#michelle lougee

[consolecadet]

New IoA post, about a collaborative art installation made of repurposed plastic bags under the guidance of ACAC artist-in-residence Michelle Lougee. The project is ongoing, so if you like crochet and finding novel uses for waste materials, check it out.

[chromogenesis]

I had the pleasure of attending Michelle Lougee & Kay Hartung’s “Biomorphic Alchemy” show at ArtSpace Maynard in April 2018. The show will be open to the public until May 18, 2018.

Michelle Lougee's Artist Statement: 

"The Anthropocene is a proposed epoch that began when human activities started to have a significant global impact on Earths's geology and ecosystems. This work reflects our increasingly precarious relationship with the planet during the Anthropocene. The pieces follow themes and share iconography that flow from one panel or piece to the next. I use my signature material, crocheted post-consumer plastic bags, for a new look at our habits, ourselves, and our precious planet. The material is not only relevant to the subject matter, but collecting bags for use in artwork prevents them from finding their way to our oceans. 

A large installation entitled "Ubiquitous" occupies two walls and envisions the abstract microscopic inhabitants of a drop of water. The vibrant, textural forms want to wiggle and stretch out, eager to colonize their surroundings. These works elicit a tension with nature. Produced from collected post-consumer plastic bags that would otherwise find its way to a landfill, they are easy to look at, cheerful even, but they represent deep problems in our culture and environment. Since the human body is 60% water, it quickly becomes personal."

Kay Hartung is a mixed media artist from Acton, MA and has a studio at ArtSpace Maynard; her artist statement follows. "My work is abstract, though influenced by observations of microscopic imagery. Colonies of cellular shapes migrate, flow, and multiply. Clusters of orbs are tethered together in unknown universes. Larger forms seem to invade the space occupied by small forms, and appear to consume them. Colors set the tone, greens of pond life, blue of the cosmos, and reds of blood. A mystery is created by concealing layers, and windows through the layers reveal teasing glimpses of what is hidden below the surface. Movement and energy are expressed as shapes rapidly flow off the face of the paintings and onto the sides, randomly or in unison. Biomorphic forms travel freely or are captured and tangled in sinuous webs. Tension is created by competing organisms that are struggling to coexist. Revealing the beauty of this mysterious world, I invite the viewer to contemplate the impact these minute cellular forms have on our lives."