1 - 7 September and 1 October - 9 November 2012
Mint Museum Uptown
at The Levine Center for the Arts
The Mint Museum is inviting the public, and the thousands of visitors traveling to the city for the Democratic National Convention, to participate in a one-of-a-kind election taking place within the walls of Mint Museum Uptown. Vote for Art is a project aimed at educating the public on both the electoral process and the process of building a world-class collection for Charlotte and the region. The Mint will place six selected works of art on view in the museum and allow the public to cast votes on their three favorites. The museum will acquire up to three winners and add them to the permanent collection.
Voting opens on September 1 to coincide with the beginning of the DNC (and the opening of the exhibition Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art, Craft, and Design). All visitors to the museum through September 7 will be offered ballots and the opportunity to cast votes. Voting closes after the DNC but reopens October 1, running through November 9. Unlike the Board of Elections, the Mint does not require voters to be 18 – children will be offered their own opportunities to cast ballots. Results will be announced at the Ballot Ball, a special event held on November 9. Find out more about the six candidates and the artists that created them below.
November 12, 2012 UPDATE: The people have spoken! Winners by popular vote are: Muniz, Biagi, and Bengtsson!
Slice Chair Paper by Mathias Bengtsson
Bengtsson’s Slice Chair Paper blurs the boundaries between design and sculpture by combining inspiration from futuristic technology and nature. Made entirely from paper glued together in layers, using no screws or fasteners, the paper chair resembles a topographic map or a cliff face eroded by wind and water. Each layer is in an abstract, biomorphic shape; by alternating black and white paper, Bengtsson creates a zebra-like pattern that stimulates one’s sense of vision in the manner of Op Art paintings. If acquired, this would be the only paper chair by Bengtsson in a museum collection anywhere in the world. Due to the labor-intensive process, the designer has decided to make no others.
Mathias Bengtsson, Danish, 1971- .
Slice Paper Chair, 2010.
Paper, 31.5" x 31.5 x 31.5.
On loan from Industry Gallery, Washington D.C.
Before Midnight by Mattia Biagi
Biagi's tar-covered works transform discarded, everyday objects into interpretations of lost innocence. Dipped in the thick texture-rich substance, the underlying form is fossilized in time and transports the viewer back to childhood memories of fairytales. In the tar-and-fiberglass Before Midnight, the viewer re-imagines the scene when the pumpkin turns into a carriage and is warned to be home before midnight when the magic spell is broken. Featured in the Mint exhibition Fairytales, Fantasy, & Fear, Before Midnight, is a tour de force of Biagi’s use of tar and a stunning example of a work by a rising contemporary artist.
Mattia Biagi, Italian, 1974- .
Before Midnight, 2012.
Mixed media, tar. 67" x 93 x 49.
On loan from Anna Kustera Gallery, New York City.
Wood Branches, Diversity n. 17 by Nacho Carbonell
The distinct gravel-, thorn-, or branch-covered surfaces of the combined desk structures in Nacho Carbonell's Diversity series reflect the artist's assertion of the "constant variation" and unpredictability of form. The labor-intensive handwork of creating the chairs is usually accomplished by a small team of assistants in Nacho’s studio in Eindhoven, Netherlands; but he assembled Diversity n.17 inside the Mint Museum Uptown himself. Nominated Designer of the Year in 2009 by the Design Museum, London, and named Designer of the Future by the Design Miami / Basel committee later that same year, Nacho (as he is known) has acquired a reputation as an innovator in his use of various media and techniques.
Nacho Carbonell, Spanish, 1980- .
Wood Branches, Diversity n. 17, 2012.
Steel armature, oak, willow branches. 86.5" x 118 x 91.
On site installation by the artist.
Porcupine Cabinet by Sebastian Errazuriz
Errazuriz’s objects demonstrate his belief that design can be a powerful way to impact our lives, through the dynamic interaction that his work demands. As Porcupine Cabinet opens, it transforms from an elegant minimalist sculpture to an energetic anthropomorphic character. It is a cabinet — but also much more. The cabinet is included in the exhibition Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art, Craft, and Design at Mint Museum Uptown from 1 September 2012 through 27 January 2013. With the acquisition of Porcupine Cabinet, the Mint would be the first American art museum to have a work by Sebastian Errazuriz in its collection.
Sebastian Errazuriz, Chilean, 1977- .
Porcupine Cabinet, 2011.
Lacquered wood, steel and glass. 20" x 26.75 x 63.
On loan from Cristina Grajales Gallery, New York.
Dora's Dance by Beverly McIver
Attaining national recognition for her autobiographical paintings, native North Carolinian Beverly McIver consistently examines racial, gender, and social identities through the lens of her own experiences as an African American female artist. McIver is renowned for her expression-filled, emotive portraits that commemorate her life and the lives of those closest to her — in particular, her mother, Ethel, who passed away in 2004, and her sister, Renee, who is mentally disabled. Her solo exhibition, Reflections: Portraits by Beverly McIver, is on view at the Mint 20 October 2012 – 6 January 2013. “All of my portraits are self-portraits,” says the artist. “I use the faces of others who reflect my most inner being.” Among the portraits included in this exhibition is McIver’s masterful painting, Dora’s Dance, 2002. The addition of Dora’s Dance to the Mint’s Modern and Contemporary Collection would enable the Museum to increase its holdings of contemporary portraiture, as well as bolster its representation of nationally-recognized artists residing within our state.
Beverly McIver, American, 1962- .
Dora's Dance, 2002.
Oil on canvas, 152.5" x 122.
On loan from Craven Art Gallery, Chapel Hill, NC.
The Birth of Venus, after Botticelli (Pictures of Junk) by Vik Muniz
Vik Muniz's conceptual photographs are exhibited internationally and he is represented in major museum collections throughout the world. His recreations of famous paintings are notable for their uncanny attention to detail and the non-traditional nature of the media he chooses. For the Pictures of Junk series, Muniz painstakingly gathers discarded objects such as tires, bolts, coils of wire, broken appliances, and soda cans, arranging them on a warehouse floor in piles and layers to create representations of iconic paintings by historical artists. Once the process is complete, Muniz photographs the massive creation from a balcony above before the construction is disassembled. The Birth of Venus, after Botticelli (Pictures of Junk), 2008, is included in The Mint Museum’s VantagePoint X: Vik Muniz exhibition, on view 25 August 2012 – 24 February 2013. This monumental triptych photograph, exemplifies Muniz’s style and methodology and would be a significant addition to the museum's Modern and Contemporary art collection.
Vik Muniz, Brazilian, 1961- .
The Birth of Venus, after Botticelli (Pictures of Junk), 2008.
Digital chromogenic print. 3 parts: 92" x 153.25 overall.
On loan from Sikkema Jenkins Gallery, New York City.
Presented by: Founders’ Circle Ltd., Mint Museum Auxiliary, Young Affiliates of the Mint, and The Mint Museum.
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Created by Nicole Jacobson, Volunteer for The Mint Museum Library
