“Tradition Interrupted” now showing at OSU Museum of Art

A new art exhibit is available for viewing.

“Tradition Interrupted” is a traveling art exhibit that the Bedford Gallery organized, and it will be at the Oklahoma State University Museum of Art from Jan. 17 to April 1.

All of its exhibits are free to the public.

This exhibit showcases art that unites traditional and contemporary ideas. The pieces range from melting rugs to skateboards flying in the air. Every piece of art is unique, though they all show something from the past and present fused into one. Looking through the pieces can bring up old memories while still playing with modern designs.

Twelve artists created all of these pieces. These artists all cohesively brought together the ideas of traditional craft with a contemporary spin.

The staff at the OSU Museum of Art is well-versed in the exhibits that come through and are happy to talk about the pieces with museumgoers. Taking advantage of the staff can help to see the backstories behind the pieces and further analyze what the artists are trying to say.

“What’s unique about this one is there are a lot of pieces that obviously come from a lot of different backgrounds and a lot of different artists,” said Casey Ihde, a marketing coordinator and museum educator at the OSU Museum of Art. “We have a lot of different techniques and materials that are being used. There’s a good blending of sculptural works, of paintings, of ceramics. So visually, it’s very different.”

Ihde said one of the most visually attractive pieces at the museum would be Mounir Fatmi’s “Maximum Sensation.” It portrays skateboards covered in prayer rugs, seemingly flipping across a wall in a massive arc.

However, Ihde has a different favorite piece.

“My personal favorite is by an artist named Ana Gómez,” Ihde said. “These are ceramic pieces designed to look like the little cup of noodles. And then we have pieces that are also ceramic, designed to look like take-out containers. Through these pieces, she’s talking about throw-away culture and how our family dinners where we’d sit down and eat off of ceramic plates has been replaced with a more fast-paced culture where we get our McDonald’s box and eat out of the bag on our way back home.”

All of the pieces have a different message, and whether viewers would rather interpret pieces on their own or have staff help guide them through the artwork, the “Tradition Interrupted” exhibit will be there until April 1 for whoever stops.

More information about the museum and the exhibits can be found at the OSU Museum of Art website.