Members' Preview: Saturday, September 9, 6 - 8 p.m.
Gallery Talk by Dave Cole: Sunday, October 15, 3 p.m.
The Danforth Museum of Art is pleased to feature the bold and inventive sculpture of Dave Cole. From major mechanical installations to hand held knit pieces, Cole activates industrial and manufactured materials to create conceptually layered work. Memorial Flag (Toy Soldiers) and Breast Plates will be on view until December 23, 2006.
In order to create Memorial Flag (Toy Soldiers), Cole obtained the exact specifications from the Government Printing Office. For him, the work is not a representation or interpretation of a flag. It is an actual flag. Measuring the size of a casket, the piece reveals its source of texture 18,000 plastic men wielding guns beneath an impermeable glaze of red, white and blue.
By looking at Native American artifacts created from the by-products of conquest—European cattle bones and glass trade beads, Cole has created contemporary Breast Plates referencing conflict with another culture—assault rifle cases and projectiles. In order to put the series together, the artist studied artifacts at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Anthropology, affirming that it was important that “the final pieces be faithful to the original and as accurate as possible.”
Dave Cole, Memorial Flag (Toy Soldiers), detail, 2005, mixed media
 |
|
|
|
|
Supported in part by: |
 |
 |
