Housed on the Contemporary Arts Center’s second floor gallery, Archive as Action meets three Cincinnati-based artists — Amanda Curreri, Lindsey Whittle and Calcagno Cullen —  at their intersection.

Each artists’ space is distinct in style yet feels harmonious when seen as a whole. It asks the trio to peer into their own art histories and re-contextualize their work; the work featured is continuously evolving, being added to and reaches beyond the white cube.

And part of that evolution is in the community’s hands. Throughout the exhibit’s run (it closes June 16), participative and open events are slated. From noon-5 p.m. on Thursdays, bring your laptop and grab coffee from the lobby: Coworking with Cal will connect you with Cullen, who has transformed her space into an unconventional office. You can also add to her growing collection of information via one of her interactive displays, like by writing a letter to New York or leaving a voicemail detailing whatever moment you wish to share.

In a similar vein, a colorful display of funky shapes — which Whittle says was her biggest challenge to date — asks you to play around with their arrangement. Take them off the wall, figure out how to wear them, make your own. It’s up to you. You can send your results to Whittle via social media.

From noon-4 p.m. on weekdays,  you may hear the hum of a sewing machine — that’d be Curreri’s “RopeWalk” crew. On the back wall hang braided strands of rope made from recycled material. You can add to that growing collection, which will convene as a performance art event and part of the This Time Tomorrow festival in April. Participants will come together to create multi-colored ropes that will span the Purple People Bridge, a site that’s connected to the history of slavery and acts as a dividing line between the North and South; the walk is meant to represent public healing.

Events and performances will run through the exhibit; check contemporaryartscenter.org for more info.

 

Lindsey Whittle’s “Hook and Loop Work (in a Mylar Room)”
“Atrium of Window Clings” is a celebration of the other two artists’ in the exhibit, Amanda Curreri and Calcagno Cullen; two of the fabric prints in the colorful display stem from images Whittle made of Curreri’s work, the other is from Cullen’s.
Since 2004, Whittle has used her body to bring art into her daily life. She has made clothes (and wears them) from unusual fabrics, like paper, Tyvek and Neoprene, as shown here.
A close-up
Whittle used The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County’s laser cutter (at their Maker Space) to create this colorful “Interlocking Acrylic.”
“RopeWalk” is an ongoing art project in which visitors can participate. On weekdays from noon-4 p.m., a crew made up of University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning students and alumni will be creating long, braided and colorful strands of rope.
Amanda Curreri and two members of the “RopeWalk” crew, Mahnaz Amin Foroughi (right) and Kate Gibson. Visit them from noon-4 p.m. on weekdays to make your own contribution.
A detail shot of some of the strands made for “RopeWalk”
Above the “RopeWalk” work tables is a piece titled “Lullabies are for Children,” which is made up of colorful bobbins on sumi ink-stained shelves. It’s meant to parallel Audre Lorde’s poem “The Same Death Over and Over or Lullabies for Children,” in her 1978 book The Black Unicorn.
“Over and Over” is made with used jeans, thread, coins and rope
“Over and Over,” is made with used jeans, thread, coins and rope
Gibson sewing it up at “RopeWalk”
A closer view of “Hook and Loop Work (in a Mylar Room)”
In the piece’s description, Whittle calls “Welded Shape” her biggest art risk to date. The shape is made up of 12 smaller shapes. The cool thing? Guests are welcome to take this apart, figure out how to wear it and compose their own shape.
On Thursdays, visitors can drop by “Coworking with Cal” from noon-5 p.m. Bring your laptop. Grab a cup of coffee. Connect.
Cal Cullen’s niche of the exhibition space
A typewriter on the work table’s desk
Close up of colorful window reflections at the entrance of the CAC
It’s for you! Cullen’s wall-mounted “Telephone Heart Audio” invites guests to pick up the receiver and hear out the voice on the other end
All nine phones tell a different story — from the mundane to the dramatic
“So Where Do We Go? Dreams That Are Unlikely But Possible.”
You can stand and peer up or plop down on one of the two bean bag chairs on site to see these photos, which are aptly titled “Ceiling Images.” One is placed on a lightbox and the other is by the elevator; both were taken by Grace DuVal, whom Whittle works with often.
“Hook and Loop Work (in a Mylar Room)”
Through this “Active Archive,” collected responses throughout the exhibit’s run will be stored in three steel master card file cabinets; the recordings will be stored via a cassette tape from a voicemail recorder.
One of the filing cabinets
Cullen’s work splays out along the walls in “Office of Working for the Visibility of Organization”
A doodle of Mr. Peanut made with adhesive vinyl
More sketches on the wall