Burkhardt
About the Burkhardt Art Installation and Artists
Carrie Longley (b.1982) American, WORM’S EYE VIEW, 2022, Plywood, foam, resin, epoxy putty, acrylic and Sweetgum tree seeds, Collection of the Dayton Metro Library, 2022.3
In 2021, the Dayton Metro Library was able to commission site-specific artwork for this library. In a partnership with Dayton Art Institute, Alfredo Ramos Martínez’s Vendedoras De Fruitas (Fruit Sellers), from the museum’s permanent collection was chosen by this artist as inspiration for this work.
About the Artists
CARRIE LONGLEY | Brookville, Ohio artist Carrie Longley’s work is inspired by the intricate web of relationships among humans, plants and animals. In this sculptural work, Longley creates woodland flora and fungi native to the Burkhardt area. Looking up at this larger-than-life size sculpture, the viewer is offered an unusual perspective, that of a worm! Longley uses the drifting of pollen grains, created here with Sweetgum tree seeds as a metaphor, comparing these seeds traveling plant to plant, providing new opportunities for growth and renewal to the journey of a single book, as it is shared throughout the community, planting seeds of knowledge and understanding as it goes.
Deborah Clara Dixon (b.1956) American, THE JOY OF WATER, Mixed media, Collection of the Dayton Metro Library, 2022.1
In 2021, the Dayton Metro Library was able to commission site-specific artwork for this library. In a partnership with Dayton Art Institute, Joy of the Waters by Harriet Frishmuth, from the museum’s permanent collection was chosen by this artist as inspiration for this work.
About the Artist
DEBORAH DIXON | Xenia, Ohio artist Deborah Dixon works in a variety of media, creating work that often celebrates the beauty and the miracle of the human form. Inherent in Dixon’s work is a strong social statement that all bodies are beautiful and deserve to be celebrated. In this work she creates five figures of different shapes and abilities caught in a moment of joy as they leap and jump in front of a background of water. LED lights within the figures amplify the sense of movement.
InsideOut Studio (founded 2016) American, THE FRUITS OF OUR LABORS, 2022, Acrylic and fused glass on board, Collection of the Dayton Metro Library, 2022.2
In 2021, the Dayton Metro Library was able to commission site-specific artwork for this library. In a partnership with Dayton Art Institute, Alfredo Ramos Martínez’s Vendedoras De Fruitas (Fruit Sellers), from the museum’s permanent collection was chosen by this artist and his studio as inspiration for this work.
About the Artists
BRETT GARRETT & INSIDEOUT STUDIO | The composition and design for this painting was developed by Brett Garrett and InsideOut Studio, who was assisted in creating this work by multiple artists from the Hamilton, Ohio based studio, which serves adults with developmental disabilities. The fused glass pieces that are suspended on the front of the piece were created in collaboration with community members and library employees, in workshops facilitated by members of InsideOut Studio.
Tracy Longley-Cook (b. 1973) American, ORU, Cyanotype, Collection of the Dayton Metro Library, 2022.4
In 2021, the Dayton Metro Library was able to commission site-specific artwork for this library. In a partnership with Dayton Art Institute, Flying Pup King by Yoshitomo Nara from the museum’s permanent collection was chosen by this artist as inspiration for this work.
About the Artist
TRACY LONGLEY-COOK | Dayton artist Tracy Longley-Cook explores themes relating to place, transformation, and perception. Using experimental and traditional techniques, Longley-Cook incorporates a variety of working methods into her photography, prints, and artist books. Here, Longley-Cook uses one of the oldest printing methods in the photographic medium, the cyanotype, to create 16 photographs referencing the simple shapes and lines found in the Nara work. Using the paper airplane as her model, she unfolds each plane she creates, allowing the folds to transform into white lines that contrast with the indigo blues created from the emulsion.
The Stories Behind the Burkhardt Art Inspiration
From the Collection of the Dayton Art Institute
ALFREDO RAMOS MARTÍNEZ, (1871–1946) Mexican, Vendedoras De Frutas (Fruit Sellers), About 1937, Oil on canvas, 46 1/4 x 36 inches, Gift of the Honorable Jefferson Patterson, 1959.3
Martínez combined subjects from his native Mexico with the bold colors and abstract compositions of modern European art, which he studied in Paris. Following the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920), Martínez was a leading figure among Mexican artists who emphasized national identity in their work. Martínez described his approach as “forging the way toward the birth of a genuine national art.” The healthy figures and abundant fruit represent a land and people healthy and fertile in a country of great opportunity.
View this artwork and learn more by clicking here, opens a new window or visit Dayton Art Institute.
YOSHITOMO NARA (born 1959) Japanese, Flying Pup King, 2000, Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 44 inches, Dayton Art Institute, Museum purchase by exchange, 2004.1
Yoshitomo Nara, one of the most influential artists to emerge from Japan’s Pop Art movement during the 1990s, comments upon society’s social decline in this fanciful work. Drawing on popular Japanese comic books and animation for inspiration, Nara alters and simplifies themes commonly found within traditional Japanese narratives.
HARRIET WHITNEY FRISHMUTH (1880-1980) American, Joy of the Waters, 1917, Cast bronze, 63 1/2 x 15 x 16 inches, Dayton Art Institute, Gift of Mrs. Harrie G. Carnell, 1919.1
The museum’s first acquisition in 1919, Joy of the Waters was originally designed as a fountain. In this life-sized sculpture, Frishmuth evokes movement in the girl’s springing step, upraised arms and animated hair, creating a freeze-frame of a single moment of action. Frishmuth was one of several women who at the beginning of the twentieth century successfully pursued careers as sculptors, a field that had traditionally been considered a male occupation.
How did these pieces inspired our artists?
“In Alfredo Ramos Martínez’s Vendedoras De Fruitas (Fruit Sellers), I was
attracted to the imagery of lush resources from fertile land. The large, brightly painted platters of ripe fruits and rich green plants in the foreground inspired me to showcase the natural wonders of our region.” Carrie Longley, artist
“The abstract figures seen here represent individuals of all ages, physical
shapes, and abilities. The water splashes seen in the background, remind us of water’s ability to provide moments of relaxation, rehabilitation, and immense joy – not to mention its life sustaining force.” Deborah Clara Dixon, artist
“This piece was inspired by Vendors de Fruitas (Fruit Sellers) and reflects
the underlying geometric nature of the composition, while the fused glass circles represent colorful fruit that have been playfully dispersed across the composition.” Stephen Smith, CEO of InsideOut Studio
“Drawing inspiration from Nara’s painting, Flying Pup King, I utilized a
playful subject, the paper airplane, to create a simple linear structure for these minimalist photographs. The lines depicted can be interpreted as flight paths, maps, or architectural renderings. These photographs are meant to invite curiosity while revealing the harmonious duality of form and function.” Tracy Longley-Cook, artist
Thank you to our partner,
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- Photos of Reimagining artworks by Andy Snow unless otherwise noted.
