Denise and Lisa: On the Point of Crystal Time

‘…the crystal is never pure and perfect; it has a failing, a point of flight, a ‘flaw’. It is always cracked. And this is what depth of field reveals; there is not simply a rolling up of a round in the crystal; something is going to slip away in the background, in depth, through the third side or third dimension, through the crack…Everything is mirror-images, distributed in depth.”

-Gilles Deleuze, The Time Image

Denise Burge and Lisa Siders began working corraboratively in 2006 after Burge was awarded a grant from the University of Cincinnati to produce a series of short music videos, collaborating on each video with a female friend. Driveway, the video created by Burge and Siders, was constructed using a series of still frames set to music composed by the artists. The process of constructing quilts, a background shared by both artists, visually influenced the resulting video and inspired the artists to continue collaborating.

The work presented in On the Point of Crystal Time is part of a larger project created over the past year by Burge and Siders titled Maidens of the Cosmic Body Running. The maiden is one of many reoccurring characters throughout the work, characters that are (or attempting to reach) a sort of primal and blissful state of being that evokes a sense of drama and mythology. The dark shrouded character, seen in the photo collage and video monitor installation is another character, as is the woman dressed in puritan-style costume. The forest is the fourth character, represented both visually (through imagery) and literally under a salt-covered table.

The exhibition can be read as an exploration of extremes, whether in materials (soft stretches of fabric hung on the wall juxtaposed with technical videos), sensory stimuli (a woman in antebellum costume set against a loop of Donna Summer’s song “I Feel Love”) or visual themes (the dark wall collage running down the outside wall contrasted with the soft white lighted line in the hallway). These mirroring of extremes and remixing of imagery, characters and ideas, continue through each element in the exhibition. They are sometimes represented literally and other times implied symbolically.

Special Events:
From August 8 – August 22 Denise Burge will be an artist in residence in the museum.
Opening Reception: Friday, August 22, 6-8pm

Free public lecture and workshops:
FOR ADULTS:
Monday, August 11, 2pm: Denise Burge will give a talk on the history of fabric and costuming, particularly how clothing has been reinterpreted and refashioned. Free and open to the public, no pre-registration required.

Tuesday, August 12, 2pm:
Come back and bring your own clothing and learn techniques for making old new again! Denise will lead the workshop and give examples of simple ways to breathe new life into old clothing. Please bring your own clothing and basic supplies (scissors, needle, thread, etc.). Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Call 227-1481 for more information or to register.

ONE DAY WORKSHOP FOR KIDS:
Tuesday, August 12, 2pm: As part of the City of Marquette’s Pirate Festival, museum docents will lead a workshop for kids age 6-12 in making a pirate-related project. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Call 227-1481 for more information or to register. Norther Michigan University