Exhibit offers Missoula residents a little optimism

The late autumn rains and graying skies will soon give way to another Missoula winter and, for some, the accompanying wintertime blues that are as constant as the Hellgate winds blow.

“Shiny, Happy, Pretty,” an exhibit opening at the Missoula Art Museum tonight as part of First Friday, looks to subdue the darkness in all of us by presenting a sundry mix of media though the collaboration of prominent Seattle-based artists Tina Hoggatt and Jeffry Mitchell.

The exhibition is based on the book artists Hoggatt and Mitchell produced in 1999 entitled, “What Does the Panda Mean to You?” The show will run through the end of January 2009. 

“I think we all struggle with depression and disappointment, especially with the situation of the country right now,” Mitchell said. “We wanted to make something positive and uplifting before the winter season.”

The style of the book intricately weaves together wildlife images using silkscreen, woodcuts, flock and collage with Gutenberg-style pressed writing. When opened completely, the book spans about thirty feet long. Only 20 copies were produced and the full book will be on display at the show.

“Each of us love each other’s work and we share that same interest in printmaking and animal imagery,” Hoggatt said of her colleague Mitchell.

Seattle art critics rave about Mitchell’s work. Regina Hackett, a Seattle Post Intelligencer art critic, said in a 2005 critique, “His great gift is his ability to turn a chaos of sources into a coherent visual stream.”

The show includes a dynamic multimedia installation as well as individual pieces from both Hoggatt and Mitchell. Color and wildlife topped with a glossy shine serve as the primary themes of the show, but the two offer unique pieces even the avid art show veteran has probably not yet encountered.

Take, for example, the multimedia chairs. In this interactive piece, people sit down in a lush, almost royal-looking chair. When a person sits down, his body weight triggers a mechanism that plays a short optimistic poem to him. Hoggatt wrote the four-to-six minute long poems and then installed a recording of them inside the chair. “I wanted to create the ambition from within us to create happiness with art,” Hoggatt said.

Hoggatt said that MAM Curator of Exhibitions Steve Glueckert invested in the idea because Hoggatt said a show like this could bring the community together.

“We are grateful that the museum (MAM) gave us the opportunity to work once again with each other and come to Missoula,” Mitchell said.

“Shiny, Happy, Pretty” offers both interactive and reflective art with a bold tenacity and attitude that just might bring Missoulians off their couches on long, dark winter days. The exhibition is free and an artist gallery talk and reception will take place tonight from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. as part of First Friday activities.

On Nov. 12, the MAM hosts the monthly Artini event featuring the exhibit with a virtual gallery talk by both artists at 7 p.m. Following the talk, wine and beer coupled with treats catered by the Red Bird will be served to attendees.

kelsey.bernius@umontana.edu