03/14/21

AMES, Iowa — “Sediments of Identity,” the master of fine arts thesis exhibition by Daniel Nutt, graduate student in integrated visual arts at Iowa State University, will be on display March 15–April 2 in the atrium of Mainframe Studios, 900 Keosauqua Way, Des Moines.

The show will feature wooden boxes, motion sensors, DC motors and found objects that together manifest as a mirror, thus engaging the viewers as an active part of the installation.

“By making an art piece that is responsive to the passive act of viewing, the audience becomes an integral part of the work’s subsequent viewings and interpretations. Regardless of the forms it takes or the material I use in its creation, my work will continue to focus on the importance of interaction between objects and individual in navigating identity,” said Nutt, from Lagrange, Illinois, and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

“By working with these objects and thinking of them as materials in the raw, we begin to troubleshoot and problem solve through the act of making. Without direct labor and interaction with materials in the raw, we can’t have these formative moments in the construction of our identity,” he says in his artist’s statement.

“If we don’t have these moments, objects simply become an extension of their producers’ values; advertisements market us with an ideal version of self and our money does the talking for our identities.”

Hours and reception

Hours are 11 a.m.–5 p.m. daily, Sunday–Saturday. A closing reception will be from 5–8 p.m. Friday, April 2. RSVP via the Mainframe Studios website or the Facebook event.

About the artist

Nutt received a bachelor of arts in studio arts from Grand View University in 2017. He will receive a master of fine arts in integrated visual arts from Iowa State in May.

During his graduate studies, Nutt has taught the first-year Design Studies 102: Design Studio course and graded for Art History 280 and 281.

He has exhibited his work in solo shows at ISU Design on Main Gallery in Ames and Viaduct Gallery in Des Moines and in group shows at Anderson Gallery and Mainframe Studios in Des Moines. He also worked with multiple organizations as an artist mentor for local youth.

Contacts

Daniel Nutt, Integrated Visual Arts graduate student, djnutt@iastate.edu
Heather Sauer, Design Communications, hsauer@iastate.edu

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