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Latest Artist's Video:
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Artist Statement:
My work is partly based on
explorations about high-art,
art accessibility, and
illness. When art appears to
be just another commodity for
trade and profit, I don’t mind
knocking art off its high
horse. When an artist
possesses a gift, I would like
the fruits of that gift ...
Further Information
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Artist Exhibitions:
Museums
"InterACTIVE", a kinetic
installation at the Wichita
Art Museum (Lee Shiney,
Christopher Gulick and Tom
McGuire), Spring 2008 through
Spring 2010, Wichita KS
Solo Exhibitions
Guilt 2 - Sep. 2007, Rock,
Paper, Scissors, Wichita KS
Sofa Size - 2006, Commerce
Gallery, Wichita KS
Guilt - 2005, Winds of Change
Gallery, Wichita KS
...
Further Information
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Artist Galleries:
Upfront Gallery
412 E. Douglas, Suite B
Wichita, Kansas
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Further Information
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Collections:
Coming Soon!
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Commissions:
Coming Soon!
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The Velvet Rope No More, by Joanna Ramondetta
A review of “InterACTIVE”, Wichita Art Museum, Wichita KS, Feb. 2008 - Feb. 2010, Review Magazine, Winter 2009
We have all been to museums and galleries to marvel over the latest exhibition or to revisit a beloved work of art. In doing this, we all know the drill. We follow the same pattern of other museum patrons who have strolled the galleries before us, single file, hands clasped behind backs or arms crossed, staying a safe distance away from the art so as not to disturb its delicate environment. We have come to accept this as a fact; this is the way it is, and this is the way it should be - or should it?
For those museum visitors who would like to see a turn of the tide and to have the opportunity to be in command over the piece of art, there is hope. The InterACTIVE collaborative (and yes, interactive) exhibition by three Wichita artists, Christopher Gulick, Tom McGuire, and Lee Shiney, delivers.
The three artists’ works range widely, from Gulick’s sleek mobiles to Shiney’s colorfully pixilated circles of paint drops to McGuire’s technical, electronic constructions that could only have been created by an engineer (he is.) Their common thread is being kinetic - art which is driven by movement and has the concept of transition.
It is a stimulating exhibition, and a great measure of its success can be seen in the faces of the children who visit. The art harmoniously creates an environment that is fascinating, perplexing, and mesmerizing. Placed throughout the gallery, the work surrounds a large floor-to-ceiling mechanical piece called “Collaboration Automation.” Created by all three artists, it highlights each of their unique styles in a completely harmonious apparatus. A stylus moves in a circular motion along the floor, constantly moving millions of little beads in a spherical pattern that resembles one of Shiney’s paintings; it engages viewers as Gulick’s large mobile moves the stylus and McGuire’s motor moves the entire piece.
Other works in the exhibition are more interactive and express the exciting notion that the viewers are in control - the art becomes whatever they would like it to be. Whereas Shiney’s and Gulick’s work has a more conceptual interactive quality, McGuire has created pieces that involve viewers more with the movement of the art. “A Good Day” is an excellent representation of McGuire’s ability to capture the essence of both simplicity and technology. In silver wire mounted on a square white board is an almost childlike portrayal - a house, a tree, two stick figures, their dog, and a smiling sun. The work is motion-sensitive: when a viewer steps in front of the image, all of the characters, including the sun’s rays, dance back and forth, encouraging the viewer to dance and continue the wonderful escape into childhood.
McGuire also constructed four 5-foot-tall screens that mask lights and objects to create colorful displays of form and shadow. Viewers control the distance between the objects and the screen with a touch panel located on the front of each. McGuire says he learned from the other two artists during the InterACTIVE collaboration to literally think outside of the box. “As an engineer, I’m used to engineering things and putting them in a box, so people can’t seen the inner workings,” he says. “This exhibit helped me break out of that mold and give exposure to how things work and are constructed.”
Gulick’s solo work is interactive in the sense that it has flow and movement - the viewers’ eyes must move to follow the lines. Gulick looks to air as his canvas, and his mobiles fill it with their play of positive and negative space and fluid lines and shapes. Explaining his influence Gulick says, “(Alexander) Calder’s work focused predominately on the positive space. A visit with Piet Mondrian left Calder wanting to suspend the colors and shapes on Mondrian’s paintings. I find myself seeing line in the framework of buildings, trees, electrical high lines, jet trails, and vines growing through fences. Many visual references are from the architectural and mathematical drawings of M.C. Escher.” These influences are very apparent in his work. The preconceived notion of arching wires weighted and balanced on either end with bright forms is transformed in Gulick’s work, however; with a much more structural point of view and with geometric lines and sleek angles, his mobiles seem perfectly suited to hang above a Mies van der Rohe chair.
Lee Shiney explains that it was important for him to provide experiences that tapped into metaphors that might resonate with children. “We wanted viewers to see that these pieces were created using objects that everyone has at home,” he says. He successfully exhibits this time and again: “Moiré Wheels”, for example, is a striking display of old bicycle wheels banded with black strapping tape and that continuously turn and overlap one another. The effect creates beautiful patterns and silhouettes against the white-frosted windows serving as the backdrop. A signature piece for Shiney is a painting in the “Automatic” series. “Automatic 61” is a pure burst of color and energy. Not only is it kinetic in the sense that it appears to have motion, but also in terms of how it was made. Shiney constructs elaborate machines made of everything from record players, computers, long metal rods, and even circular motion vacuum cleaners to serve as tools that drip paint onto the surface of a rotating canvas. Mimicking children’s art toys, the fascinating concept takes kinetic art to a whole new level and scale.
One of Shiney’s favorite quotes is by Louise Bourgeois: “Inner consistency is the test of the artist.” This idea certainly holds true for all three of the artists in InterACTIVE. Their dedication to craft and to the concept of kinetic art has mingled harmoniously to create an exhibition that is rich in innovation.
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