Repurposed with Purpose: Meaning in the Materials of Making

About

This exhibition aims to enrich the visitor’s experience—and their understanding of the arts and humanities—by encouraging viewers to look for greater variance and nuance in the meaning of materials. The choice of materials holds different significance for each artist, sometimes reflecting larger societal issues and at others, more personal interests, concerns, or priorities. Some artists are thinking about the environment and as they choose their materials, commenting on its fragility and the impact of its degradation on mankind and the earth, now and in times to come. They celebrate reuse while mourning waste, creating compelling works of art, sometimes interactive and experiential, even pointing out that mankind is causing obsolescence, decay, and even mortality. Some artists reference or incorporate historic found objects that take us from the present moment to the past and memory, reminding us that time is a continuum. Others repurpose their own creations, giving them a new expression. For many, the use and meaning of these materials allow them to reach across boundaries of race, class, and gender orientation to remind us that we are unified by our humanity. Some even embrace a more evident position of social activism or political statement, making work where their choice of materials raises issues specific to the time and place in which we live.