Ruminant
August 27—October 19, 2008
Each year, Maine College of Art & Design features the work of the faculty in an exhibition at the campus gallery, the Institute of Contemporary Art. This year the College is launching Faculty Selects, a new format allowing for a more focused approach with fewer artists. Faculty Selects is a juried exhibition series, for which MECA&D faculty are invited to submit a proposal of their work paired with the professional peer of their choice. This year’s jurors were Alison Ferris, a curator at Bowdoin College Museum of Art, and architect Carol Wilson.
“Ruminant” is the ICA’s first Faculty Selects exhibition. For “Ruminant,” MECA&D Printmaking Professor Adriane Herman selected Yumi Janairo Roth, who is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado, while MECA&D Sculpture Professor Ling-Wen Tsai invited Yoonmi Nam, who is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Kansas. The artists in “Ruminant” will exhibit work which revisits familiar surroundings to create new and altered meaning. The show runs from August 27 to October 19, 2008 with an opening reception on September 5 from 5 to 8 p.m.
A ruminant is an animal that chews its own cud. Rooted in this process, ruminating has become a metaphor for thoughtfully digesting information. The artists in this show follow a ruminating path: finding subject matter, absorbing it, meditating on it, and then reprocessing it in a new form. To this end, Adriane Herman borrows and adapts the discarded objects and lists of strangers. Ling-Wen Tsai finds contemplative views in the reflections of a puddle. Yoonmi Nam reconstructs imaginary architecture in a meticulous series of drawings. Yumi Janairo Roth carves masterpieces into shipping pallets, police barriers, and other familiar objects. Each of these artists creates contemplative transformations, drawing from their familiar surroundings to create something new and significant. The results are manifested in drawings, photographs, video, sculpture and prints.