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Indepth Arts News:
"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.
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