Michelle Andreano -- Altered & Assembled at Lafayette College

The show “Altered and Assembled” featured works created almost exclusively of found objects, many incorporating a book into their work.. There was a wide range of pieces, from very small boxes to a large mobile, necessitating many different ways of hanging and displaying the works. Some of the book pieces required pedestals, and other pieces were hung on the wall.

As a group, I was most drawn to the pieces primarily composed of books that were altered, because to me books are an experience. Books hold a history because many people have read that same book and they often pass through several owners. The one book piece featured a library book with the word discard stamped on it, with a magnifying lens placed in the cutout cover, reminding me of a seeing glass showing another world, which is very much how i see books – as an escape from the everyday into anyplace you could possibly want to go. A truly good book will draw you into it and stay with you long after you've read it – and to me, the same goes for art. It should make you think and want to know more about why the artist did that and why they chose that color, and so on.

The artist whose work stood out to me the most was Wally Barnette; all of his works stood out as being about secrets or a dark past. They all seemed to have a story behind them.

“Assembling the Illusion,” was composed of a wooden box with two compartments, the top part of which was open with a coiled piece of wire looking like a tree (like an abstract outdoor scene). The bottom part had wire mesh with a 'lock' on it holding a picture of a women without a head and darkness behind the rest. Together it said to me that life appears to be free and open but really we are all trapped in our own locked 'box.'

“Southern Dirt,”also by Wally Barnette, was composed of a large lidded box with a smaller one inside and dirt between the two. Old photographs and what looked like a light-bulb socket with a chain hanging were in the lid of the larger one. Bones of some creature were in the dirt as well as a pocketwatch. Inside the smaller box was an even smaller one with some trinkets within. The piece looked like one of the heavier ones there and sat on one of the pedestals.

It seemed like a piece about very dark family secrets, buried deep in the ground, as shown by the dirt and bones, and time passed, as indicated by the pocket watch. The light socket without a light right next to the photos seemed meant to convey that these secrets were meant to be hidden either by the people in the photos, from them, or for their benefit. This is the work that spoke to me the most, probably because secrets have been the issue in some of my recent work.

All of the pieces used found items in a compelling way, and I especially appreciated the use of old boxes or books as a blank 'canvas.' Using something that is worn and obviously used gives the piece a unique feel that you don't get using new materials unless you try to recreate the patina of time passed by, but I don't think you can ever give a new item the same history an old one does. Putting an item that has passed through time into a new project changes the nature of it and gives it age and makes people think about why you chose that piece. After seeing this show, I have been seeing the potential of found objects more and hope to incorporate some altered pieces into my art more.