Event

Plugged In, 1978-2009Post an Event »

Mercury 20 Gallery

February 5 - February 28, 2010

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475 25th Street Oakland, CA 94612
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Plugged In, 1978-2009 Housewife, 1984 by Dave Meeker
Dave Meeker has liked making things move using motors and other means since he was very young. As a child he had a particular fascination with robots and in fact dreamed of becoming a robot. He grew up an electrician (by trade) and sculptor (by desire) instead. Meeker's kinetic pieces explore different ways to make objects move. The artist created his first kinetic piece over thirty years ago from scraps of wood, a fan and recycled paper products that his father brought home from his job as an envelope salesman. His current kinetics use air to inflate, deflate and otherwise make move recycled materials. Meeker breathes new life into objects that otherwise would have "died"—destined for a landfill, the burial ground of our culture’s castoffs. His pieces bring new life to these dead objects. The "air fountain" series is inspired by botanical forms and uses common materials such as plastic bags and condoms for their fabrication. Each goes through a cycle of expansion and contraction; they breathe. They are reanimated with the air that surrounds us, unseen and often unnoticed, until that breath is taken away. It takes only a moment to realize you have lost something essential once it is gone. The artist desires to help others see what can’t be seen, notice the under valued, and to take a moment to breathe.