NACHI - between the eternal and the ephemeral -

 

Installation view, NACHI - between the eternal and the ephemeral -

UW Art Museum

Etsuko Ichikawa

UW Art Museum

The installation is nearly complete and the gallery is transformed into a special place of quiet contemplation.  Only the final fine-tuning remains.  Etusko has created an extraordinary work for the University of Wyoming and the Art Museum, for which we are most grateful and offer our congratulations.  The installation has been challenging and complicated, not only in its physical challenges but also by a schedule that involved so many students both in their classrooms and in the museum's galleries. 

NACHI - between the eternal and the ephemeral - opens tonight from 6 - 8 pm.  The exhibition continues through August 6, 2011.

Don't miss the opportunity to meet Etsuko and join her for an informal walk through the exhibition today at 4:30 pm.

This project has been made possible with the support of an anonymous donor, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Advisory Board of the UW Art Museum Endowment, the National Advisory Board of the UW Art Museum, Wyoming Public Radio, and the Wyoming Arts Council through the Wyoming State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts which believes a great nation deserves great art.

Drawing Students Assist Etsuko Ichikawa's Installation of NACHI

It has been a busy week in the Art Museum as the installation of NACHI - between the eternal and the ephemeral - continues.  Yesterday, drawing students from Prof. Shelby Shadwell's classes spent several hours helping to unfurl, untangle, and isolate each strand of the 11 miles of twine that comprise a large portion of the exhibition.  Prof. Margaret Wilson and dance students also visited the installation to finalize plans for improvisational dances during the opening reception this evening.

NACHI Installation Progresses

Installation view

Courtesy UW Art Museum

The installation of NACHI - between the eternal and the ephemeral - continues.  The suspended structures are complete and preparations to unfurl the hanging twine and hang six 14-ft tall pygrographs begin tomorrow.

Installation and Class Visits with Etsuko Ichikawa

Artist Etsuko Ichikawa (3rd from left) takes a break from installation to meet
with a UW dance class, who created improvisational dances inspired by her work.

Courtesy of the UW Art Museum.

Work continued today on the installation, NACHI - between the eternal and the ephemeral - by Etsuko Ichikawa. The large, ceiling mounted spiral of suspended cotton threads is almost complete. Video projection and pyrographs - drawings created by molten glass on paper - have yet to be installed.

Ichikawa met with UW classes today, including a drawing class and several dance classes. Dancers in the class met with her and learned about the inspiration behind her work. They then created improvisational dances in the gallery (pictured above) under the guidance of instructor Margaret Wilson.

Installation will continue throughout the week, and an opening reception will be held on Friday evening, 6-8 pm. UW Department of Dance students will be in attendance and will be performing some of their improvisational dance pieces. The reception is free and open to the public.

Please call the Art Museum at 307.766.6622 for more information.

NACHI Installation is Underway

Installation view. 

Courtesy UW Art Museum.

The installation of Etusko Ichikawa's exhibition, NACHI - between the eternal and the ephemeral -, is underway.  Primarily suspended from the ceiling, the structural support system is in place and the spiral spine from which a "waterfall" of ropes will be draped, is being attached. 

Interview with Scott Tilden about the UW Art Museum Now on YouTube

A video interview with Scott Tilden, editor of Architecture for Art: American Art Museums 1938-2008 is available on the Art Museum's YouTube page. To view it, click here!

The Installation of Etsuko Ichikawa's NACHI Begins

Etsuko Ichikawa lays out the template for the installation of 

NACHI - between the eternal and the ephemeral - in the Art Museum's galleries.

Photo courtesy of the UW Art Museum

Last week, Etsuko Ichikawa arrived in Laramie from Seattle to spend two weeks working with drawing and dance students in the Art Department and Theater and Dance Department and to install a major new work that she has created for the University of Wyoming.  For the next week, she will be in the museum installing NACHI - between the eternal and the ephemeral -, a massive work that is comprised of 6 14-ft tall pyrographs (drawings created with molten glass), 11 miles of suspended twine, and video and audio components.  The work was inspired by the Japanese waterfall, Nachi, after Ichikawa's visit there a few years ago.

Ichikawa's residency and exhibition has been funded in part by an anonymous donor, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Advisory Board of the UW Art Museum Endowment, the National Advisory Board of the UW Art Museum, Wyoming Public Radio, and the Wyoming Arts Council through the Wyoming State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The exhibition opens on Friday, Feb. 25 at 6 pm.  An improvisational dance will be performed by UW dance students.