Audience input needed for ‘Untitled’ Tri-Cities art exhibit

Mills art
 
RICHLAND, Wash. – An interactive art exhibit opening Jan. 22 at Washington State University Tri-Cities is relying on audience involvement to make it complete.
“Untitled” is a “social art” exhibit designed by Davin Diaz, who is featuring local artist Cameron T. Mills.
 
The opening reception will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22, in the WSU Tri-Cities Art Center inside the Consolidated Information Center, 2770 Crimson Way, Richland. Admission is free to the public.
“Davin is a community-based, social art practitioner,” said Peter Christenson, curator of the WSU Tri-Cities Art Center. “Social art often allows community participants to determine and dictate the dynamics of the exhibit and the trajectory of the art itself.”
 
Diaz knows that, to gauge a true read from the audience, he needs to create a comfortable environment. 
 
“I can’t stick a camera in someone’s face,” he said. “I have to pose the question in a way that allows the audience to really contemplate and give honest answers. I want to create a barometer to measure audience reaction.”
 
The “Untitled” exhibit features seven contemporary paintings by Mills, whose work has been shown throughout the Pacific Northwest. Attendees can sit in custom-made chairs and leisurely grapple with several questions about the exhibit, including:
 
• Providing titles for the seven paintings
• Writing short stories (3-5 sentences) about the paintings
• Describing how the artist felt while making each piece
 
Diaz will weave some of the responses into a documentary film he is making about Mills and his work. See the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA1ukisZiq4. For more details on Mills, visit http://camerontmills.blogspot.com.
 
“Untitled” runs through Feb. 21. The Art Center’s regular hours noon-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday.
A graduate of California State University in San Bernadino, Diaz moved to theTri-Cities in 2007. He works for the Gesa Power House Theatre in Walla Walla and owns Candy Mountain Studio in West Richland. His art coordination includes:
 
• Project manager for the Family Unit Sculpture installation on the Port of Kennewick’s Metz Plaza on Clover Island.
• Project manager for the Leadership Tri-Cities Class XV project to install a 10-by-70 foot mural in the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in east Pasco, weaving children’s art with historic photos.
• Working at the Lincoln Shrine and Memorial in Redlands, Calif., which features the largest collection of Abraham Lincoln and Civil War artifacts west of the Mississippi River.
WSU Tri-Cities is located along the scenic Columbia River in Richland, Wash. Established in 1989 with upper division and graduate programs, WSU Tri-Cities expanded in 2007 to a four-year undergraduate campus offering 18 bachelor’s, 10 master’s and six doctoral degree programs. Learn about the most diverse campus in the WSU system at http://www.tricity.wsu.edu.