Marko M瓣etamm, Self-Portrait in the Cage, 2015, cast plastic figure, hair, clothes, and birdcage; 33 1/8 x 17 1/2 x 27 3/8 in. (84.1 x 44.5 x 69.5 cm). Image courtesy of Marko M瓣etamm and Temnikova & Kasela Gallery.
Estonian multimedia artist Marko M瓣etamm tells stories, both personal and global, in the exhibition I Want to Tell You Something, opening this Thursday at the .
The exhibition features paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, and video installations through which M瓣etamm communicates with viewers about his life, his problems, and the world around him.
For me, making art is always about saying something, or at least provoking communication or dialogue, said M瓣etamm, who is the 2016 Christian A. Johnson artist-in-residence. If I dont have anything to say, then I dont see why I should paint, or why I should do anything.
Many of the works in the exhibition are intended to provoke conversation about everyday life and cultural issues. The installation titled Bookshelf appears to be a room covered with books, but inside is the video Just Checking if Theres Something New, which shows a man continuously checking his smartphone.
I dont know if its good or bad, said M瓣etamm, reflecting on social media and texting as new forms of communication, but its different now, and its exciting, and that is what interests me: observing it.
In preparation for the exhibition, Katie Jean Colman 18 assisted the Picker Art Gallery staff as a summer intern. She wrote an essay for the exhibition catalogue, organized a student event, and started a project with Estonian fashion designer Reet Aus that will provide sustainably sourced T-shirts to complement M瓣etamms exhibition.
There is so much that goes into planning and executing an exhibition that I had never thought of until this summer, said Colman, who is an major. I did all sorts of work during my internship, from curation to collections management. Each day presented something new.
Colman and other student interns will give remarks and lead mini-tours at the exhibitions opening reception Thursday at 5 p.m.
Internships at the Picker Art Gallery satisfy the internship requirement of the museum studies minor, a new interdisciplinary program that focuses on cultural property, public history, and museum theory.
In addition to the exhibition at the Picker, a complementary exhibition of M瓣etamms video art, called Something Moving, is on display at the until October 2.
M瓣etamm is also teaching an advanced studio art course, presenting a lecture, and completing a project with the during his four-month residency at 51勛圖厙.