Mattress Factory | Art You Can Get Into: DETROIT

Showing posts with label DETROIT. Show all posts

Friday, March 7, 2014

ARTLab: Board the Solar Express!

ARTLab: A Sun-Filled Afternoon

To start the month off right, ARTLab introduced MF visitors to part 1 of 4 of the Photovoltaic Solar Energy and Art Series (PV-SEAS). ARTLab head educator, Derek Reese, and Indigo Raffel (visiting from Conservation Consultant Inc.), teamed up to combine art and sustainability by providing us with an afternoon of solar energy education, interactive games, and a giant mural inspired by the sun. Participants learned about the importance of renewable energy and just how practical and easy it can be to take small, yet impactful steps in lowering our carbon imprint.

Join ARTLab on March 15th for the second installment of PV-SEAS as we venture outside of the museum on our first field trip! A bus will be provided to transport participants from the museum to the CCI Center where we will meet Indigo Raffel again to learn more about green buildings, resource conversation, and the environmental health damage caused by traditional power plants.

Participants will be able to help invest in the future through energy efficiency and renewable resources as well as have the chance to visit all Mattress Factory exhibits before and after ARTLab, including Design 99's installation, Following the Sun 2, which uses photovoltaic panels and wind turbines to create an open environment for reflection and contemplation of visitors' surroundings through contemporary art and architectural practice.

Design 99's wind turbines on the roof of the Mattress Factory

Be sure to pre-order a ticket for this exciting journey by e-mailing Felice, the Director of Education, at felice[at]mattress.org or call 412.231.3169. Busses will leave the Mattress Factory at 1:00pm and return by 4:00pm (children need to be accompanied by adults). Please arrive on time and be prepared to learn more about sustainability! Tickets will be $15 for adults, $10 for members, students and seniors. Hope to see you there!

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Two Nights with Artist Jessica Frelinghuysen

Mark your calendars for this month, Detroit artist, Jessica Frelinghuysen, will be joining the Mattress Factory for two events that explore the use of language and community through story collecting, literary readings, and music!

Two of Frelinghuysen's pieces are currently featured in the Detroit: Artists in Residence exhibition. "My City is Your City" and "Sound-Collecting Suit and Backpack" are on-going investigations that document audio from four years of living in Hamtramck, MI, located two miles north of Detroit. Frelinghuysen's sound-collecting suit allows her to acclimate to the sounds and voices of a foreign city and collect shared experiences of those who live there.

Join us on March 14th for the "Let Me Tell You" Pub Crawl ($5, but you must RSVP[at]matterss.org because space is limited) starting at 8pm at the Mattress Factory. You are invited to join Frelinghuysen and writer, Steve Hughes, and then explore the North Side, collecting new stories and conversations by drawing and writing on your bar napkins as you go. These napkins will then come part of a one-night-only collaborative installation that will be installed in the Mattress Factory lobby during the Good Tyme Writer's Buffet the following evening.

Jessica Frelinghuysen, My City is Your City, 2013

If you aren't able to go out for drinks on Friday, then come in for delicious food on Saturday! On March 15th, the Mattress Factory will be hosting Good Tyme Writer's Buffet a neighborhood potluck where six writers (Sherrie Flick, Steve Hughes, Joy Katz, Lori Jakiela, Daniel McCloskey, and Dave Newman) will read their works on neighborhoods and community while visitors celebrate with music, food, and good company. If you haven't seen Frelinghuysen's work, come at 6:30pm to check it out. The potluck will be at 7pm and the readings at 7:30pm. Admission is $10 ($5 for MF members) or FREE for those who wish to bring a dish to share.

To reserve a spot for either, or both, of these wonderful events, please respond to RSVP[at]matterss.org or call 412.231.3169.

Jessica Frelinghuysen, Sound-Collecting Suit, 2013

For more information about Jessica's work, check out her awesome review in February's ArtForum!

Friday, February 21, 2014

ARTLab: SERIES!

As usual, the Mattress Factory’s first Saturday of the month was a huge success with ARTLab! This week’s installment was “Puppet Party,” where educator, Derek Reese, and MF visitors explored the many intricacies of puppet making through a wide range of styles and sophisticated designs. While some devoted their time to elaborate sock and shadow puppets, others focused on creating marionettes. Two participants in particular collaborated together to create an almost life-sized marionette of a mermaid, complete with sequined scales. This imaginative creature was then paraded throughout the museum in full performance.

Be sure to join us next time on March 1^st as part one of four Photovoltaic Solar Energy and Art Series (PV-SEAS) installments. Educator, Indigo Raffel, will be joining us from the Conservation Consultants Inc. to increase awareness of solar energy and its benefits on our environment. Hands on solar games, educational projections, and a mural inspired by Design 99’s Following the Sun 2, will make up the three stations available for the next ARTLab.

ARTLab is a great opportunity for people of all ages to come together and create art through laboratory style activities that promote and encourage visitors to use different materials and discover the benefit of problem solving with their hands. We hope to see you every first and third Saturday of the month to investigate new and exciting methods of art making!

PV-SEAS ARTLabs:

March 1st, 1-4pm, Mattress Factory Lobby - ARTLab: A Sun-Filled Afternoon
March 15th, 1-4pm, Conservation Consultants Inc. Center - ARTLab: Board the Solar Express

This ARTLab will be held off-site at the Conservation Consultants Inc. Center at 64 S. 14th St. Pittsburgh, 15203. A bus will transport ARTLab participants from the Mattress Factory to the CCI promptly at 1pm. Reservations are required. E-mail felice[at]mattress.org to reserve your spot.

April 5th, 1-4pm, Mattress Factory Lobby - ARTLab: Solar Panel Jamboree
May 3rd, 1-4pm, Mattress Factory Lobby - ARTLab: Searching for the Sun

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Best of 2013 Mattress Factory Instagrams!

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE MATTRESS FACTORY!

In honor of the new year, the Mattress Factory has been perusing its Instagram tags (to bolster our ego, of course) and decided to showcase the best #mattressfactory Instagrams from 2013. So from the MF to you, avid Instagrammers, THANK YOU for posting such beautiful pictures of our museum and the amazing installations we have the privilege of exhibiting. Enjoy!

THE MUSEUM: