An extraordinary collaborative work of art was installed piece-by-piece last night at Cotuit Center for the Arts, created by 96 Cape Cod artists in a variety of media from paint to glass to wood and wire sculpture and even photography. Back in April each participating artist was given a 4 by 4 inch square on which was printed a small segment (one-ninty-sixth, to be exact) of a well-known art masterpiece. But they were not told which painting it was or who the artist was. Their instructions were simply to recreate their 4 by 4 inch puzzle piece on a two foot by two foot wood panel, using any media they chose.
Last night the pieces were hung in random order on the wall of the arts center, and the result was clearly more than the sum of its parts–even though each individual part is a masterwork in itself. The fact that the pieces don’t match their neighbors exactly, that each artists put their own creative signature on their piece, makes this artwork shine! This is a piece you must see in person, and linger a bit on each individual panel. This is an adventure in art appreciation!
The artists assembled in front of the finished installation.
Placing the final pieces on. Each additional piece was met with cheers from the overflow audience. Catch a little of the excitement in this short video:
David Kuehn, executive director of Cotuit Center for the Arts did a fantastic job, as always.
Each artist took a slightly different approach, which gives Rousseau’s work a new vitality.
The artists.
This is one show you really have to go see for yourself. Actually it is one of several shows currently at Cotuit Center for the Arts. In the upstairs gallery is “He Saw/She Saw,” a wonderful exhibit by husband and wife artists Mary Doering and Mikael Carstanjan. Both are photographers who alter their work in varying degrees on the computer. Even when they go to the same site to photograph, their results are often very different. More on them in another post.
Also on display downstairs is “We Saw” A Community Installation.” Bring your camera phone and contribute to this ongoing community installation.
For more information, attend Cotuit’s “Following Friday” brown bag lunch talk on Friday, September 6, at noon.
All three shows are on up through October 6. Gallery hours are 10 AM to 4 PM daily, and may also be seen during evening events at the center.
Cotuit Center for the Arts is at 4404 Route 28 in Cotuit and artsonthecape.org online. The phone number is 508-774-0669.
Notes on The Arts 