For
Immediate Release
June 22, 2008
Multisensory
Pet-o-Mat charms visitors to the Auraria campus
Colorado
artist Christine Marie Davis has installed her Pet-o-Mat in the lobby of the Auraria
Library in downtown Denver. The interactive, touchable art exhibit is contained
within a former food vending machine. Forty-nine pets, created from found objects
and materials that are both visually and tactually appealing, live in small sandwich
compartments that have been remodeled into pet condos with colorful faux fur beds.
A
recent visitor commented that she had been walking around in a black hole until
the Pet-o-Mat made her smile. Others came seeking food, and found art instead.
The
project is the invention of Colorado artist Christine Marie Davis who moved from
Denver to the Salida area three years ago. She has created tactile art for many
years, but this is the first time the work is displayed outside typical art venues.
The
Pet-o-Mat was fully funded by the Black Rock Arts Foundation based in San Francisco.
They provide individual grants for community-based interactive art projects. BRAF
funded projects generate social participation and connect people to a larger communal
context. She is the first Colorado artist to receive a BRAF grant.
The
exhibit is placed just inside the entrance of the Auraria Library. "I wanted
people coming in and do a double take," she said, "not expecting something
like this in the library. I wanted the piece to be installed in an unexpected
place and be experienced in an unexpected way."
The
pets are on view through the clear Plexiglas windows of each compartment. Viewers
can push a button for a rotating visual tour. More adventurous visitors can slide
open a door to touch the creatures.
"This
exhibit engages both sight and touch," she said. The Pet-o-Mat is currently
free and open to the public but none of the pets are up for adoption at this time.
Students, faculty, staff and visitors are invited to stop by and visit the critters.
"They love the attention and they promise to make you smile."
Her
work has been shown all over the United States and Canada. She was recently an
Associate of the Rocky Mountain Women's Institute in Denver, a participant in
the Contemporary Art Forum in Ontario, Canada and is showing this summer at the
Lakewood Cultural Center's annual sculpture show and at Kasia Kay Art Projects
in Chicago.
The
project website is: www.pet-o-mat.com.
Exhibit Details:
Where: Auraria Library lobby
Address:
1100 Lawrence St. Denver (on the Auraria Campus)
When: Through Aug.
19, 2008
Hours: Monday - Thursday 7:30 am - 9:00 pm
Friday 7:30 am
- 5:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm - Closed Sunday
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