12/06/21

AMES, Iowa — New work by artist Amenda Tate, an Iowa State University graduate student in integrated visual arts, is on display Nov. 13–Dec. 24 in the Community Gallery at the Octagon Center for the Arts in downtown Ames.

“Vestiges and (E)Motion” features three large-scale works Tate created collaboratively with individuals and groups in the production of her short film “Sapient_2.021.”

The work was generated by dancers who wore a motion-sensing remote that directs Tate’s Manibus robotic painting device to render an artistic depiction of elapsed time and motion. Tate created the Manibus (“from the hand” in Latin) to use as an extension of the hand; with this tool, she captures and translates the movement and visceral dynamics of dance into painted works of art.

“My work explores how art and dance can be used in a participatory way across societal divides, break down barriers and increase empathy through tangible and embodied interactions,” Tate says in her statement about the show.

“I have been conducting happenings/events that encourage public participation in the performative and improvisational creation of a collaborative work of art as a means to explore social structures and confirm connections to being emotionally intelligent humans.”

Gallery hours and reception

Gallery hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Wednesday, 10 a.m.–8 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Friday–Saturday and Sunday by appointment. A reception will be from 1–2:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 18. The show will be open from 5–8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 16, during the Downtown Ames Holiday Artist Open Studio Tour.

Support for Tate’s work has been provided by the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

About the artist

Tate is an interdisciplinary artist with a background in metalsmithing, engineering and performance art. She holds a bachelor of fine arts in jewelry and metalsmithing from Metropolitan State University of Denver. She was a 2019 Iowa Arts Council Fellow and has completed artist residencies with Art Beacon, New York Mills Regional Cultural Center, Area 515 Makerspace and Ballet Des Moines. Her work has been exhibited throughout Iowa and in California, Colorado, Kansas and Oregon. Read more at https://www.amendatate.com/about

Tate teaches the ART IS 212: Studio Fundamentals: Computers course in the ISU Department of Art and Visual Culture and serves as a graduate research assistant in ISU Information Technology Services’ Digital Accessbility Lab.

Contacts

Amenda Tate, Integrated Visual Arts graduate student, atate@iastate.edu
Kristin Greteman, Octagon Center for the Arts, exhibits@octagonarts.org
Heather Sauer, Design Communications, 515-294-9289, hsauer@iastate.edu

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