Ken Brecher
13 May - 19 Aug 2006
Project Room I
Ken Brecher
Odd But Harmless
May 13 - August 19, 2006
Opening reception Friday, May 12, 7 - 9 p.m.
The exhibition is a visual evocation of obsessive collecting and arranging of objects and the rationale that develops to justify and support the habit. It is an homage to the ephemeral, the overlooked, and the undervalued. It is about not forgetting to look down, about slipping things into one's pocket, about finding treasure that has no worldly value except the power to change your life. Ken Brecher, a social anthropologist by training and former museum director, is a lifelong hoarder. His flamboyant, constantly expanding displays colonize any available space within reach. His empire of objects represents an idealized view of material culture—a nonhierarchical world in which everything is considered and appreciated for its meaning and not its market value. Being an inveterate traveler, the trail of artifacts takes us from his parents' bedside in Highland Park, Illinois to the Mato Grosso in Brazil and the sand dunes of the Sahara. Brecher’s odd but harmless addiction represents one person’s attempt to make sense of the world through the creation of a personal taxonomic system.
Ken Brecher
Odd But Harmless
May 13 - August 19, 2006
Opening reception Friday, May 12, 7 - 9 p.m.
The exhibition is a visual evocation of obsessive collecting and arranging of objects and the rationale that develops to justify and support the habit. It is an homage to the ephemeral, the overlooked, and the undervalued. It is about not forgetting to look down, about slipping things into one's pocket, about finding treasure that has no worldly value except the power to change your life. Ken Brecher, a social anthropologist by training and former museum director, is a lifelong hoarder. His flamboyant, constantly expanding displays colonize any available space within reach. His empire of objects represents an idealized view of material culture—a nonhierarchical world in which everything is considered and appreciated for its meaning and not its market value. Being an inveterate traveler, the trail of artifacts takes us from his parents' bedside in Highland Park, Illinois to the Mato Grosso in Brazil and the sand dunes of the Sahara. Brecher’s odd but harmless addiction represents one person’s attempt to make sense of the world through the creation of a personal taxonomic system.