SALEM, MA This summer, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) unveils a captivating
exhibition exploring what we see and how we see it. Eye Spy,
Playing with Perception, on view in PEMs interactive Art & NatureCenter from June 19, 2010 to June 1, 2011,
presents work by 11 contemporary artists challenging visual expectations and
revealing an array of illusionary surprises. From
shadow sculptures and 3D images, to holograms and distortion, Eye
Spy invites careful examination into what we think we see versus what we
actually physically
perceive.
By manipulating the most
basic components of perception light, shadow, line, color, shape,
motion and depth the artworks in Eye Spy trick
our eyes and fool our brains, said Jane Winchell, the Sarah Fraser
Robbins Director of PEMs Art & NatureCenter.Visitors to the exhibition will delight in the beauty of these
mind-stretching
objects.
The
artists in Eye Spy utilize a broad spectrum of materials and
methods to achieve unexpected optical effects. One inventive approach comes from
New York-based artist, Devorah Sperber, who renders well-known masterpieces of
Western art (such as Renoirs A Girl with a Watering Can
(1876), seen left) by refracting the images into thousands of colorful spools of
thread. Without the aid of a viewing lens, Sperbers creations appear as
an abstract grid that the viewers eye cannot decipher.With the acrylic lens mounted just so, the image coalesces, inverts, and
becomes instantly
recognizable.
While
some artists in Eye Spy manipulate reality with optical
tricks, others like Robert Lazzarini prefer to physically alter spacial
reality.Lazzarini, an artist working in Brooklyn,
NY, combines computer manipulation with traditional sculpting methods to
faithfully recreate everyday objects like phones, teacups and furniture (chair, 2000, seen right) at extreme perspectives, apparently to
the point of distortion. The resulting artworks seem to vacillate between two
and three-dimensions and give the impression that they are going to collapse
into themselves, or as the artist states, slip toward their own
demise.
Interactive computer stations,
video interviews and hands-on activities appear throughout the exhibition to
engagingly demonstrate the relationship between the art on view and the science
of perception. After leaving PEM, the Eye Spy fun continues on eye-spy-pem.tumblr.com
with an opportunity to determine how perception and illusion influence the way
we interpret the world around us.
EXHIBITION
EVENTS
Saturday, June 19th | 10 am - 4
pm
Opening Day| All
activities FREE with museum
admission
Enjoy a fun-filled
day of magic, illusion and art in celebration of the opening of Eye
Spy, Playing with Perception in PEMs interactive Art & NatureCenter.Participate in a magic show, investigate optical illusions, meet featured
artists and create your own illusion-inspired
art.
EXHIBITION CREDITS
Support provided by
the East India Marine Associates (EIMA) of the PeabodyEssexMuseum.
Media Sponsor
Mix
104-1
IMAGE
CAPTIONS (TOP TO
BOTTOM)
Self‐Centered Mirror; 2003; Daniel Rozin; 34 mirror
panes, wood; 120 x 30 x 25; Private Collection of Jonathan
Carroll.
After
Renoir; 2006; Devorah Sperber; Spools of thread, stainless steel ball chain
and hanging apparatus, clear acrylic viewing sphere; 96 x 100 x
60; Courtesy of the
Artist.
Chair;
2000; Robert Lazzarini; maple; 54 x 26 x 12; Courtesy of
the Artist and Deitch Projects,
NY.
ABOUT THE
PEABODYESSEXMUSEUM
The PeabodyEssexMuseum presents art and culture from
New England and around the world. The museum's
collections are among the finest of their kind, showcasing an unrivaled spectrum
of American art and architecture (including four National Historic Landmark
buildings) and outstanding Asian, Asian Export, Native American, African,
Oceanic, Maritime and Photography collections. In addition to its vast
collections, the museum offers a vibrant schedule of changing exhibitions and a
hands-on education center. The museum campus features numerous parks, period
gardens and 22 historic properties, including Yin Yu Tang, a 200-year-old house
that is the only example of Chinese domestic architecture on display in the
United
States.
HOURS:
Open
Tuesday-Sunday and holiday Mondays, 10 am-5 pm. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas
and New Years Day.
ADMISSION: Adults $15; seniors $13; students $11. Additional admission to Yin Yu
Tang: $5. Members, youth 16 and under and residents of Salem enjoy free general
admission and free admission to Yin Yu Tang.
INFO: Call 866-745-1876 or visit our Web site at www.pem.org.
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Peabody Essex Museum, East India Square, Salem, MA 01970 United
States
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The
artists in Eye Spy utilize a broad spectrum of materials and
methods to achieve unexpected optical effects. One inventive approach comes from
New York-based artist, Devorah Sperber, who renders well-known masterpieces of
Western art (such as Renoirs A Girl with a Watering Can
(1876), seen left) by refracting the images into thousands of colorful spools of
thread. Without the aid of a viewing lens, Sperbers creations appear as
an abstract grid that the viewers eye cannot decipher.
While
some artists in Eye Spy manipulate reality with optical
tricks, others like Robert Lazzarini prefer to physically alter spacial
reality.