"Seeing Double" is currently on view at the Clarinda Carnegie Art Museum in Clarinda, Iowa. Each year the museum features two distinct shows of contemporary art on different themes. The current show is the museum’s 21st since it opened in 2014.
Museum Director Trish Bergren spoke with KXCV’s Gavin McGough about the latest installation.
Gavin McGough: The current exhibit is titled ‘Seeing Double.’ What's the concept?
Trish Bergren: This is a multi-artist show, featuring artists from all over the world. Titled ‘Seeing Double”, it pairs objects and images for viewers to see different forms, different types of media or art that reflect each other, mirror each other, or go hand in hand together.
GM: Each year the museum does two totally different shows. That is a lot of work! Where does all the art come from?
TB: This show is pulled from the private collection of Robert and Karen Duncan who established the Clarinda Carnegie Art Museum in 2014; but art in this show also comes from another collecting couple named Kathy and Marc LeBaron, of Lincoln, Nebraska. So we actually pulled the entire show from their private collections. Overall, we've pulled and partnered with museums and organizations from all over the [country]. Everything from Stanford in California to Iowa University to Juneau, Alaska, to Omaha, and other private collectors. So, it just depends on the show. Each one's unique and different.
GM: The building you're housed in used to be Clarinda’s Library. Tell us about how the benefactors of the museum took on the project and transformed it
TB: Well, Karen and Robert Duncan are both from Clarinda, Iowa. So with that they had a really strong love of this building when it was a library, especially Mrs. Duncan. When it went up for sale, they jumped on it. In fact, they acted and within 48 hours purchased the building. It was really super important for them [to preserve it]. Then it was: ‘okay, now what?’ That’s when we met and it was obviously going to be for art and we ran with it. It’s been a great project, very fulfilling and a wonderful gift back to the community.
GM: Tell us about one of your favorite pieces in the current show to make us come out and enjoy.
TB: So, when you come to CCAM, on the bottom level you'll go into the main little center room and see a beautiful vase full of drying flowers. And there's two pieces that go with it -- two beautiful photography pieces. One shows the sunflowers right when you put them in a vase and they're beautiful. And what the artist has done is put stick pins into the center of each flower. So, as the flower decomposes and dries up from lack of water, which we've done intentionally, we don't water them, those pins fall out and create an art pattern on around the base. And then that other photographic piece to your right shows the flowers at the end of their performance when there's nothing hardly left of them.
That's one of my favorite pieces, and we've had that shown once before and I requested it to come back.
The Clarinda Carnegie Art Museum is open to visitors Wednesdays through Sundays from 1-4 p.m., year-round. Admission is free. ‘Seeing Double’ remains on view until May.
