May 5, 2023
MCLA Arts & Culture will host multidisciplinary, Oakland-based artist Catherine Monahan at Gallery 51 tonight, from 5 to 7 p.m. during the North Adams FIRST Fridays event for an artist talk and mini installation titled “Conversations with the Material World.”
Monahon, who operates the clay classroom Waveform Ceramics in Oakland, is currently using their time in residence at The Walkaway House to strengthen their trauma-aware, healing-centered arts curriculum.
Through “Conversations with the Material World,” they invite visitors to engage with an interactive audio installation that celebrates our connection to our own creative impulses. This sensual, playful, interactive installation features sculptures made of glass, wood, fiber, and clay. The work is made to be touched, and designed by a collective of queer and/or non-binary artists. Each object is accompanied by a soundscape inspired by the material, maker, and process.
The installation prioritizes engagement, play, and introspection. Access to material knowledge and feeling safe to touch and explore the material world is a human right; this right isn’t always equally accessible to all. So much opportunity for connection is embedded in something as simple and commonplace as soft fabric or polished wood – reminders of the material world and opportunities to be intimate with materials are ever-present. The soundscapes explore themes of intimacy, family, grief, home, tradition, and identity. Guests are encouraged to use headphones, press play, and interact with the art.
“Conversations with the Material World” first premiered at the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden as a part of Sound Scene Fest in June of 2022, with its West Coast debut last fall at Yerba Buena Night. Contributing artists include Philly-based sound designer Lizzy de Lise, San Francisco-based furniture designer Dominique Tutwiler, Ohio-based fiber artist Selena Loomis and New York-based glassblower Deborah Czeresko. The work was conceived through Material Feels, a monthly art podcast Monahon produces that explores the intimate relationship between people and the materials they fall in love with.
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