WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) and Reynolda House Museum of American Art are co-presenting a launch party and artist talk by sculptor Mark Jenkins Sept. 22. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the auditorium at Reynolda House beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Jenkins is one of seven artists featuring in SECCA’s year-long public art series “Inside Out: Artists in the Community II.”
Jenkins, of Washington, D.C., fashions uncanny, mystifying forms from the humble medium of packing tape. Turning this tape into all manner of sculptural creations – from fire hydrants and parking meters to mischievous babies and fully dressed life-size people – he turns the everyday into the extraordinary as nature and industry collide.
During the lecture, Jenkins will discuss the intriguing cast of characters he has created in and around Winston-Salem, including the mysterious figure inhabiting the grounds of Reynolda House.
Jenkins sees his work less as sculpture and more as ‘questions.’ More specifically, he places objects into the environment with no intention of reclaiming them – allowing these questions or piece of art to “live” in public space without restrictions, labels or expectations. In so doing, the conventional preciousness of the art object is replaced by the more open platform for social experimentation that Jenkins prizes most. Preferring raw public settings to the white walls of the gallery space, he explains: “The streets have the natural amplification that make my work really work.”
Jenkins conducts numerous workshops to show people how his sculpture is created. While in Winston-Salem, Jenkins will hold two workshops sponsored by SECCA for art teachers from the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.
Jenkins has also posted production videos on YouTube and hosts a popular Web site www.tapesculpture.org as an open source “how to” guide. This site includes an always-expanding page where hundreds of people have posted photos of their Jenkins-inspired works – creating a worldwide community of “cast-tape questions.”
This project is supported by a grant from The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.
In-kind support is provided by Sundance Plaza Hotel, Spa and Wellness Center and 3M. We are also grateful to the City of Winston-Salem, The Winston-Salem Transit Authority, Reynolda House, Tanglewood Park, and Krankies for their support and assistance in the presentation of this work.
SECCA is an operating entity of the North Carolina Museum of Art, an agency of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. SECCA is also a funded partner of The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.