Chazen Museum of Art opened its door to nature April 7 for the opening of ""Silver Wings and Golden Scales: An Installation by Jennifer Angus and Alistair MacDonald.""
UW-Madison associate professor in the art department and school of ecology Jennifer Angus teamed up with composer Alistair MacDonald to produce a visual and sonic experience of the insect world.
Angus adorned the earth-toned wallpaper with a collection of preserved exotic insects. The gallery consists of an array of cicadas, leaf-mimic insects, katydids and grasshoppers from different exotic locations. The majority of the insects are found in Thailand and Malaysia, but a few katydids and grasshoppers are taken from Peru, French Guyana and Madagascar.
These gorgeous specimens are placed in multiple circular patterns on the walls. Some patterns emphasize the various shapes and sizes—some are thin-bodied and long-legged, others are thicker and have nearly invisible appendages. Other patterns are based on color, contrasting the bright blues, greens and magentas with the neutral black and brown tones.
What is most notable about the visuals are the wings. The scales are intricate and appear as a design—a design that is not created but natural and once alive. The leaf-mimic insects are exquisite as their wings bear the likeness of leaves in color, texture and all their imperfections. Some leaf-mimics beam with life, bringing out a crisp, healthy green color. What is more incredible are the leaf mimics that replicate aging leaves, whose green begins to fade away and are slowly drying up around the edges that appear to be turning brown.
MacDonald compliments the visual insect patterns with a composition of insect sounds that can be heard as one steps inside the gallery. The sounds match up with the circular patterns, building up and fading out just as the insect patterns grow dense and fade out.
Experience the beauty of nature through the multimedia masterpiece of insect patterns and sounds in ""Silver Wings and Golden Scales."" The gallery is free and is on display at the Chazen until June 24.
