BRONX: Dianne Smith

Dianne Smith, The Couple, 2013, Recycled materials, dimensions unknown. Image courtesy West Harlem Art Fund.

Organic Abstracts 

Public Art Installation

March 4 - 24, 2013

Artist talk: Sunday, March 10, 2013, 4pm, Registration required. 

BARTOW-PELL MANSION MUSEUM

Pelham Bay Park

895 Shore Road

Bronx, NY

Beginning, March 4th, 2013, The West Harlem Art Fund in partnership with Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum and the City of New York Parks & Recreation Department will produce an outdoor installation for Armory Week 2013. The installation, ‘Organic Abstracts’ comprised of two sculptures by Dianne Smith, showcases a minimalist approach to abstract art, scaled large and reminiscent of works by Henry Moore who incorporated them into the local landscape and was heavily influenced by non-Western art. The works will be made from repurposed materials offering a more direct and intimate experience for the viewer.

The Couple will be two beautifully androgynous heads approximately twenty feet wide and ten feet tall at the highest point. The heads will rest on one another and be secured on to a rectangular base. They will be made from everyday discarded materials such as, packaging, paper, cans, fabric, magazines, etc. These items will be tightly bound together with string, rope, as well as a nontoxic polymer, and waterproof varnish. As such, the piece will be weather resistant. The materials and it connectors will create a colorful and textural work of art that will engage the viewer. The Couple represents the idea of environmental, community and family respect. The concept of heads resting on one another, plays on the old adages “two heads are better than one” and “it takes a village.” They symbolize the idea that we all need each other and the environment to live harmonious and balanced lives.

Smith’s use of these objects and connectors allows the viewer to associate with the materials. For instance, the objects will be visible through the rope and string. The installation then becomes more personal to the viewer as he or she can identify things from their everyday life. Smith has found that sculpting with everyday objects is similar to life. Something useful one moment is discarded the next. These materials speak to the fragile balance that exists in day to day existence. Thus, it is important to respect, support, and love our communities, families and environment.

Flying High is a site specific installation constructed out of brown butcher paper The varnished paper, which will hang between two trees, has been crunched, crumpled, rolled, twisted, interlocked, woven and manipulated hanging between two trees. Its formations will create contrasting patterns of light and dark shadows in the sunlight.

For Smith, butcher paper is a metaphor for the treatment of people in developing countries, particularly those of African descent, as well as consumption in the global market. People use butcher paper for many everyday activities and throw it away once they are done with it. Just some of its uses include wrapping meat, crafting, and packing items. When we pack things we often push these sheets down, bunching the paper to fill corners, trying to get everything tightly secured, and contained

Flying High is also meant to question our ancestral, historical, cultural and political past, as well as the possibilities for our future. Smith will encourage the viewer to look at the wrinkles in the paper, think about the wrinkles in the skin of the elders in your families: What stories do they tell? What memories do they hold? Look at the ways in which the paper intertwines: How are you connected to your ancestral legacy? Look at the shadows the paper casts: What are your hidden truths? What is the imprint of your personhood on humanity and the environment?

An opening ceremony will take place beginning at noon on Thursday, March 7th, 2013 for Bronx Armory Day. The Bronx Trolley will be making round trips from the Armory Art Show on 7th to the museum leaving Pier 94 at 1pm and 3:45 pm Registration for trolley is required.

Dianne Smith standing on the site of her installation The Couple 

About Dianne Smith

Dianne Smith is an abstract painter, sculptor, and installation artist. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in New York City’s Soho and Chelsea art districts as well as, numerous galleries and institutions throughout the United States. She is an educator in the field of Aesthetic Education at Lincoln Center Institute (LCI), which is part of New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Since the invitation to join the Institute over six years ago she has taught k-12 in public schools throughout the Tri-State area. Her work as a teaching artist also extends to under graduate and graduate courses in various colleges and universities such as: Lehman College, Brooklyn College, Columbia University Teachers College, City College, and St. John’s University. Dianne is a Bronx native of Belizean descent. She attended LaGuardia High School of Music and Art, the Otis Parsons School of Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology. Smith recently completed her MFA at Transart Institute in Berlin. She currently lives and works in Harlem, NY.

About the West Harlem Art Fund

The West Harlem Art Fund, Inc. is a fifteen year old public art organization serving neighborhoods around the City of New York. Their public art installations have been seen in the New York Times, Art Daily, Artnet Magazine, Los Angeles Times, DNAinfo, among others. The West Harlem Art Fund, Inc. showcases art and culture in open, public spaces to add aesthetic interest to our part of the city; promote historical and cultural heritage; and support community involvement in local development.