Des Moines Register
08-20-06
Barn displays eclectic mix of art
Sculptures, paintings, photos found among acres of land in annual Winterset art
exhibit.
By AMANDA PIERRE
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Finding modern art in a 100-year-old barn in Winterset at the end of every
summer is as pleasant as happening upon a favorite seasonal flower.
The Westbrook Artists' Site (WAS) has been opening in late summer for about 10
years. This year, the eclectic mix of displays there, including everything from
Freudian theory to inverted toilets, are grouped under the theme of "Clean."
The curator of the Westbrook Artists' Site is Kevin Lair, a longtime Boston
resident, originally from Iowa, who is now an Iowa State University lecturer
in architecture.
He invites his artistic friends from around the country to participate in the show.
They show up or send items to include in installations at the barn or on its 500
acres of surrounding territory.
Lair himself creates works with what he calls a "rural palette." Using objects
found on the land, such as pieces of an old shed and colors reminiscent of old
farm machinery, he has created some of the dominant features at WAS.
Weathered boards are often his canvases.
Artist Geoff Hargadon from the Boston area joined this year. Hargadon earned a
bit of fame for his "Somerville Gates," a pet-sized parody of the famous artist
Christo's "Gates" project in New York City's Central Park. (Hargadon's gates
traced his cat's path around his Somerville, Mass., apartment.)
In Iowa, Hargadon is presenting his take on a Freudian comment about
cleanliness being the measure of the man. A stack of Ivory soap bars, his "Ivory
Tower," invites viewers to gauge their height in soap.
His artwork also plays with the innate human curiosity about other people's
money and the concept of "clean" in popular culture. He has enlarged and
presented ATM receipts, as well as photographs of images seen on his television
set, ranging from politicians to sports such as curling.
"What's cleaner than curling?" he asked. "It's on ice; there are no steroids
involved."
Among other new works on view at WAS this year are photos by Alexander
Scott, a drawing and oil pastel painting by Susan Mayr and a sculpture by Jon
Muecke.
Muecke has made use of the grounds for his piece, located on a forest path
several yards from the main "gallery" in the barn.
He built what looks to be an outhouse in a parallel universe. Viewers can climb a
short set of stairs to stand above the bottom of a toilet.
A key piece by Mitchell Squire is also on display this year, as it was in 2004.
Squire investigates man-made tools in an installation artwork built into the floor of
a corncrib on the grounds. His assembly of found objects stokes the imagination.
Dirty minds will find plenty to think about here.
More artists will be adding work at WAS in the coming weeks.