St. Paul, MN – The Minnesota Museum of American Art’s new exhibition interact/react features eleven local artists whose work incorporates interactive or reactive elements. These artists explore human connections to art using an array of media from gadgets, mechanical gizmos, and the simplicity of light, to the complexity of computer-generated projections. interact/react presents art that invites the viewer to be an active participant on many levels.

Comprised of kinetic and mechanical sculpture, digital video projection, conceptual art, and installations, interact/react features 16 works of art. Two pieces from MMAA’s collection—a small kinetic sculpture by George Rickey from 1967 and a large-scale interactive musical sculpture by Norman Andersen from 1983—were the inspiration for the exhibition and provide historical context. Kinetic and interactive art has long existed, but the methods and definitions are ever-changing.

Bringing together high-tech and low-tech art forms, interact/react offers a deeper look into the topic of ‘nature vs. technology’ and examines the quality of human interaction in our expanding technological world. Combining natural materials such as leaves, bamboo, and feathers, with the innovative technologies of bend-sensors and motion-sensors in her dynamic installations, Diane Willow encourages exploration and a playful reconnecting to the sensation of touch.

Artists Patrick Kelley and Bill Klaila each use complex technology in their digital projection installations, like GPS satellite navigation and virtual environments, the way other artists use a paint brush, a kiln, or a camera. The resulting artwork is a blending of technology and personal expression. Through digital projection, sound, and photography as artifact, Kelley translates natural phenomena in technological terms. Forest Rain, Klaila’s latest multiple-sensory installation, is a computer-generated interactive virtual landscape that responds to movements through pressure-sensors.

Other pieces in the exhibition utilize less complex elements and concepts, such George Rickey’s Square #1, a sculpture that moves randomly with changes in air movement. Powered by gravity and momentum, balls race through Jeffrey Zachmann’s Kinetic Sculpture #301, changing direction and tripping levers inside a steel maze. Tim Fort’s gadgets rely on the meticulous placement of dominoes and popsicle sticks and Newton’s laws of motion to create machines of cascading chain reactions.

Transcending the museum walls and spanning the run of the exhibition, conceptual interactive artworks by Karl Raschke and Holly Streekstra challenge the viewer to engage at a personal level. With Commandments, Raschke experiments with people’s willingness to follow orders and report their experience back to him through email. Using two different international communication networks—email and the postal system—Streekstra invites people all over the world to sip a cup of tea at precisely the same time as participants in the museum.

Artists in the Exhibition:

Norman Andersen

Tim Fort

Patrick Kelley

Bill Klaila

Dean Lucker

Charles Matson Lume

Karl Raschke

George Rickey

Holly Streekstra

Diane Willow

Jeff Zachmann

Note: More information on the artists is available upon request.

Opening Party:
Saturday, April 9, 2005
7-10 pm

During the Opening Party, artist Tim Fort will set off his gadgets and the inaugural tea will be shared in the world-wide tea party installation by artist Holly Streekstra. Live music by strolling musicians will be showcased throughout the evening, and complimentary refreshments will be served.

Tickets: $10/$8 MMAA members

For reservations, call 651-266-1041.

ABOUT MMAA

Experience and explore the energy and depth of American visual culture at the Minnesota Museum of American Art—a place for the traditional and unconventional. At MMAA the diversity of art and artists—past, present, and emerging—is revealed through music, performance, dance, fashion, painting, film, and sculpture. MMAA is located on Kellogg Boulevard at Market Street in downtown St. Paul. For more information about MMAA, visit www.mmaa.org.

Tours:

Guided tours are offered during regular gallery hours, and are free with admission. To schedule, please call 651.266.1038 at least three weeks in advance.

Hours:

Tuesday 11am-4pm

Wednesday 11am-4pm

Thursday 11am-8pm

Friday 11am-4pm

Saturday 11am-4pm

Sunday 1-5pm

Closed Monday and Major Holidays

Admission:

Adults $5

Seniors $3

Children and Students (with valid i.d.) $3

Museum members FREE

Children 4 and under FREE

Free admission every Thursday

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