Art League Houston
presents
WYSIWYG
A site
specific, community interactive installation by Wendy
DesChene
On view January 14 -
February 25,
2011
Opening Reception
Friday, January 14, 2011, 6:00 - 9:00
p.m.
Art League Houston,
Main
Gallery
Houston,
TX (December 10, 2010) Art League
Houston is pleased to announce the opening of WYSIWYG, a site specific,
community interactive installation by Wendy DesChene, January 14-February 25,
2011. The opening reception for WYSIWYG is Friday, January
14, 2011 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. with an artist talk at 6:30.
WYSIWYG has toured all across the country, and at each and
every stop along the way, it grows and morphs into something new, as it responds
to the individual venue site and the active participation of its surrounding
community. For example, when WYSIWYG visited the Art Academy of
Cincinnati, an institution that advocates drawing as the foundation to all
creativity, the artist had students draw with her directly on the walls as part
of the installation. While in Cincinnati, she also had 200 grade school
students visiting from an elementary school in Kentucky draw their own imaginary
creatures. She then enlarged their drawings onto canvas, which were painted by
college and high school students in Alabama, and which will become part of the
installation at Art League Houston in January. While in Texas, Wendy's show will
also open at K-Space Contemporary in Corpus Christi on January 15,
2011.
WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) grew from DesChene's
desire to let people experience what she did as an artist creating art. "I
wanted art to be more alive to my audience, and I thought about how I could do
it. I thought about what I was left with when I had a great art experience
and what it boiled ... down to [was] memory."
By
letting the audience take part in the actual creation and installation of the
artwork, DesChene gives them the opportunity to experience more intense
memories, and in doing so makes their understanding of art more alive.
Through the use of their old toys, which are dismembered and reconfigured anew,
she hopes to let them see the memories of their lives in ways that they never
imagined.
Says DesChene "WYSIWYG is a B-Movie Monster, eating away at the
gallery walls and Frankenstiened by my own reactions to art materials, audience,
environment, and critical reactions to philosophy and art history. The
audience it visits, not only helps provide its dismembered parts, but aids in
the creation of the electricity that gives it
breath."
WYSIWYG
Community Participants
needed!
Since WYSIWYG began touring in 2004, the artist has worked with
thousands of community members, ranging in age from five all the way upwards to
90. While in Houston, DesChene hopes to work with area college students,
High School for the Performing and Visual Arts students who participate in Art
League Houston's HSPVA Drawing Lab, ALH Healing Art participants, and
anyone else who is interested.
Those wishing to volunteer should contact Jill at Art
League Houston at 713-523-9530 or at alh@artleaguehouston.org. Installation of the exhibit will begin on Tuesday,
January 4 and run through Friday, January 7, 2011.
Old Toys and
Un-stretched Painted Canvas Needed for
WYSIWYG!
In addition to encouraging community participation,
DesChene ask for donations of old stuffed animals and un-stretched painted
canvas. Anyone wanting to donate old stuffed animals and/or un-stretched
painted canvas to the Art League for this project should drop them off at Art
League Houston before January 1, 2011.
About the
Artist
Wendy DesChene is a
multimedia installation artist who received a B.F.A. from Concordia University
in Montreal, and an M.F.A. in Painting from the Tyler School of Art Temple
University, in Philadelphia. She also attended the Tyler School of Art
Rome in Italy. Since 2004, her site responsive installation,
WYSIWYG, has toured the country, with stops at universities, galleries,
and art centers in South Carolina, Minnesota, Alabama, Ohio, Florida,
Pennsylvania, Texas, and California. Her many residencies include The
American Academy in Rome, Italy; the Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach,
Florida; and the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont, among others.
Wendy, a Canadian artist teaches at Auburn University in Alabama. She also
lectures extensively at learning institutions and conferences throughout the
country.
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SUPPORT
Art League Houston is funded in part by a
grant from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts
Alliance.
This project is supported in part by a grant from the
Texas Commission on the Arts.
Art League
Houston acknowledges the following private foundations, public funders, and
corporations for their support this season: Art Colony Association, Inc., Axiom,
CenterPoint Energy, Inc., ExxonMobil Foundation, Felvis Foundation, Houston
Endowment, Inc., Krewe of Olympus-Texas, Inc., Lone Star Chapter of the National
Multiple Sclerosis Association, John P. McGovern Foundation, Mrs. Katherine
McGovern, Oshman Foundation, Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation, Saint
Arnold Brewing Company, Target, Susan Vaughan Foundation, The Wachovia Wells
Fargo Foundation, and the Wortham Foundation, Inc.
Art League Houston
also wishes to thank its many generous individual donors for their
support.
ABOUT ART LEAGUE
HOUSTON
Art League Houston is one of
Houston's longest operating non-profit visual arts organizations and was the
first alternative art space in Texas. Founded in 1948 and incorporated as
a non-profit organization in 1953, Art League Houston (ALH) was created to
promote the public appreciation of and interest in the visual arts. During
the past 62 years, ALH has provided over 785 exhibitions to the Houston
community, showcased the work of nearly 12,000 artists, and instructed over
36,000 students through the Art League School and outreach programs.
OUR
MISSION
The mission of
Art League Houston is to cultivate awareness, appreciation, and accessibility of
contemporary visual art within the community for its cultural enrichment.
Art League Houston provides an opportunity for all members of the community to
experience the contemporary visual arts. We achieve our mission through
exhibitions, education, and outreach programs.