The latest acquisition for Arts on the Point are two pots and three kettles which have found a new home just outside the Quinn cafeteria. "Black," as the pieces are collectively called, are the creation of artist Dennis Oppenheim. They arrived in December, the result of a serendipitous telephone conversation between Prof. Paul Tucker and the artist.
"It was very fortuitious - - we've been trying very hard to install
another Oppenheim work, 'Searchburst,' a 25-foot long, hanging
sculpture, but have yet to come up with a solution that will neither
harm the piece or the (Healey) library," Tucker said. "During the
conversation, Oppenheim said to me, 'Black' is back.'"
It turns out that "Black" was being transported by truck back to
Oppenheim in New York City from the Yale University Art Gallery,
where it had been on display. Tucker managed a speedy arrangement
with campus officials to have the truck rerouted so that "Black"
could go on display here, where is is sure to provoke the kind of
discussion that Tucker hopes all the Arts on the Point sculptures
will prompt.
The reason: there is an audio component to the work which has yet to
be connected. Each piece has a speaker inside it, which makes a
boiling sound followed by the word "black" at intervals. So as a
viewer can see from the way the pieces are arranged, the pots are
indeed calling the kettles black.
Tucker has this to say about what this work suggests to him: "While
initially charming and amusing - - like a renegade from Alice in
Wonderland - - there is an underlying, edgy message about many
things, including hypocrisy and absurd statements," he notes, adding
that in this year of political bombshells, the message of "Black"
resonates with events taking place in the nation's capitol. "This
work is really about arrogance, humility, and ambiguity, among other
things," Tucker adds.