In the back gallery of the DeVos Art Museum, a new exhibit from artists Piper Hill, Zerek Kempf and Shori Sims focuses on use of video, a particular interest of visiting curators Kate Donnelly, Thatiana Oliveira and Sumru Tekin from artist collaborative, Snake House in Vermont. Donnelly, Oliveira and Tekin have worked together for about six years and have developed a working relationship based around communication, shared passion for creativity and their shared goals for their work.
“We were invited by Emily Lanctot, director of the museum,” Donnelly said. “She’s been following our collaborative and she said… ‘I’d love to have you here, what would you like to do?'”
“We all have an art practice and a curatorial practice and are also educators,” Oliveira said. “The fact that the museum is a part of a school and a part of an educational institution is also a big part of the appeal.”
The exhibit examines themes of time and change through audiovisual work, and the audience is encouraged to engage with it in numerous ways. “I think something that might be particularly appealing to students is it’s a show entirely of video work,” Oliveira said. “In many a museum space, video might be peppered in throughout, but it’s not the most common to have an exhibition that’s devoted to that medium.” She pointed out that in the digital age, when short-form video content rules the internet, the exhibit’s longer video content may be of interest to students, while shifting their perceptions of what video can become.
The exhibit will run until Dec. 16 at the museum.
