Wausau, Wisconsin: Three RePurposed and ReImagined exhibitions at the Woodson Art Museum – featuring cast-off items upcycled into couture garments, discarded materials woven into fiber-arts textiles, and pinned insects arrayed in delicate patterns – encourage visitors to view everyday items in fresh, new ways.
Glamorous, shimmering evening gowns in “ReDress: Upcycled Style by Nancy Judd” appear to be refined frocks that upon closer observation are made from crushed glass, rubber tires, and salvaged upholstery fabric. Elaborate patterns of meticulously pinned insects in “Nature Composed: The Insect Artistry of Jennifer Angus” suggest curious Victorian collections and textiles highlighting environmental issues – habitat loss and the importance of the insect world in an ecosystem’s health. Diverse, unexpected objects – crumpled candy wrappers, dryer sheets, and poker chips – are incorporated into colorful textiles by Midwest artists in “Salvage & Selvage: A Fiber Artists Coalition Exhibition.” Each of the three RePurposed & ReImagined exhibitions will be on view at the Woodson Art Museum through Sunday, June 15, 2014.
Throughout three days before the RePurposed & ReImagined exhibitions open, UW-Madison professor and artist Jennifer Angus will create her “Nature Composed” site-specific installation at the Woodson Art Museum. Her insect arrays and Victorian-inspired wallpaper are designed to encourage viewers to consider insects – commonly dismissed as pests – in a new way. Angus’ work highlights the intrinsic beauty of lacy-winged cicadas and iridescent beetles, for example. “Nature Composed” is a site-specific installation by Jennifer Angus, coordinated by Woodson Art Museum staff, and is supported by a Community Arts Grant from the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin, with funds from the Wisconsin Arts Board, Community Foundation, and the B.A. & Esther Greenheck Foundation.
Angus leads two programs on Saturday, April 12, at the Museum. During Patterns & Connections, Saturday, April 12, Noon–1 p.m., educators and interested adults glean ideas from Angus about how to use the visual arts in interdisciplinary teaching and also discover the diversity of naturally occurring patterns. The cross-cultural power of patterns inspires Angus’ pinned insect arrays. During Nature Observed, Saturday, April 12, 1:30–2:30 p.m., Angus discusses her Woodson site-specific artwork and her ethical practices of incorporating insects into her installations, Victorian inspirations, and how her work illuminates habitat loss.
“ReDress” artist and environmental advocate Nancy Judd creates couture fashion from recycled materials, lacing each garment with conservation consciousness. Incorporating crime-scene tape, shards of glass, and repurposed tires, Judd weaves environmental messages throughout her upcycled sculptural statements. “The Jellyfish Dress,” an elegant frock constructed from dry cleaner, grocery, and newspaper plastic bags, serves as a fashionista’s reminder that these carelessly discarded bags can be fatal to sea creatures. Inspired by the challenge to “upcycle” and spark a wave of waste reduction, Judd has been commissioned by Target, Toyota, Coca Cola Company, and Delta Air Lines to encourage consumer awareness through her work. “ReDress” is organized by Nancy Judd and is circulated through GuestCurator Traveling Exhibitions.
Judd will emcee a fashion show and lead upcycling programs at the Museum during her four-day “From Trash to Treasure” artist residency, May 1-4. Judd will share how she uses the power of art to create fashion statements promoting environmental stewardship. Nancy guides program participants in the creative reuse of discarded materials and emcees a Recycled Runway fashion show, Saturday, May 3, 7-8 p.m., featuring upcycled garments and accessories created by UW-Madison fashion design students. Volunteer models will walk a Museum gallery runway to showcase the students’ varied creations made from recycled materials that they cleverly juxtaposed, altered, printed, and dyed. The Museum is seeking fashion show volunteers – models, hair and make-up artists, and dressing/tailoring assistants; call the Museum at 715-845-7010 for details. “From Trash to Treasure” funding comes from a Community Arts Grant
from the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin, with funds from the Wisconsin Arts Board, Community Foundation, and the B.A. & Esther Greenheck Foundation. This project also is supported in part by a Challenge America Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Diverse, unexpected objects are incorporated into colorful textiles in “Salvage & Selvage: A Fiber Artists Coalition Exhibition.” Artworks created from recycled commercial fabrics incorporate a wood chopstick, plastic deer fencing, drywall tape, and more. “Salvage & Selvage” was curated by Pat Kroth of the Fiber Artists Coalition, a group of Midwestern textile artists.
Two exhibitions of teens’ upcycled artwork also will be on view this spring. “Art Speaks” showcases the Woodson Art Museum Teen Art Council members’ altered chairs and a table, each conveying an experience that shaped the teen artist’s life. During “Wear Your Words” workshops, Wausau area teens work together to create wearable social-action statements – upcycled garments from recycled materials. Artist Nancy Judd meets with these teens and offers suggestions during a May 2 workshop. Preview the teen-designed clothing and accessories during a reception, Saturday, May 10, 1-3 p.m. The teens’ “Wear Your Words” artwork will be displayed at the Museum from May 10 through June 15.
URL links to RePurposed & ReImagined artwork images and caption information
April 12 – June 15, 2014
ReDress: Upcycled Style by Nancy Judd
Artist and environmental educator Nancy Judd creates couture fashion from recycled materials, lacing each garment with conservation consciousness. Glamorous, shimmering evening gowns, appearing as fine couture and refined garments, are made from crushed glass and salvaged upholstery fabric. Inspired by the challenge to “upcycle” and spark a wave of waste reduction, Judd has been commissioned by Target, Toyota, Coca Cola Company, and Delta Air Lines to encourage consumer awareness through her work. One of her creations has been accepted into the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution. This exhibition is organized by Nancy Judd and is circulated through GuestCurator Traveling Exhibitions.
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Nancy Judd, Eco-Flamenco, 2011, cereal boxes, recycled paint, parachute scraps, photo by David Astilli
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Nancy Judd, Jellyfish Dress, 2010, plastic dry cleaner, newspaper, and grocery bags, photo by Jay Sturdevant
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Nancy Judd, Recycling Fiesta, 2002, plastic Target bags, t-shirt, cardboard displays, photo by Sandrine Hahn
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Nancy Judd, Tireless Couture, 2010, bicycle and car tire inner tubes, torn hotel sheets, photo by Jay Sturdevant
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Nancy Judd, Youth Eco-Dress, 2011, discarded hotel sheets, table cloths, recycled office paper, campaign yard sign frames, photo by Jay Sturdevant
April 12 – June 15, 2014
Nature Composed: The Insect Artistry of Jennifer Angus
Elaborate patterns of meticulously pinned insects created by UW-Madison professor and artist Jennifer Angus suggest Victorian designs and textiles and highlight environmental issues such as rainforest deforestation and habitat loss. Angus’ insect arrays point out the intrinsic beauty of lacy-winged cicadas and iridescent beetles, for example, and encourage viewers to consider these creatures – commonly dismissed as pests – in a new way.
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Jennifer Angus, In the Midnight Garden, 2013, North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND
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Jennifer Angus, In the Midnight Garden, 2013, North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND
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Jennifer Angus, In the Midnight Garden, 2013, North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND
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Jennifer Angus, In the Midnight Garden, 2013, North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND
April 12 – June 15, 2014
Salvage & Selvage: A Fiber Artists Coalition Exhibition
Diverse, unexpected objects incorporated into colorful textiles offer surprises that delight. Artworks created from recycled commercial fabrics incorporate a wood chopstick, dryer sheets, plastic deer fencing, poker chips, drywall tape, and candy wrappers. “Salvage & Selvage” was curated by Pat Kroth of the Fiber Artists Coalition, a group of Midwestern textile artists.
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Gwyned Trefethen, Tree Serenade, commercial cottons, dryer sheets, Hobbs 80/20, Heat ‘n Bond, various threads
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Casey Puetz, Tranquility, salvaged items: rusted muslin fabric, tea-dyed cotton batting, dyed Timtex, antique Korean coin, used postage stamp, wood chopstick
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Pat Kroth, Net Worth, polyester net vegetable and fruit bags, plastic deer fencing, plastic poker chips, polyester organza, tulle, miscellaneous discarded threads, yarns, layered and machine stitched
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Linda Witte Henke, Wheels in Motion, ripped-off selvage fabric edges, repurposed clothesline cord, cotton thread, synthetic stabilizer scraps, Eco Felt (made from recycled plastic bottles), coiling, machine and hand stitching
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Kathie Briggs, Tattered Memories, deconstructed kimono, scraps from used clothing
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Pat Bishop, Pieces #2, painted paper grocery bags, drywall tape, candy wrappers, fusible webbing, strips previous art projects, commercial cotton and silk fabrics, candy wrappers, felt, machine quilting and fusing
Woodson Art Museum
Hours:
Tues–Fri 9am–4pm
First Thurs each month 9am–7:30pm
Thurs during Birds in Art 9am–7:30pm
Sat–Sun Noon–5pm
Closed Mon & holidays, including New Year’s Day, Easter, July 4, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas
Admission: Always Free Admission
Phone: 715.845.7010
After hours press inquiries: 715.298.2901
Email: museum@lywam.org
Location: Franklin and 12th Streets, Wausau, Wisconsin 54403-5007
(700 N. Twelfth Street)
Online: www.lywam.org
