Lansing resident Matthew Dodson talks to MSU alumna Jennifer Ganzhorn while looking at some pieces she had on display Friday at the opening of “The 3-in-1 Show” at (SCENE) Metrospace. Ganzhorn was the featured artist at the exhibit.
Heavy lifting, working with dangerously hot metal and covering herself in Vaseline and plaster for hours on end was just part of the process for Jen Ganzhorn — all in the name of art.
Ganzhorn, a 2009 MSU alumna, was a featured artist Friday in (SCENE) Metrospace’s “3-in-1 Show” exhibiting three bronze statues and four other pieces made during her time at MSU.
The show was the kick-off event for (SCENE) Metrospace’s 3-in-1 gallery exhibition.
The exhibition opened Friday at 110 Charles St. and will run until April 25.
The exhibition includes “Pocket-Sized: A Close Look at Small Art,” “For Cheap’s Sake: Photocopied” and showcases Ganzhorn’s bronze pieces as the third exhibit.
“It was very labor intensive and very time-consuming,” Ganzhorn said, laughing.
“Looking at them and thinking about all of the work I put in, it’s so worth it.”
Themes of adhering to and defying societal norms run through Ganzhorn’s main pieces — three bronze statues of women, one from the early 1900s, one from the 1950s and one from the 1960s.
(SCENE) Metrospace Director Tim Lane said the goal of the gallery is to get artists of different disciplines involved in one exhibit.
“The idea was to create an exhibition that would allow a lot of different artists in the community to get involved and to create an exhibition that would be diverse and have a lot to offer for gallery viewers,” Lane said.
More than 25 local artists from diverse backgrounds are being featured as a part of the gallery.
Dorothy Brooks, an East Lansing resident and MSU alumna of the 1960s, exhibited her piece “Ya Never Know These Days,” a blue jeans pocket with a pistol and a bank robber’s note inside.
Brooks said she was inspired by news headlines regarding a shooting.
“I love (the gallery) because it has really off-the-wall things,” Brooks said.
“I think it’s exceptional in that way. It’s pivotal in continuing to bridge the gap between campus and the city of East Lansing.”
Randy Maidlow, an Okemos resident and General Motors retiree, exhibited two pieces, “Ice Cream Sundae” and “Karl Marx,” in the pocket-sized exhibit.
He used pieces of scrap metal to construct both of his works.
Maidlow said old industry in the state of Michigan is a blessing for the kind of art with which he works.
“As they tear things down, I get an opportunity to go in there and plunder and take things that are discarded and people don’t want and turn them into things that they might want,” Maidlow said.
Maidlow said he thinks there are many people in Michigan with the skill set to be an artist.
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“Engineer, artist — what’s the difference?” Maidlow said. “If we can’t build cars, let’s make art.”
Lansing resident Rosie Costello attended the exhibition opening and said she thought more people should be involved in art culture.
“Art like this is definitely really important for society,” Costello said.
“It teaches you to think critically of the world around you.”
