Open Studio with Artist Tom Berry
Aug 28, 2015
Tom Berry interacts with families and explains his techniques, July 2015. Photograph by Filip Wolak
On July 24-26, the Hearst Artspace was transformed into a sculptural garden as a part of Open Studio, a drop-in program that invites families to make their own artworks inspired by work on view in the Whitney’s exhibitions and theater programs. The art making activity centered on the work of Tom Berry, an artist who uses corrugated cardboard to create immersive installations. During the 1980s, Berry worked alongside the performance duo DANCENOISE, who were recently featured in a performance program in the Whitney’s Susan and John Hess Family Theater. Each month at an East Village bar called King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, where DANCENOISE performed, Berry would re-envision a different scene in painted cardboard.
During Saturday’s program, Berry shared his techniques and stories with families who constructed cardboard plants and animals, and contributed their pieces to a growing collaborative garden. “It was great to have the artist there,” said Billie Rae Vinson, Coordinator of Family Programs. “It was a really lovely interaction, seeing [Berry] working together with families.”
A participant works on his contribution to the cardboard garden, July 2015. Photograph by Filip Wolak
“[Berry and I] were talking about the fact that he transformed King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut just using cardboard, and I asked him where he gets his ideas from. He said he is often inspired by real places, real events, and nature,” explained Vinson. She and Berry were discussing project ideas when “All of the sudden [Berry] leaned back and said—‘A garden!’ And I thought that was great, because all kids are familiar with plant forms—they’re something that everyone understands and has in their imagination.”
Installation view of the collaborative garden, July 2015. Photograph by Filip Wolak
According to Vinson, this Open Studio was particularly successful due to Berry’s participation and the collaborative nature of the project. “[Berry] worked closely with families on an individual basis showing them techniques in scoring and bending the cardboard. It was a really relaxed, informal atmosphere for families to be able to engage with him,” Vinson said. “It was just amazing to see people using so many different techniques. People got really into adding to the garden and building things. . . both from real life and from their imagination, which is exactly what Tom does.” The garden grew over the three days of the program and by the end of Sunday the space was completely transformed.
Learn more about upcoming Family Programs here
By Zoe Dobuler, Interpretation Intern