article hays daily news 26 Aug 2009 front page

 

text :

Artist strings talent, work together

by Ryan Christner : rchristner@dailynews.net

Equal parts math equation, display of physics, architectural design and woven textile, the art of Sean McGinnis sometimes escapes definition.

"I like that aspect that they are lots of different things," said McGinnis, whose sculptural string installations have brought him a certain level of notoriety throughout the United States and Europe.

The Hays-born artist, who for the past 12 years has resided in the art mecca of Paris, is back in his hometown.

McGinnis will take part in a new exhibition by the Hays Arts Council that will debut during the group's 25th annual fall gallery walk Friday.

Titled "Legends and Legacy," the display features McGinnis' creation and the works of 16 artists who have inspired the art culture of the area through their lifelong pursuit of art.

For McGinnis, who represents the "legacy" portion of the exhibit - that generation of artists that throughout the next 50 years will form their own legendary collections - the exhibition brings a chance to reconnect with people who have given him love, support, instruction and friendship.

"I love that this piece is happening in this context," McGinnnis said in reference to the exhibition theme.

Using a metaphor of bricklaying, he insisted he never could take the place of any of the legends, but instead would build upon the artistic foundation built by his predecessors.

"You're not independant," he said. "You're not isolated. You're part of a history."

McGinnis was born and raised in Hays, attending Fort Hays State University and graduating with a bachelor's degree in art before moving to Tucson, Ariz., and getting his masters in ceramic sculpture from the University of Arizona in 1989.

He was introduced to Paris as many others are, on a recreational trip as a tourist four years later. After that visit, attempting to stay away became difficult, until he finally decided to try his hand at living there.

He made a pair of preliminary trips, living there for only a few months at a time while working in a restaurant and polishing his French, before committing to the city for good in 1997.

McGinnis dabbled in ceramics, drawing, painting and photography during his early period in Paris until, and the exact reason why escapes him, he was drawn to string.

Inspired by basic geometric shapes, his creations form complex architectural structures suspended in space. He keeps his designs simple so as to free the viewer's mind from forming any concrete idea of what is is supposed to be.

"People, when they come ... they can map their own ideas onto it," he said. "The more complex forms have connotations."

So don't expect him to try to create a dog or a tree any time soon.

McGinnis estimates his latest project is about the third largest he's made. A project of this size, he said, takes him about 10 days to complete. Working about eight hours a day, the construction process equates to a full-time job.

"It's deceivingly mental," he said. "It's a combination of physical agility and mental agility. I find that I am physically exhausted at the end of the day."

Bu, that's all part of the draw.

"If it was easy, it wouldn't interest me," he said.

During the course of working on his new installation last week, fittingly shown in the Hays Arts Center's Founders Gallery, several artists included in the Legends exhibition -- including Omar Knoll, Kathleen Kuchar and John C Thorns Jr. -- stopped by to watch McGinnis as he worked and talk with him about his art.

Conceptually, their meetings embodied exactly what the exhibition is all about : bringing together the veterans and the up-and-comer, the teachers and the student, the legends and the legacy.

The Hays Arts Council Fall Gallery Walk begins Friday from 6:30 to 9:30 pm and continues Saturday at various times throught the day.

...