Small plastic sandwich bags, each containing a suspended watered-down paint covered a section of the Nebraska Hall brick wall. AU alumni Dan Steinhilber, affixed this integral art piece in 2002. The artist now has his first solo museum exhibition, "Directions - Dan Steinhilber" at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
Steinhilber displays definite innovation in that he creates art out of mass-produced consumer goods and draws upon their natural properties to reveal the beauty of the mundane. Nature provides much of the inspiration for the Steinhilber, or rather, the environment influences his art. "I use what is right in front of me, which just happens to be nature and everyday objects," Steinhilber said.
Visitors can view Steinhilber's favorite piece in the show, a rack of different green soda bottles in the Sculpture Garden amongst the green trees. In this display, the soda bottles appear as a pure embodiment of color, but the fact that they are plastic allows the reflection of natural light to influence them as well. The soda bottles will soon be changed to represent fall colors.
For the first time the Hirshhorn's "Directions" series will bring an installation to the museum lobby. The museum wants to encourage innovation, experimentation and audience engagement by freeing "Directions" to take place in a variety of spaces within, or even outside of, the museum.
Directly upon entering the museum, one sees a giant mobile of clothes hangers with white paper cascading over the information desk, displaying the disposition of clothes hangers to turn when strung on each other.
The museum lobby also houses Steinhilber's other two sculptures: an inflatable geometric-like dome of white kitchen trash bags, and a long rack of various soda bottles making use of natural light to highlight their colors.
"I saw all these soda bottles, because I drank a lot of it, and it made sense to use these objects in my art," he said.
Steinhilber began as a landscape painter while living in rural Monterey County, Calif. in the 1990s. Later, he was inspired to work outdoors and explore sculpture and installation as an extension of his painting. Steinhilber moved to D.C. in 2000 to obtain his master of fine arts degree at AU. Here, he turned his attention to urban landscape, thus using mass-produced consumer items as his primary materials. Steinhilber enjoyed his experience at AU and says he applied to the master's degree program because of Luis Silva, a printmaking professor, with whom he still shares a special relationship.
Steinhilber's exhibit runs through Jan. 4, 2004 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden located at Independence Avenue and Seventh Street, SW near the Smithsonian Metro stop. Admission is free. Steinhilber will also give a free public talk on Nov. 13 at 12:30 p.m. in the museum lobby. For more information call (202) 633-4674 or visit http://hirshhorn.si.edu.
