Wasp Papers/Allegorical Objects -Opening Reception

Artist, scientist, librarian, scholar, and expert dumpster-diver Tristan Duke will exhibit new works entitled “Wasp Papers/Allegorical Objects” at Naropa University’s Nalanda Gallery at 6287 Arapahoe Avenue in Boulder from November 2nd until December 14th. Using an unlikely combination of wasps nests, antique lights bulbs, microscopes, toy guns, and baby shoes, as well as other artifacts salvaged from local back alleys, Duke tells the tale of what he calls Boulder’s “material unconscious.” The show kicks off with an opening reception on Friday, November 6th from 5-7 p.m featuring live music, refreshments, and a presentation on wasp behavior by Michelle Ochomogo, Ph.D. candidate in the University of Colorado Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department.“This was the first one I made,” says Duke, picking up the first in a set of light bulbs. These are not ordinary light bulbs; Duke has reconstructed them, replacing the filaments with insect specimens that emit an eerie glow. Mounted on wooden bases reminiscent of 19th century scientific instruments, the bulbs flicker on and off in response to the human voice. “Voice-activated circuits,” Duke explains with a quirky smile.Much of the exhibition is devoted to work in his Wasp Papers series, constructed from wasp nests that Duke has collected over the past three years. “I plastered the city with fliers looking for vespid specimens,” says Duke, referring to the wasp paper collection, “but I always wait for the first frost before I collect them, out of respect for the wasps.” Some of these nests are displayed in their natural state while others have been assembled into paper sculptures or transformed into mask-like figures. “It’s really a collaboration between me and the wasps,” adds Duke.Allegorical Objects, a second series of works in the exhibit, features pieces recovered from dumpsters, curbs, and junkyards assembled into a kind of surrealist library. One of the works is titled The Liberation Of Things From The Drudgery Of Being Useful, a phrase coined by critical theorist Walter Benjamin. “This refers to the project of the collector,” explains Duke, “within the context of a collection, objects take on new meaning.”Tristan Duke teaches photography and sculpture at Naropa University and works at the Allen Ginsberg Library. His work has been exhibited at the Angels Gate Cultural Center, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE), and the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art. Organizer of Naropa’s community-wide Altered Books Project, he has served as visiting artist and artist-in-residence at the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles. His book, Approaching the Microminiature, is forthcoming from Society for the Diffusion of Useful Information Press.For more information, contact Tristan Duke
tristanduke@yahoo.com