Contemporary Trio

When you first talk to someone about contemporary art, their eyes often glaze over, says BYU Museum of Art (MOA) curator Jeff C. Lambson (BA 00, MA 06). Thats why the museumin putting together Utahs biggest showing of contemporary art to dateis building a trio of exhibitions around some accessible themes, starting with video games. Yes, Pac-Man and other 80s video games inspired the 10 larger-than-life steel sculptures that make up Michael A. Whitings (BFA 00) exhibition 8-Bit Modern. Whiting has set his pixelated duck, buck, and other critters free in the MOA gardens, while his pixelated person, Blockhead, is inside, standing in the MOA Caf lunch line. Two floors down, Think Flat: The Art of Andy Warhol and Takashi Murakami pairs two artists with a knack for turning mass culture into high art. The exhibition features Warhols iconic Campbells Soup Cans and Marilyn Monroe series alongside the kaleidoscopic creations of Japanese artist Murakami, who embeds jellyfish eyeballs into famous designer Louis Vuittons trademark purse pattern. The third exhibition combines multiple artists work exploring the classic struggle of good vs. evil. Amid a 20-foot blue alien, a life-sized bigfoot, and Captain America, We Could Be Heroes: The Mythology of Monsters and Heroes in Contemporary Art takes on the 21st centurys hero worship. With monsters, soup cans, and video game creatures, you dont have to take art appreciation classes to appreciate this, says Lambson. The 8-Bit Modern exhibition is on display through March 23; Think Flat through Feb. 18; and We Could Be Heroes through April 6. Mindy A. Leavitt (13)