altered and assembled

“Altered and Assembled”
The Beat culture began after World War II when young visual artists and poet began to ‘break the mold’ and explore new creative ideas. They called themselves Beats and offered an alternative to conformity during the Eisenhower years. The Beats thought their works of art would bridge the gap between the American dream and its uneven fulfillment. The Altered and Assembled show was a great representation of this era with its many displays of altered everyday objects. It was clear while viewing these works that most of them were made from recycled materials in a variety of creative ways. It seemed like a lot of the pieces tied together because they appeared old, rustic, torn, dirty etc. I was especially interested in the square box shaped sculpture and every inch of it was covered with anything you could imagine. I kept thinking it must have taken years to gather up all of the materials that were used. I could have spent hours looking at it over and over again and would probably see something I didn’t see before. It was very intriguing, bright, and colorful, I really enjoyed looking around it. It reminded me of my childhood in a way.
My second favorite part of the show was the books. I really liked how they cut each page in the shape the wine glass, as if it had been thrown directly through it. On the back there was love letters that were based on poems, which I thought was very clever because you wouldn’t even know the words were there if you weren’t trying to see the back like I was.
All together I think the show was done very nicely, In my opinion it would have been nice if it there were more artists displays. Many of them were displayed on pedestals, shelving, or tables, but some were hung directly on the wall. The order in which they were set up was clearly well though about, the room was inviting and brought you around in a circle. I am definitely glad to have had the opportunity to check it out.

-Lindsey Berger