For
Immediate Release
September 22,
2009
Contact: Megan Fischer
Marketing and PR Manager
(401) 273-5437 ext. 126
Photos available upon request
Return to Press Room
Exhibit by Local Artist Ann P.
Smith
Opens at Providence Children’s Museum
PROVIDENCE, RI – On
October 1, the Children’s Museum debuts Mechanical Menagerie, a new exhibit
featuring eye-popping animal sculptures fashioned from recycled
electronics by Providence artist and award-winning Rhode Island School
of Design graduate Ann P. Smith.
Mechanical Menagerie
showcases a collection of incredibly intricate creatures – lizards,
goats, birds, bugs, an antelope, a jellyfish and more – created from
disassembled computers, discarded cell phones and other mangled
machines and salvaged scraps. The exhibit will occupy 17 “window
boxes” in the Museum’s atrium walkway, inviting visitors of all ages to
take a peek at the creatures as they pass by and see what parts they
can identify.
Ann P. Smith received a BFA in Illustration from RISD in 2003 and has
exhibited her work in galleries and shows across the country, most
recently at The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA and the Ohio Craft
Museum. Her work is also available locally at the risd/works
store.
The inspiration for Smith’s sculptures came from a RISD assignment to
create a three-dimensional technology illustration. She was
stumped until she found a heap of junk topped by a broken telephone,
which she used to make a horse that won her rave reviews and a
prestigious scholarship.
Each of Smith’s
creatures has a unique personality,
thanks to her
thoughtfully selected materials and carefully crafted forms. Her
ram sculpture has curled wire horns leading to a body of various gears,
springs and other metallic parts. The use of flashlight bulbs
makes her owl charmingly wide eyed, while a computer mouse is ideal for
a streamlined sea turtle body and tangled telephone cords and wires
make spectacular jellyfish tentacles. Each creature is
inventively labeled with a line of keyboard letters.
Smith’s captivating creations will be on display through January 31,
2010. As part of the opening weekend, families can drop into the
“Creature Laboratory” on October 3 and 4 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM to
concoct some curious critters of their own from recycled materials and
other funky junk.
Visit Ann P. Smith’s website, www.burrowburrow.com,
to learn more about
her work and background. For more information about the exhibit and
related programs, visit www.childrenmuseum.org.