A New Twist on Art Collection: ICC Professor Uses Random Found Items to Create Unique Art Pieces
“Traci O’Dwyer has always been a collector.”
These are the first words in the description of the new Illinois Central College gallery exhibit “Accumulation” by the ICC art professor Traci O’Dwyer.
At first glance, it is a strange mix of red yarn, bronze, assortments of fabric, plus countless other random objects. Much of the work looks unconventional, and that is on purpose.
“I find little pieces of things. I will be walking around and I’ll stop and think ‘Oh what’s that on the ground’, and I’ll pick that up”, O’Dwyer said during a speech at the exhibit yesterday.
The best example of this approach is probably the artwork “They Are Just Ideas”. It encompasses both O’Dwyer’s name in large letters and a large mix of random objects stuck to the wall. This includes everything from a miniature doll to paper flowers. There is even a key of her husband’s, though neither she nor her husband are sure exactly what it opens.
Not all of the artworks display her love of collecting, however. Many have quite deep meanings.
Perhaps the most striking and mildly disturbing exhibit, “To Harm or to Heal”, displays enormous bronze needles and red yarn hanging from the ceiling.
According to O’Dwyer, this represents how needles are both capable of creating beautiful things and being used as a weapon. The yarn can be understood literally, as a creative device, or metaphorically as representing blood.
While many of the art pieces, like “To Harm or to Heal”, have an unsettling or dark image, one piece stands out as a positive reminder: “Little Ball of Joy.” It stands in the middle of the exhibit and is a ball of white string and fiber fabric donated by a Bradley professor.
O’Dwyer says it represents that “even if you have a struggle or you are not sure of something,” you can always find those little moments of joy and celebrate them.
If you would like to see the exhibit, you can visit it in the gallery near the ICC Starbucks cafe, where it will remain until the end of December.
If you would like to see more art from O’Dwyer, you can visit her Instagram here.