PUTNEY — An interactive art exhibition entitled i see everything, i understand nothing, directed by Steven P. Perkins, is on display in the Michael S. Currier Center art gallery at The Putney School through May 15.
“Being disoriented can help to see things freshly,” says Perkins. “Step into the shoes of the perpetual traveler, immigrant, student, and seeker. We provide the passport for a journey, and you are asked to activate your senses by moving from place to place.”
In the spring of 2014, Perkins, father of a current Putney School student, was a guest artist for several days in Aspen Golann's conceptual art class. During that time, he connected with Putney students and invited them numerous times to his home in Rye Brook, N.Y.
The ideas for this show were formulated through long brainstorming sessions about stepping outside of the little bubble of one's self and opening up to other cultures.
Rather than simply put up an exhibition of Perkins' international work, their idea was to engage fellow students, faculty, and administration of The Putney School through active participation.
The result is a collaboration among Perkins, the students, and the many others who have contributed their efforts and energies up to this point-and those who will continue to add to the installations throughout the duration of the show.
Perkins is strongly influenced by Buddhism, and makes art as playful discovery of the beauty in every day. Commissions, performances, and presentations have taken him to India, China, Istanbul, and Thailand, where he had his first international exhibition in Bangkok during 2007.
In 2008, he traveled to Taiwan where he was the only non-Asian selected to participate in the first Fusing International Biennale: “Asia, Post-Colonial, and Contemporary Arts.”
A multimedia artist working primarily in the San Francisco and New York City areas, Perkins' film and video works have screened theatrically, broadcast on PBS, and received awards at a number of festivals.
He has taught all ages and was a graduate adviser in video design and technology at The New School, and an adjunct professor of communications at Bronx Community College.
His wry look at men and masculinity titled a man ought to know that... is in the permanent collection of artists' books at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
“Comprehension - or rather lack of same - is my prevailing creative practice,” says Perkins. “With disciplined willfulness, I strive to enter into artistic projects as I do my everyday life; I cast aside preconceived notions in order to spontaneously respond to what is before me, and what is within me, at that specific moment.
“By this I mean I am a chameleon who takes on the colors and textures of a given subject. Each subject, every place requires a unique approach, and often a different medium of expression. Themes of memory, of movement, and of marking a (sense of) place are prominent in my work. Mostly I try to keep my eyes just as open to the ordinary as to the exotic.”