Big Mind Sky

From December 2011 through May 2012, Open Concept Gallery will be home to Swiss mixed-media artist Ugo Rondinone’s sculpture Big Mind Sky. Rondinone is known for creating rainbow-hued, neon-lit sculptures that broadcast phrases from contemporary pop songs and everyday exclamations, like “Hell Yes!” and “The Dog Days Are Over.”

Big Sky Mind was created in 2007, and was a central sculpture at Art Basel in Switzerland, the world’s premier international art show for modern and contemporary works, and Rondinone’s work has been displayed by institutions such as Museum of Contemporary Art – Sydney, Yokohama Museum of Art as part of the Yokohma Triennale, the New Museum in New York City, as well in public spaces in London, Austin, and Mexico. Rondinone’s work is world-renowned, and it is a great honor for the city of Grand Rapids to be among the places where it has been displayed.

The sculpture will be on the roof of Open Concept Gallery, located in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids, and aims to continue the gallery’s mission of infusing art into the public sphere. Our welcome reception “United in Difference” will be held in February 2012 to celebrate the sculpture’s installation and will include work from local and regional artists focusing on issues of social justice.

We would like to raise as much awareness of the event and the sculpture as possible, and plan to promote using traditional and social media, a Kickstarter campaign, as well as materials such as stickers and yard signs.

Due to the considerable transportation and installation costs, any aid we receive to offset the costs of marketing materials would be a tremendous asset. 

We plan to use the money towards the costs of the yard signs. The total cost of the printing is $800 ($8 per sign, 100 signs). The signs will be given to area donors, including Kickstarter donors, and sold to other individuals on a sliding scale basis. The signs will be visual reminders of not only the exhibition, but of the issues of social justice that are presently taking place in our community.  

Art activism has been a key element in throughout the history of global social protest. Social and political movements produce such works as signs, banners, posters, and other printed materials to be used to convey a particular cause or message. Such art also includes performance, site-specific installations, graffiti, and street art.

Open Concept Gallery is committed to the mission to promote artistic creation, foster cultural outreach, and facilitate cultural exchange for the increased understanding of contemporary art worldwide. We hope this show will not only raise awareness of specific issues of injustice in our community, but also encourage the community to embrace contemporary art as an important platform for advocacy.

The Big Mind Sky exhibit will serve as an opportunity for West Michigan to engage in dialogue about equal rights for LGBT members in a new way. This issue is important to address through a variety of means, and the topic is of the utmost importance in light of recent events, such as the Holland City Council vote against the proposal to add sexual orientation and gender identity protection to the anti-discrimination policies.   

The yard signs will be on display in front of homes, businesses, and institutions, which means there will be an unlimited amount of opportunities for the public to be exposed to the event and the issue. We hope it will help spur future events around the community, and strengthen the movements that are currently taking place. 

Open Concept Gallery is a non-profit institution dedicated to the promotion of education and infusion of contemporary art and culture into the community. We aspire to be an open platform for innovative, contemporary local and international art in West Michigan. Specializing in experimental, historical and unique presentations of aesthetic, social, political, and environmental issues, Open Concept Gallery is an independent vision of contemporary culture prepared to react immediately to important issues that affect our lives. Open Concept Gallery is internationally recognized for its unmatched spirit of inventiveness and consistent ability to anticipate the newest trends in the culture, with a substantial reputation for curatorial innovation and depth of programming in diverse media, we are always on the verge of change.