Library to Feature Exhibits and Sculptures During July Gallery Night

Tompkins County Public Library will showcase three fascinating exhibits and two new sculptures from 5 to 8 p.m. July 11 during Downtown Ithaca’s Gallery Night.

Featured Library exhibits are:  “A Common Thread:  To Sew or Not To Sew,”  “Visual Culture at Ithaca High School,” and “I Look Silly.”  Sculptures “In the Shadow of the Moon,” and “Eclipse” by Sam Castner will also be available for viewing.

“A Common Thread,” curated by Elizabeth Mount, explores recent changes in the way clothes are made—from traditional, painstaking needle and thread and single machine creations to fast fashion, created with glue, tape and laser cutters—fashion is a rapidly changing industry.  This fascinating exhibit highlights these changes and includes intricate garments created by Joan Reuning and Lise Bouvet, one-of-a-kind designs from students in Cornell University’s Fiber and Design Apparel Department, the amazing fibers used to create protective clothing and the glues and tapes that are making sewing a thing of the past.

A popular annual Library exhibit, “Visual Culture at Ithaca High School” is sponsored by the Ithaca High School Art Department and features works depicting student interpretations of their school environment during the 2013-2014 academic year.

“I Look Silly,” is  a collaborative community art project developed and organized by abstract artist Ryan McGuire.  This delightful, whimsical exhibit features 60 Ithacans posing for portraits while wearing Groucho Marx disguises.  The images will be displayed on Library windows facing Green Street.  Prints of the photos featured in the exhibit will be available for order with net proceeds benefitting the Library.

Gallery Night visitors will also have a chance to view the recently installed sculptures “In the Shadow of the Moon” and “Eclipse.” Created by Castner, a local artist, these intricate pieces have been installed outside of the Library as part of Ithaca’s Art in the Heart of the City program.

The sculptures and “I Look Silly” exhibit can be observed outside of the Library. For Gallery Night after-hours access to “Common Thread” and “Visual Culture at Ithaca High School” entrance to the Library will be through the BorgWarner Community Room door, located behind TCAT’s Green Street bus shelter.

For more information, visit http://tcpl-exhibits.blogspot.com/ or email Exhibit Coordinator Sally Grubb at sgrubb@tcpl.org.