MARQUETTE - The new show at the DeVos Art Museum at Northern Michigan University seeks to balance the fantastic with the politics of everyday life.
Titled "A Unicorn basking in the Light of Three Glowing Suns," it features a number of artists and works from across the country. The show is curated by Chicago-based Anthony Elms and Philip von Zweck. Elms said that the show sought out pieces that combined fantasy and politics in a distinctive way.
"We were looking for thing that had sort of a playful way," he said. "There's something playful and not quite serious about it."
An opening reception for the show was held Friday evening and included a live performance by Chicago-based artist Zachary Cahill. Cahill enthralled the audience with an indoor-outdoor performance including elements of narration and an audience sing-along.
Although there are overtones of politics and bureaucracy throughout the exhibit, they aren't overt, Elms said.
"The show is not overtly political except in a couple of moments. There's a politics to it. Politics are important to everyone in the show. It's about thinking beyond the choices that are given to you," he said. "There's projects that are more oblique and there are projects that are more direct."
His hope is that visitors to the show take away a little something and understand that there is always a way to think about something in a different way.
"I hope everybody will take away something that they didn't have interest in before," he said. "We would hope that within any form or in any structure, there's always a new way of thinking."
The show runs through Nov. 14. The DeVos is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday; and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. For more information, visit www.nmu.edu/devosartmuseum.
Claire Abent can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her e-mail address is cabent@miningjournal.net
