"Above and Below: The Hypar Room An Interactive Exhibit for Children"
1999-11-13 until 2000-04-02
Contemporary Art Center
Cincinnati, OH, USA United States of America

With its curved and sloping floors and illusory views, Above and Below: The Hypar Room is a sort of educational funhouse. In anticipation of the opening of the UnMuseum, a family education center in the Contemporary Arts Center's new Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, the CAC has commissioned an interactive work for children by artist Allan Wexler.

Coinciding with a survey of Wexler's work, The Hypar Room allows children and families to investigate a space that seems puzzling, yet is based on simple concepts found in geometry. The Above space will contain furniture, the function of which is altered by the curved floor. The Below space will be a forest of floor supports that create the curves above. Exploring the structure from above and below, children will learn about architecture, geometry, perception, building and art. To enhance the experience of The Hypar Room as well as work in Custom Built, art educator Ellen Wexler has designed a free activity guide for children and their families visiting the Center.

Both of the Wexlers call themselves educators and designers, as well as artists, and have collaborated on museum exhibits for children at the High Museum in Atlanta, the Jewish Museum in New York City and the Delaware Children's Museum. Because of our background in education, we don't just design museum exhibits, explains Mrs. Wexler.

We understand art and the learning process and can incorporate that into a successful learning experience.

A sample of the kind of exhibitions to be featured in the UnMuseum, The Hypar Room is accompanied by lesson plans and classroom art projects designed by Ellen Wexler.

Above and Below: The Hypar Room is funded in part by a grant from the City of Cincinnati.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of Ohio

Other Important Exhibitions in United States