Teams were put together across the state to pool their talents and create sculptures featuring the specific medium used by each artist, including stone, ceramic, glass, wood, metal, and fiber.
The official show dates were to be Sept. 1-26, but Al told me this morning that the Eisemann Center people were so impressed when they saw the gallery filled with the 34 sculptures from 13 Collaborage groups, they extended the show through October.
Before I give you the details on the exhibition, let me show you the fantastic entry our artists put together. This is unique among the entries because it represents three separate, but thematically related, pieces. They seem like relics from ancient time. While most of the groups created a single sculpture, Team Winnsboro expanded the challenge to have three pieces, symbolic of the trio of artists that created them.
Dragon Tooth
Voyagers
Celtic Icon
Let me quickly say that no one expected that a collaborative effort among the Texas artists who participated in this experiment - each with a strong will and specific vision in mind - would be easy. Since I know a fair number of artists, I'm fairly confident it was a major challenge for each group to coordinate their ideas.
But the lesson becomes, how do strong individuals work together to create something greater that they could do on their own? When does cooperation accomplish more than asserting one's own ideas to the exclusion of others? There's a sociological point buried here somewhere that would apply to endless human interactions. Or maybe I'm inserting more into the Collaborage challenge than was ever intended.
In any case, the question of how the groups made it work will undoubtedly be asked and answered (if there is an answer) by the artists themselves when they mingle with the public.
There will be two artist receptions. The first will be Thursday, Sept. 9 from 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm in the Mezzanine Gallery.
The second will be on Monday, Sept. 20, from 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm in the Gallery sponsored by the Arts Incubator of Richardson. Following the reception, the group will meet across the street at the Dallas-Richardson Renaissance Hotel for more conversation and social time with the artists.
You'll find two videos on this web page. You'll see Team Winnsboro in both videos and get a sense of what Collaborage is all about.
Collaborage
Gallery Hours: Wed. - Sat. noon - 5 pm
Charles W. Eisemann Center
2351 Performance Drive
Richardson, TX 75082
www.txsculpture.com/collaborage
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