Over the last year, 11 artists have created and destroyed artwork in a monthly series begun and hosted by artist Shaun Kardinal called Turn. Starting with a group of spherical sculptures made by Kardinal, each iteration of Turn has tasked a local artist with creating a new work using the previous iteration as material, and the results have been wildly different.
Kardinal stipulates that, “Changes to the piece may be made to any degree, so long as some physical or aesthetic part of what’s received remains.” Some have really tested the limits of that as they obliterate the previous work: Jeffry Mitchell ingested a small piece of Emily Pothast‘s work before incinerating the remainder with the clay he used to make a small ceramic sculpture of Joe Bar, where the monthly unveiling has been held each time. Max Kraushaar pulverized Mitchell’s sculpture and incorporated the dust into a salt lick for deer, which was rather diminished by the time it passed to Kimberly Trowbridge, who dissolved the salt in water and incorporated its pedestal into a sculpture that was displayed along with video and a live performance by Trowbridge.
At this point, it’s safe to say that nothing remains of the original sculptures, but Kardinal still refers to Turn as single work manifesting through different artist’s visions. The last two iterations by Joe Rudko and Klara Glosova became a sort of archive for the whole series, however. Rudko used torn photograph collage technique to cover a box with photos of the previous nine iterations. Glosova then created an ensemble of clothes and accessories where each of the previous ten pieces was featured on its own garment. Kardinal’s original sculptures adorned the underwear; Rudko’s work was pictured on a tote which contained all the items at the end of the night and was given to the final artist.
It’s been a fascinating experiment, featuring some of the city’s most notable and prolific artists. It will be interesting to see if we can determine who the final artist will be based on style alone, even if the identity is never officially revealed. Check out the Facebook event page for more info. You can see all the works and learn about the artists on the Turn website.
Take Turn – The Finale (2015/16) hosted by Shaun Kardinal
When: Tuesday, June 28, 6:30-9:30pm
Where: Joe Bar (810 E Roy St)
