Please excuse our mess!
Something New is Coming to the Experiencenter
The Experiencenter will be temporarily closed beginning March 8, as we install Investigation Destination: Science and Math in Art and The Art Place for Young Learners (see details below). The Experiencenter will re-open on Thursday, April 8, at 5:30 p.m. with a special celebration - come join the fun!

OPening April 8, 2010
Investigation Destination: Science and Math in Art
Investigation Destination: Science and Math in Art, is the newest Experiencenter exhibition, opening to the public Thursday evening, April 8. This exhibition invites visitors to investigate the connections between art and the sciences using three themes: Art that Moves, focusing on the kinetic energy that makes mobiles move, The Geometry of Patterns, focusing on the properties of geometric translations  as seen in African textiles and Persian tiles and Keeping Art Ageless,focusing on art conservation and the materials artists use. Each theme is supported by art from the museum's permanent collection along with a site-specific work created by local artist, Terry Welker. Hands-on activities, gallery guides, museum hunts, and take-home activities are also included.

The museum has partnered with two schools, Patterson-Kennedy, a Dayton Public School, and the Dayton Regional STEM School and is directly involving students in grades 6-9 and their teachers in the development of the exhibition. The museum is also facilitating activities that are teaching students that the creative innovative skills involved in producing art are the same skills needed by scientists and mathematicians.

on view in the experiencenter

Sandy Skoglund, American (born 1946). SHIMMERING MADNESS, 1998 Installation:  Jelly beans, wood, plastic, metal, motors Museum purchase, 2001.34 c 1998 Sandy Skoglund

Created by New York-based artist/photographer Sandy Skoglund, Shimmering Madness is a breathtaking installation consisting of a brightly colored, enameled jellybean floor buttressed against two walls that have been densely covered with small kinetic, hand-painted butterflies. In the midst of this fantastic room are two jellybean-covered figures assembled in dance-like poses with their heads spun backward.

Skoglund moved to New York in 1972, where she started working as a conceptual artist. In the late 1970s, she began to teach herself photography to fulfill her desire to document her work. This developing interest in photographic technique later became fused with her interest in popular culture and commercial picture making strategies, resulting in what is referred to as a "fabricated image," or an image that illustrates an artificial construction of reality and not reality itself.

Because Skoglund's goal is to "be in contact with reality and at the same time alter it," her interpretation of the "image" in both her installations and the photographs of her installations often experientially transports the viewer into the realm of the surreal. By incorporating multiples of everyday objects, such as food, into her installations (as seen here in the form of thousands of jellybeans), Skoglund redefines the concept of what is precious and beautiful in art.

"I like to work with food because it is a familiar material," Skoglund explains. "The value of art, the educational value of art, the sort of life affirming value of art has to do with bringing our awareness of the
everyday miracle that's around us, that everything is, in its own way, if you look at it, quite strange and quite marvelous. For me, food is an icon of familiarity, which is so natural to us on a daily basis that it's almost invisible." Skoglund has achieved international recognition as a photographer, and her installations have been commissioned and acquired by museums and universities around the world.

The Dayton Art Institute’s Experiencenter has received national attention and was the first gallery space of its kind in any U.S. art museum. Throughout its history, the Experiencenter has presented annual thematic exhibitions featuring art from The Dayton Art Institute’s collection, private collections and loans from other museums.

In addition to being a self-contained gallery space, the Experiencenter encourages visitors to engage in active participation at hands-on stations located throughout the museum and offers an opportunity for families to explore the museum and its collections together, enhancing the visitor’s learning and social experience.

Located in the museum’s lower rotunda, the Experiencenter space consists of nearly 2,000 square feet with a studio classroom for workshops and participatory activities. The Experiencenter is supported in part by The Frank M. Tait Foundation, the Iddings Foundation, Reynolds and Reynolds, The Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, and Pamela and George Houk.

Pamela Houk’s work in art education, her vision and ideals for the development of an interactive space within the art museum were brought to life in 1976 with the opening of the Experiencenter. This gallery space for children and families is based on the concept that people learn more effectively and gain a better understanding of the creative process by being actively involved. As the originator and Curator of the Experiencenter for 23 years, Pamela Houk’s contribution to advancing art education for all ages was outstanding. To recognize her achievement and contribution to art education, the Pamela P. Houk Award for Excellence in Art Education was created. Read more