You are on your belly, deep in the rainforest. Your thin grey hair blows to one side and your khaki shirt is smeared with a mixture of sweat and stains from your time in the underbrush.
Inches away from your face: a bell-shaped structure stands behind an array of carefully placed odds and ends. A pile of green beetle wings, blue petals from the nearby flowering shrubs, three grey tail feathers, and stack of thin, cream-colored mushrooms.
You talk quietly with your charming british accent to the camera man.
"Inside, we see one of the most unique curators of all... the Bower Bird."
****
You are at home after a long day of work.
David Attenborough is sitting silently behind your sofa, just inches from your face as you unpack your Amazon Prime box.
He whispers to the camera man.
"Here, our subject repeats a practice perfected by centuries of evolution. It's called.... collecting... Let's watch."
He leans in, ancient nostrils chirping, as he watches you pull a copy of Sam Bosma's "Fantasy Sports" from the box and page through it.
Satisfied, you stand up and put it gently on your book shelf between your copies of Bryan Lee O'Malley's "Scott Pilgrim" and Wren McDonald's "Cyber Realm."
You take a step back, frown, and adjust the titles in alphabetical order.
Yes, that's much better.
"Ah, a delightful collection indeed..."
***
Bower Bird
An exhibition about curating & collecting
Opens December 4th, 7 - 10pm
Light Grey Art Lab
118. E. 26th Street #101
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.239.2047
We are looking for eccentric curators, secret stash-ers, and individuals with impeccable taste to show us what they've got. Our December Exhibition, Bower Bird, reveals the nature of what we prize, what we display, and what we collect as artists.
We want to know what the inside of your fridge door looks like, what's on your desk, and what sits inside that locked box underneath your bed. What's up with that stack of books your grandpa gave you? And that zip-lock bag full of ticket stubs? How about those 30 black t-shirts you own, what're those about? Reveal your souvenir rock collection, the soda-cans that you've stashed so gently the front seat of your car, or the collection of sexy texts you've kept over the years. We'd even like to see what kinds of flowers you've collected in Skyrim.
The internet says that a collection can be defined as :
"a group of objects or an amount of material accumulated in one location,
especially for some purpose or as a result of some process:"
We like that idea. Whether you were a knowing collector or not, we want to know what you have more than 4 of, and we'd like to see it.
And like it, or not, our collections are loaded -- signaling to others about who we are, or what we are perceived to be by the nature of what we like, and what we've amassed.
For the month of December, we are are looking to display the things you display to the world.
AND, to celebrate the idea of collections even further, we will be asking all participating artists to send their collection image as a limited edition run of 100 post-cards. Each participating artist will receive a complete stack of postcards from the Bower Bird exhibition (one from each artist involved) before the holidays and the remainder will be for sale at the gallery for the duration of the exhibition, as well as available as prints, for those interested. #1 of each collection will be displayed in our brick-and-mortar gallery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
We are looking for Illustrations, paintings, photography, or anything else you think would help describe the nature of your collection. You are welcome to draw a line-up of elements in your junk drawer in a scientific manner, or paint a i-spy environment where we have to look for it, or even use typography to list the titles of your favorite books on Mount Everest. Maybe draw your shoe and label all of the scrapes and holes from epic kick-flips, climbing through the forest with friends, and when you bailed from your bike the other week. Whatever your inventory is, we'll be looking for you to find the best way to describe it!
***
The schedule & other details.
We will be closing the call for art Friday, September 25th, and announcing the participating artist list by October 1st and emails will go out to all participating artists with resources for printing, details about the exhibition and more.
Postcards will need to be mailed to the gallery by November 13th, and the collections will be shipped out by December 4th's opening reception.
If you'd like to be a part of the exhibition, submit your name, email and links to your website or blog below by FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25th!
example:
Lindsay Nohl
hello@lightgreyartlab.com
lindsaynohl.com
Thanks and we are looking forward to making this December show a collection to remember!
Questions? Send us a note! hello@lightgreyartlab.com
