Terese Agnew is a Wisconsin artist who, in collaboration with a number of artists, created Writing in Stone, an exhibit designed to foster questions about how we remember those who have gone before us.
The exhibit is currently on display at the Wisconsin Academy of Arts and Sciences in the James Watrous Gallery, located in the Overture Center for the Arts. It's on the third floor of the center, yet somehow the temperature seems to drop 30 degrees when you walk in the room.
It's the monuments. Tombstones that tower over the viewer and appear to be ancient even though they are made of wood, foam, and an amazing use of paint.
In this edition of Radio Chipstone, contributor Gianofer Fields chats with Agnew about what happens to our relationship with an object when there is a shift in perspective, such as the one caused in this exhibit by creating and strategically placing towering tombstones.
"It's the whole idea of making something big enough to assert its importance to us," explains Agnew. "It makes you ask, is this how we remember what's important? How do we remember as a society what really is important?"
Material culture contributor Gianofer Fields curates the Radio Chipstone series. The project is funded by the Chipstone Foundation, a decorative arts foundation whose mission is preserving and interpreting their collection, as well as stimulating research and education in the decorative arts.
