Bee (1997)
This sculpture began as a sculpture presentting
materials that I intended to use in the BananaFeelyEye at
Impression 5 Museum in Lansing Michigan. My experience
with so called science museums or centers is that they are not friendly
places for art. the exceptions are the Exploratorium in San
Franscisco and the Ontarion Museum Science Museum. Visitors
to the others are mainly kids, some of whom accept the "hands on"
ebcouragement of these institutions as a challenge to break
things. Ovbjects, including art objects must be "bullet proof."
Frequently the management has no experience with art and regards
art objects as temporary exhibits, subject to modificatuions with
little concern for the creator's intent. The display staff is
primarily occupied with repairing exhibits and modify them to withsatnd
the onslaught. Staff and management will freely copy form and
function of visiting exhibits to add to their permanent collections.
It
was with some difficulty including a threat of lawsuit that, when the
commission of the bananaFeelyEye was finished, I rescued the sample
from the "feely
tunnel" that the museum's design staff built for another
exhibit.