April Kingsley sought to gather 20 Michigan artists with national and international reputations for the Kresge Art Museum’s new show, “Michigan Masters Invitational.” But submissions were so exciting she expanded it to 30.
There are many more artists of renown in the state, she emphasizes, but space limited the number of pieces on display through July 31.
Three artists are from the Capital region: sculptor Mark Chatterley; Norbert Freese who literally draws on works by old masters, producing “things that are just not right,” Kingsley says; and Bruce Thayer, who uses mixed media to show his lifetime of General Motors experience in works that are borderline caricatures.
Kingsley, the show’s curator, should have an eye for national caliber. She came to Michigan State University’s (MSU) Kresge Art Museum from New York City in 1999 to take the curator’s job here. She’s glad she did.
“It’s much more peaceful here,” she says, noting it takes eight minutes to drive to work.
When visitors move through the exhibit, cell phones will be doing the work that docents have done, describing the artists’ materials, their significance, and details of the artists’ lives.
Visitors will receive a brochure showing them which of the pieces have accompanying recordings, accessed by dialing a local number on their own mobile phone. Cell phone icons on various items also provide a kind of map.
The service is offered by Guide By Cell, a four-year-old California company that has just signed up its 500th customer: The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D. C.
The East Lansing museum has used the Guide By Cell service once before and it was deemed very popular, Kingsley says.
An appealing feature of the service is its analysis. Many callers weren’t even in the Kresge museum when it used the system for its 50th anniversary show last winter. The Guide by Cell system recorded 445 calls from people in 23 states. The most listened to stops were for contemporary art. The phone tour was also available from the museum’s website.
Kingsley came to the Kresge before Eli and Edythe Broad committed to build a new museum on the college campus replacing the Kresge. Her arty New York friends are envious.
Source: April Kingsley, Kresge Art Museum
Gretchen Cochran, Innovation & Jobs editor, may be reached here.
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