There are 10 new works of art on display at Mills Library, but you’ll have to look hard to find them.
Hidden among the shelves and designed to look like books, the pieces are actually works of conceptual art created by students in Sally McKay’s third year Studio Arts class, New Directions in Painting and Drawing.
“It’s a different way of thinking about the art experience for both the audience and the creators,” says McKay, a professor in the School of the Arts. “It may be that hardly anyone sees this art, but those who do will have a different kind of experience and a surprise because they’re not expecting these little objects that look like books on the outside, but have all kinds of surprises on the inside.”
The artists have used a range of unexpected materials to create a tactile or sensory experience. Intended to be an interactive display, audience members are encouraged to touch and interact with the art.
Student artist and contributor to the exhibition, Abedar Kamgari, say it’s exciting to be a part of this kind of installation.
“I like to see people’s reactions to the art,” says Kamgari “It gives you an opportunity to do something interactive, that you wouldn’t get to do in a traditional gallery setting and also, in a place as busy as Mills, you never know whose going to pick it up, which is also cool, it’s a new venue.”
Associate University Librarian, Wade Wyckoff, says the library has a history of displaying student art and was happy to partner with McKay on such a unique installation.
“Students usually come in to study and use the Wi-Fi, and do all the traditional things students do in libraries, so it’s great to give them the opportunity to find unexpected things,” says Wyckoff. “It’s also a very practical way to support teaching and learning at McMaster in a different way; giving students the hands-on experience of taking their work and putting out there into the world so people can interact with it.”
The installation will be on display at Mills Library throughout February.
The following students artists contributed art to the display:
- Talysha Bujol-Abu
- Mary Duncan
- Vincent Farrauto
- Abedar Kamgari
- Bryan Kellman
- T.J. Poplar
- Samantha Raymond
- Lydia Santia
- Britanny Sostar
- Whyishnave Suthagar
