Winter 2012 Exhibitions
Nathan Skiles: The Clockmaker's Apprentice
January 22, 2012-March 25, 2012
Nathan Skiles: The Clockmaker's Apprentice
Golem #1, foam rubber, 2011. Courtesy of the artist
Golem #14, foam rubber, 2011. Courtesy of the artist
Nathan Skiles combines recognizable iconography, such as woodworking and drafting tools, with cuckoo clocks and birdhouses to directly influence our traditional perceptions. With his innovative use of foam rubber as the only material in his works, Skiles tricks the eye and confuses our sense of immediate recognition, further challenging the viewer to look beyond the obvious and discover the detailed and meticulous process to which he is attached.
For his exhibition at the Museum, Skiles has installed 100 never-before-seen pieces throughout the first floor. He embraces the unique architecture of the first floor gallery, painstakingly creating an experience in which viewers can participate. Some of the pieces are tucked away in hard-to-find places. Others are grouped together in families created in the method of Frankenstein -- three clocks, each divided into three sections, and each section combined with sections of the two others to create a completely new object.
The Clockmaker's Apprentice is an effort in duality. Entering the gallery, it's hard to decide if you have walked into a clockmaker's workshop that has been taken over by a crazed scientist, or a historical tribal mask exhibition.
The exhibition is the culmination of a partnership of abnormal architectural elements with the creative construction of Dr. Frankenstein. These beautifully grotesque amalgamations involve themselves in a narrative that focuses on the strange and often stressful relationship between a creator and his work.
It's hard to resist reaching up to touch the clocks, testing the artist's statement that the sole material used is foam rubber. To satisfy that curiosity, we've placed a box filled with sample pieces just outside the entrance the gallery. Feel free to take a sample, look for others like it throughout the exhibition, and take the sample home with your memories of the visit.
