Projected Curiosity

December 4, 2009- January 16th, 2010

Projected Curiosity: installation and automated sculpture by Jeffrey S. Martin and Brose Partington

OPENING: Dec. 4 from 6-11pm
iMOCA
1043 Virginia Avenue, Suite 5
Indianapolis, IN
317.450.6630
Admission is FREE

We will be closed December 24th, 25th and December 31st for the holidays.

After five years at 340 N. Senate Ave. on the west side of Downtown, iMOCA has moved to a newly renovated 2,000-square foot space on the main floor of the Murphy Art Center which has been dubbed the “Temporary Contemporary.”  The new space is in the Fountain Square neighborhood, just down the street from iMOCA’s future permanent home, a 6,500-square-foot exhibition space on the second floor of a new building at the corner of Virginia Ave. and McCarty Street. The new building is planned to open in Spring 2011 and is a project of local architect and developer Craig Von Deylen.

A pair of Indianapolis-based artists will be the first featured in iMOCA’s Temporary Contemporary  in the Murphy Art Center in Fountain Square when their show of installation and sculpture opens Dec. 4

Jeffrey S. Martin and Brose Partington’s show, Projected Curiosity, runs through January 16th.

Martin’s work focuses on connecting with the audience, finding common ground.

“I am most interested in creating a dialogue with the viewer that is derived from a common experience,” Martin said. “I do not limit my work to any one medium, but rather utilize a variety of traditional and non-traditional media to make this connection.”

He said his goal is to create a form of escapism and suspend time. “A disconnection to the outside world is achieved,” Martin added. “Ultimately, it is an experience that I am creating for the viewer. In doing so, I am attempting to cross barriers between media and expand barriers of what has traditionally been perceived as art.”

Partington’s work focuses on motion and how it effects time, patterns, and the cycles of history. “I have represented my ideas about movement through the use of motors, electronics, and the mechanisms I develop,” he said. “Although the creation of the idea and the mechanism are distinctly different processes, if the work is successful, there is an inevitable and natural reconciliation of the two.”

Recently, Partington’s work has explored the natural world versus mankind’s created world. “This work reflects the inherent conflict of space between humans and nature, and it emphasizes how those elements can interact differently,” he said. “I want to continue to investigate these ideas and create ways to represent them in urban and natural environments, but instead of using motors and electronics I want to incorporate the existent kinetic energy of objects to power my works.”

Micro-interview with Jeffrey S. Martin

Why are you excited about this show?
Most of the opportunities that exist for installations are 1-2 day events and take place in alternative venues. Private galleries need to make sales to survive, therefore it can be counter-productive for a venue to devote it’s space to an experience based medium. Since IMOCA is a museum, it isn’t dependent on sales for financial stability and allows it to showcase a wide variety of exhibits. I’m excited to have the opportunity to exhibit an installation in a formal space for more than just a day or two. This will allow more visitors the chance to experience the piece for the first time or to re-visit it many times.

How will it be challenge?
Installation art inherently follows a different set of rules than object-based medias. Many times, you don’t know exactly how a piece will work until it is set up in the space. Some preliminary work can be done ahead of time, but for the most part, the majority of the work is done in a very short amount of time. This element of working against the clock is very exciting and one of the most challenging aspects of installation art.

How the ideas came to you for the pieces you plan on making for the show and/or the meaning behind the pieces?
Switch (working title) is rooted in childhood wonderment. As I observe my own children interacting with their environment and asking questions about things that I hadn’t thought about since I was a kid. “Why do I have a shadow?” “Why does it follow me?” “Does everybody have one?’ etc… As I re-live this curiosity through my children, I ask myself “How can I recapture a piece of this and share it with others?”  I have chosen to utilize the night light, a universal standard in children’s rooms, to engage the viewer through a common experience. Ultimately the piece is about exploring cause and effect. The goal is to do it in a visually interesting way that recalls the common experiences and wonderment of childhood.

Conditioning p2 (One time I fell and scraped my knee.)
This piece is part two in a series of three installations that explore a journey by dividing it into nine stages. The first piece (Conditioning) explored the first three: Temptation, Trepidation, and Departure. They were presented to the viewer while he/she was riding a slow moving motorized merry-go-round. Because riding a merry-go-round as a child is an experience most people have had, it immediately laid a foundation for accessibility.

Conditioning p2 goes on to explore the stages four through six: Elation, Obstacle, and Frustration. Once again the installation is based upon a specific experience. As we age, many people have to have an MRI for one reason or another. It is this common experience that allows for an immediate connection to the viewer.

Another important element of this series is the sound, specifically the constant droning of the bass and the disclaimer. They were present in p1, again in p2, and will be in p3. They are representative of the constants in our lives whether they be literal, metaphorical, or the ridiculous.

Micro-interview with Brose Partington:

Why are you excited about this show?
I’m excited to show my new body of work in my hometown of Indianapolis, where people have seen me grow and develop as an artist. These new sculptures reflect some of the ideas I’ve learned from my travels and exhibits abroad.

How will it be challenge?
The challenge for me was to utilize everyday machines used in construction or household activities and repurpose them in a new way that reflects cyclical patterns of development, comparable to how a society evolves and changes. I hope that this new creation from an old machine will spark curiosity in my audience, so that they can look at an everyday object and see it a bit differently.

How the ideas came to you for the pieces you plan on making for the show and/or the meaning behind the pieces?
Actually, Indianapolis has factored into the creation of this exhibit, as most of my ideas for this show came from watching the machinery used in the construction and growth of the city.

Above: From left to right: “Bureaucrat” by Jeff Martin. “Untitled” by Brose Partington

Posted on: 25.11.2009