Grosteque Ornament: Anatomy in the Gallery at IMSS
Annie Heckman, installation detail
Event Type:
OpeningEvent Type:
ExhibitEvent Type:
LectureFriday, March 5, 2010 5:00pm - Friday, May 21, 2010 4:00pm
Annie Heckman: You thought that you were alone but I caught your bullet just in time
March 5–May 21, 2010
Free, public opening reception for the artists: Friday, March 5, 5:00–8:00 p.m.
Artists’ talk: Saturday, March 6, 2:00 p.m. (free with Museum admission, discounted to $4 for attendees of Friday’s opening reception)
The International Museum of Surgical Science (IMSS) presents Blooms, Efflorescence, and Other Dermatological Embellishments—an exhibition of jewelry and photography by Lauren Kalman—and You thought that you were alone but I caught your bullet just in time—a sculptural installation by Annie Heckman—from March 5 through May 21, 2010. These exhibitions, the latest in the Museum’s ongoing “Anatomy in the Gallery” program, use grotesque ornamentation to contrast the idealized elements of conventional bodily imagery with the realities of individual, physical bodies.
Blooms, Efflorescence, and Other Dermatological Embellishments includes Kalman’s jeweled adornments that replicate the skin infections, lesions, and sores caused by medical conditions such as acne, cancer, herpes, and syphilis, as well as photographs of models wearing these adornments. You thought that you were alone but I caught your bullet just in time comprises glow-in-the-dark house-of-cards structures built of interlocking cut paper pieces, each drawn upon in graphite and coated with phosphorescent paint by Chicago artist Heckman to resemble a human or animal bone. The ongoing “Anatomy in the Gallery” program at IMSS showcases paired exhibitions of medically inspired contemporary art in the context of the Museum’s historical exhibits and artifacts, all housed in a landmark turn-of-the-century mansion on Lake Shore Drive.
Contact Email:
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