ART UNENDING, UNENDING ART

flow“For the first time in my life I felt liberated,” explained student assistant Lucy Kaguora as she described aiding veteran artists in the installation of the ARTS gallery show “Flow.”

Currently on display through Sept. 7 at the Collin College Spring Creek Campus, “Flow,” a collaborative project of nine diverse artists from across Texas, epitomizes non-traditional. It’s a single piece of art and an entire exhibit. Contributing artists include Piotr Chizinski, Jon Whitfill, Ryder Richards, Sue Anne Rische, Sarah Haven, Shreepad Joglekar, Ian Thomas, Brian Jobe and Dryden Wells.

Concept designer, curator of the exhibit and Collin College Professor Sue Anne Rische said the intent was to create a piece that flows together as if it has no real beginning or end. Collaborators were tasked with slowly transforming their piece to the artwork displayed on either side of them.

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“These aren’t simply paintings on the wall or sculptures on a pedestal,” Rische said. “It’s an installation that makes use of the ceiling, walls and floor.  When you walk into the gallery, you are actually stepping inside a work of art.”

Utilizing some of her own students to help install the work, Rische said she was grateful for the educational value of this project.

“They learned about the time and consideration it takes to display art in a gallery,” Rische said. “They also spent time brainstorming ways in which the work could be displayed or how one work might flow to another.”

Kaguora said helping with the installation was an extremely unique experience.

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“The fact that we broke the traditional rule of measuring the wall got me fascinated because I knew it would require a person to have to think out of the box and be creative,” Kaguora said. “It turned out I was right. I have never done something like that before, but I would love to do it again.”

The aspiring nurse said she feels the most interesting part of the installation is a section contributed by Whitfill.

“I thought the way he used the book to make the cone shape then connected them together was really impressive,” Kaguora said. “It is like having the parts of bicycle and then putting them together to form one body.”

Rische said she hopes patrons are able to read “Flow” like they would a story.

“You can start with any piece, attach meaning to it, then look at the next piece and attach meaning to that too,” Rische said.  “The exciting part is then looking at the transition and tying each story together.  This is critical thinking and creativity at its finest.”