EVERYDAY TOOLS & HARDWARE BECOME CREATIVE, AT KRESGE ART MUSEUM

Written by Tracy Summerby Tuesday, 07 February 2012 22:32

EAST LANSING, MI –– Kresge Art Museum at Michigan State University hosts Tools in Motion: Works from the Hechinger Collection, a traveling exhibition organized by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC, featuring 20^th- century art that celebrates repetition and motion in common, everyday tools and hardware on exhibit through November 5, 2006.

The exhibition features 50 witty and light-hearted works based on familiar forms— hammers, saws and wrenches—transformed into works of great imaginative power using materials including wood, glass, metal, paper, and stone. Vice grips turn into a school of silver fish; hammers form a xylophone; a faucet drip is frozen into permanence in glass; and spades become iconic grounds for portraiture.  The artists in the exhibition range from emerging to world renowned, including notable figures such as Arman, Jim Dine, Claes Oldenburg and Jacob Lawrence.

Spanning a wide range of styles and themes, the collection and exhibition honor the dignity of everyday tools, where form and function are inextricably linked.  The abundance of bright colors, vivid textures and a sense of toyland liveliness are enjoyable for visitors of all ages.

The works for Tools in Motion were selected from a collection originally owned by the late hardware-industry pioneer John Hechinger Sr., whose father started the Hechinger hardware chain in 1911.  Hechinger began collecting contemporary art related to tools to display around the company’s headquarters to inspire his employees.  Early on, Hechinger discovered that the collection’s distinct focus strikes a rich and diverse vein in modern art.

International Arts & Artists (IA&A) in Washington, DC, is a non-profit arts service organization dedicated to promoting excellence in the arts – in all disciplines, styles and media. The exhibit at Kresge Museum is sponsored by the Ingham County Hotel/Motel Tax Fund.

Kresge Art Museum is located in East Lansing, MI, on the first floor of the Kresge Art Center at the intersection of Physics and Auditorium Roads between the Alumni Chapel and the MSU Auditorium on the campus of Michigan State University.

Visit www.artmuseum.msu.edu.

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