Cecelia Condit: Within a Stone’s Throw at Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
As a manufacturer we get many requests out of the ordinary. We try and do as many as possible and when we see exhibition shots like this it makes it all worthwhile.
The preparator at MMOCA called to ask if we could make a frame that was 59 1/8" x 167 3/4" long and they needed it within a week. The logistics of the request was challenging. We first had to find out the lumber availability. When we had first started talking about this project the wood selection was ash. It was not available in that size so we substituted oak. We then had to order the lumber, mill the profile, join and finish the frame.
In addition we had to make a strainer to add support to the back of the frame as well as make a crate and ship it over night. Naturally, we like to have more time on projects like this. frame and strainer
But circumstances do not always allow us that luxury. I asked MMOCA if they would send us an installation shot. I wanted to make sure that everyone at Metropolitan got to see the fruits of all their hard work and we could find out more about the exhibition. I think you will agree it was worth the extra effort. The exhibition is composed of Condit's recent videos and large-scale photographs. The following is an excerpt from MMOCA's website.
"Central to the installation is a three-channel video projection, titled Within a Stone’s Throw, which explores the rich landscape of Ireland’s Burren coastline. In 2010, Condit received a grant from the Lighton International Artists Exchange Program that allowed her to spend five weeks at the Burren College of Art in northwest County Clare, Ireland. Once dominated by dense oak forests, the Burren region—from the Gaelic boíreann, meaning rocky place—shows the effects of continuous settlement dating back to the Neolithic period. Ancient farmers cleared trees to make way for cattle and sheep farming, and livestock grazing eroded the thin layer of extant topsoil, effectively preventing the growth of future forests.
Although Condit is best known as a video artist, this exhibition signals her new immersion into the world of still imagery. A series of seven photographs complements Within a Stone’s Throw, each image a complex, digitally constructed composite of Lake Michigan and its environs. These works showcase the sublime beauty of the natural world, at once threatening and delicate, while addressing both the fragility and the timelessness of our planet."
"Cecelia Condit: Within a Stone’s Throw"
May 26 – September 23, 2012
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
Madison Wisconsin