Thunder-Sky, Inc. will transform into a crime scene — six miniature ones, to be exact.
The exhibition Murder in a Small Town is inspired by the life and work of Frances Glessner Lee, the first female police captain in the United States, who made a series of 20 dioramas known as Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, the first of which she began constructing in 1943.
Each miniaturized model — they were done on a one-inch to one-foot scale — represented an actual crime scene. Incredibly intricate, Glessner Lee’s accuracy extended to even the most minute of details, like a hanging wall calendar, windows that could open and figurines clothed in worn fabric, all hand-sewn. Light switches could be flipped on and off; cabinets opened; shelves were lined.
Other, more obvious nuances, were done to a tee, like the angle of where bullet holes struck, blood splattered and where discoloration bloomed on the hand-painted corpses. Known as the “mother of forensic science,” much of her work is still used in training today.
In her own words, these dioramas were crafted to train investigators “to convinct the guilty, clear the innocent and find truth in a nutshell.”
Now, six artists — John Auer, Emily Brandehoff, Megan Christ, Sarah Lalley, Christian Schmit and Evan Verrilli — have been put to the task of recreating their own dioramas that render a crime scene or allude to one.
According to a release, each artist in the exhibit — which opens at Thunder-Sky on April 6 — has their own take on the true crime spin, using various media and innovations to bring their work to fruition.
If you need a pick-me-up after touring the grisly dollhouse-esque crime scenes, the gallery is sponsoring a live script reading of The Golden Girls just down the street at The Comet. Thank you for being a friend — unless you murder me, I guess.
Murder in a Small Town opens April 6 and will be on display through June 1 at Thunder-Sky Gallery, Inc, 4573 Hamilton Ave., Northside. For more info, visit their Facebook page here.
