As part of the staff at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Sara Segerlin surrounds herself with artists, writers and thinkers. It reminds her she has something to say, too.
Segerlin moved to Northwest Arkansas in the summer of 2011 as part of the wave of artminded folks gearing up for the grand opening of Crystal Bridges in November 2011.
She serves as senior museum educator of public programs at Crystal Bridges. And because she remains heavily involved and invested in the museum, she is only now showing off her own work to Northwest Arkansas residents. Her exhibit “Space After Space” debuts Wednesday at the Arts Center of the Ozarks in Springdale.
“My interest in art came from my interest in learning,” Segerlin says. “I always wanted to provide a visual story on something I was fascinated with.”
Originally, that interest manifested itself via broadcast journalism, and she obtained an undergraduate degree in communications and journalism. But a chance meeting with visual artist Bill Viola in Barcelona, Spain, changed her perspective. She eventually received a master of fine arts from the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, N.Y.
“Space After Space” is a video installation project, and an experimental one at that, she says. The new work explores the intersection of the internal self and the external world.
It finds inspiration in video and light artists such as Viola and James Turrell but also in the book “The Poetics of Space” by French philosopherGaston Bachelard. In that book, Bachelard discusses architecture and the human response to it. That sentiment - so specifically that quotes from the book show up inthe exhibit - is explored in Segerlin’s work, which combines video monitors, cloth and found objects inside one of ACO’s gallery spaces.
The idea, Segerlin says, is toanalyze “how we feel out space internally and externally.”
One external component happened several years ago during an outdoor art exhibit in the town of Brighton, N.Y. A companion component almost didn’t happen, but Eve Smith, the director of visual arts at ACO, insisted.
“I was very hesitant, but then I realized this was the perfect opportunity to do a sequel,” Segerlin says.
Smith says she was excited to introduce Segerlin and her work to Northwest Arkansas audiences. Smith points to a light exhibit at Crystal Bridges and the various works at 21cMuseum Hotel as proof that Northwest Arkansas is ready for an exhibit of this nature.
“Everything is kind of growing, and we’re having this renaissance. I’ve been really inspired by those things up north,” Smith says.
With a focus on internal spaces, the ACO installation is minimalist and looks at finding peace and inviting the viewer to find “the quiet place” of a home.
“The takeaway is to always remain curious,” Segerlin says - which must have been one of her internal responses when asked to create an exhibit for the first time in several years.
FAQ ‘Space After Space’ WHEN - Wednesday through Feb. 28; reception 6-8 p.m.
Feb. 13 WHERE - Arts Center of the Ozarks, 214 S. Main St. in Springdale COST - Free INFO - segerlin.tumblr.com or ACO at 751-5441
Whats Up, Pages 13 on 01/31/2014