘hot’ face????
I have to admit my favorite works of the evening were by Dalton Ghetti, who happened to be at the opening. He carves teeny-tiny, amazingly scaled pencil tips with surprising subjects such as a hammer (pictured below), a real interlocking chain, and a bust of Elvis. HE said it was fine to photograph him and the people looking at the work. So there.
These carvings were done VERY VERY CAREFULLY with a razor blade. The exhibit included magnifying glasses to appreciate the fine detail. You can see that people just went CRAZY for these pieces. They were accessible – everyone uses pencils, right? – yet SO incomprehensible, in terms of their craft. We’ve all broken pencil points and so we can appreciate the level of frustration involved.
This is Braxton showing off his muscles in the museum. 
Sarah, Braxton, and Kyle
Giullome, Sarah, and a man who doesn’t own a computer. God bless him!
There’s nothing that says ‘classy’ like wine in a plastic cup! Yeah!
The American Visionary Art Museum’s 14th and newest mega art exhibition, “The Marriage of Art, Science & Philosophy” is a wedding of playfulness, intuition, imagination and desire – partners common to creative invention of all sort. The exhibition’s 50 visionary artists take a fresh look at the very notion of sound, color, number and scale in their pursuit of wonder. From fractal quilts to extolling the role Sci Fi plays in inspiring real science, this is a nuptial dance fit for adults and children of all ages. The exhibition runs October 4, 2008 – September 6, 2009.
For more information about AVAM and the exhibition there, go to www.avam.org.
