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Home » News » Off Kilter: An Exploration of Contemporary Form

Off Kilter: An Exploration of Contemporary Form

Published May 23, 2020

 


 An online exhibition curated by students of the Spring 2020 FSU Art History Museum Object class

 

About Us

 

About Our Show


This exhibition seeks to demonstrate the ways that contemporary art invokes curiosity and subverts expectations. Banksy has declared that, with art, one must “Think outside the box, collapse the box, and take a f*****g sharp knife to the box.” 

Off-Kilter explores contemporary art within the framework of form and texture, juxtaposed with aesthetic value. Art has morphed into a style that begs deep consideration, and is far more open to personal interpretation than in the past. Our goal is to foster personal reflection and individual exploration. We hope to usher you into a fun and welcoming space where you can interact with art in a bit of an unorthodox way, leaving you with a new appreciation of the ways that contemporary art makes use of form and texture.

Contemporary art is a blend of styles and textures, and generally clashes with our traditional conceptions of what art is supposed to be. Our exhibit showcases just that: the artwork moves through time and space in an atypical manner. The freeform mode of art that we have chosen to display is mirrored in the freeform approach we have chosen to use in the design of the gallery. The pieces span roughly a century, though concentrated in the second half of the 20th century. Eleven artists are represented, including former students and faculty members of the university. The pieces range from small to large, and are fashioned from a diverse selection of materials, including leather, wood, rope, and rubber. Off-Kilter is an exploration of how these separate elements work as a whole.

 

Off-kilter

/ôf-ˈkil·ter/
adjective

1. Away from the expected or desirable condition; off balance, awry.
2. Uneven, unbalanced, distorted; (also) unconventional, offbeat, eccentric.
“Off-kilter” is defined as being away from the expected or desirable condition. Synonyms include off balance, awry, uneven, distorted, unconventional, offbeat, or eccentric. We have used this word as the title of our show, and as a guiding principle in the curatorial approach and selection of objects. All the objects in the exhibition reflect this theme of off-kilter-ness in their unique, and strikingly distinct colors, forms and textures. We hope to guide our visitors’ eyes to what makes each piece unique and wonderfully wacky, and in doing so learn about the diversity of contemporary modern sculpture.
  

Contemporary Art

“Contemporary” describes modern ideas of fashion or design. As an art movement, it pushes the boundaries of what can be defined as art; all manner of materials, methods, concepts, and designs are used to challenge this dynamic definition. It began in the 60s and 70s, following post-modernism and continuing to the present; it is a cultural dialogue that frames larger concepts in a world that is always growing and becoming more globally, culturally, and technologically advanced.
/kənˈtempəˌrerē ärt/
adjective + noun
1. Contemporary art broadly includes work produced during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. It generally defines art produced after the Modern Art movement to the present day.
 

 

Texture


 
Texture refers to the quality of a surface as revealed by light, how it feels, or how it appears to feel. In a two dimensional piece, texture follows the same line, referring to its “feel”, but is usually limited to a perceived texture rather than a physical one. As a fundamental element of art, texture is commonly used to evoke a sense of emotion, like discomfort, familiarity, or satisfaction. For three dimensional pieces, like those in our show, texture is initially implied based on the material used by the artist. However, as seen in our exhibition, some objects attempt multiple textures by adding elements or affecting the base material. How the artist plays with texture within their piece determines the physical or emotional response from the viewer.
   

Inner Strength

 

Inner Strength

   

Greener Conquests

 

Greener Conquests

   

Bio RAD #2

 

Bio RAD #2

   

Three Serrated Kings

 

Three Serrated Kings

 

 
Form describes an object’s shape and structure, either in two dimensions or in three. Further, when discussing an object, form is the way the object appears, as well as the space it takes in an exhibition. We talk about form as a presence, in height, width, depth, and “mass”. However, form can also denote an object’s physical elements, its material, or its role as a medium. Within our own exhibit, Off- Kilter, form is seen in-the-round, while the objects themselves encompass both geometric and organic shapes. We believe the objects within our exhibition are unconventional and modern, some touching on the intrigue of texture, while others exist to promote form alone.

Form

   

Untitled

 

Untitled

 

Wheeled Ramp

 

Wheeled Ramp

 

Architectural Study for a Wall

 

Architectural Study for a Wall

 

Places Remembered XV

 

Places Remembered XV

 

Rosenthal Bag

 

Rosenthal Bag

 

 

Texture+Form

Folding Triangles

 

Folding Triangles

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