SARAH ODUM
We are a college town, and the semester is officially in full swing, ya’ll! The campuses are bustling with activity - can you feel the energy? As residents of Denton, student or no, we can all reap the benefits of such a charged atmosphere. You should feel free to attend a lecture, hear an orchestra, walk a labyrinth…yep, a labyrinth. We hopped over to the cozy campus of TWU (Texas Women’s University) to check out their latest fine arts exhibit, Circuit Breaker. Read on for a few highlights, be sure to attend the exhibit lecture this week, then report back to let us know your thoughts!
Circuit Breaker is a two-part exhibit on display now through October 2 in the TWU Fine Arts building. One part is a collaborative installation by 3 Dallas artists, featuring pieces that highlight the intersection of technology and human involvement, and undeniably beg the question of human responsibility. Sounds heavy, right? Be comforted in that while you contemplate your role within the information superhighway, you’ll be looking at some pieces that feel almost magical or otherworldly. We were definitely picking up some Stranger Things vibes in there.
Walking around the room we saw swatches of paper with words of internet bullies that had been pierced through with arrows, and machines sorting live media content into 2 categories: self-awareness and feel-good content. Another piece invited us to step over a threshold of salt and touch hand sensors along with other viewers. These interactions certainly triggered ideas about personal voice and public space.
Other pieces to note involved digital projections of light and color, one upon a metal surface that clicked and popped (seemingly independently—hence the other-world/creature feeling) and the other on a mirror-type surface, allowing us to see a digitized, matrix version of ourselves. Feel free to wave at your thermal reflection! Do a dance if you want.
The second part of Circuit Breaker is a workshop and information space, but no less interactive. Here you’ll find a walkable floor labyrinth, complete with instructions and explanations. This gave us the chance to slow down, take a breath, and simplify. The idea of the labyrinth is to meditate—in whatever form you like. Need a little help getting the right headspace first? Dr. Susan Harper, facilitator of the labyrinth, will be giving a lecture on Sacred Spaces this Thursday at 7pm in the gallery. We recommend you go and hear her ideas on how to stay connected, while still allowing for the sacred in life. Then give the labyrinth walk a whirl yourself. Who knows, you may find some much-needed quiet amidst the noise.
Circuit Breaker runs 9/3-10/2 in TWU’s Fine Arts building, in the East/West Galleries
Sacred Spaces Lecture by Susan Harper, PhD - This Thursday, September 22 at 7pm in the East Gallery