Show Statement:
In the search for meaning, art can offer more questions than answers.
For example, the prevailing theory in Western culture is that written language and art —visual images, specifically — share common ancestry. Humans painted onto or carved into surfaces to convey something, the exact meaning of which is not fully known other than the universal urge to create images (and objects) since the dawn of human history. At some point, written language and art diverged enough to become their own units of study, although some artists work more overtly with language.
“In The Mean Time” looks at eight local and regional artists’ take on language, from narrative works inspired by literature and current events to explorations of how culture and language intersect.
The exhibition title can be read multiple ways, inviting viewers to discover for themselves what it — and the artwork exhibited — means to them.