Three days before the exhibition was going to be unveiled, a crucial component to Chris Dacre’s installation had yet to be made.
Dacre, the first visiting artist brought in by the School of Art this academic year, has his own exhibition in the Ohio University Art Gallery titled *tbd. Content Currently Unavailable..., which continues his theme of creating art that references U.S. military conflicts. The exhibition opens Thursday, with a lecture before the reception, and closes Sept. 30.
That missing piece was something Dacre has wanted to create for almost three years — target kites. Used in World War II, these kites flew in the patterns of war crafts for tanks to use as target practice. Creating enough of these kites, however, was something Dacre said he could not do on his own.
The artist enlisted the help of OU students to assist him in the two workshops held earlier this week in which the kites were screen-printed and sewn.
“(They were) open to any undergrad; even those who (didn’t) know how to sew or silkscreen (got) basic lessons,” Melissa Haviland, associate professor of art, said.
And the kites are only part of the show. For this exhibition, Dacre was influenced by the documentary The Ghost Army, which discusses the art of deception in war. Dacre created his own ghost army by making sculptures of soldiers in white, ghost-like uniforms.
Mixing multiple mediums — print, sculpture, audio and video — into his show was a reason Josh Dannin, a second-year MFA printmaking student, suggested Dacre visit OU. Dannin met Dacre when the artist came to his undergraduate university in Kutztown, Pa. in 2011. While there, Dannin assisted Dacre in setting up his exhibit and has stayed in touch with him ever since.
“He is a printmaker… but by no means is it a printmaking show,” Dannin said. "He activates the space. He’s not just putting something up on a wall. There’s stuff above you, below you … you experience the overall piece.”
Dacre said not limiting himself in mediums or demographics is important.
“I always want to engage the public outside of the art world,” he said. “I deal with a pretty heavy subject, so I try to think of how I can engage someone to view my work and have a conversation about war.”
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If You Go
What: Chris Dacre: Visiting Artist Lecture
When: 6 p.m. Thursday
Where: Mitchell Auditorium, Seigfred Hall
Admission: Free
