On Friday, October 12, Choate Rosemary Hall welcomed guest artist Kathryn Frund to the exhibition gallery of the Paul Mellon Arts Center. The artist showcased her art portfolio titled “Open Collections,” which explores themes such as stewardship, fluidity, excess, and integration.
Pieces made of primarily recycled materials can be found in the exhibit — something common in Ms. Frund’s work. Plexiglass, paint, archived magazine pages, and fabrics can be found within the show spread out onto both the main stage and other side of the PMAC.
Originally from the East Coast, Ms. Frund temporarily moved to the Midwest for school and later lived in New York City. Residing in New York City and in New Haven most inspired Ms. Frund’s work. “New Haven has a really strong art community and a lot of the artists use [recycled] materials,” This idea of found materials plays a pivotal role in the theme of Ms. Frund’s work. Today, Ms. Frund has pieces in many different galleries across New England, including in New Haven and Boston.
One of the works currently displayed in the PMAC gallery, ‘One Word’, shows who Ms. Frund is as an artist. Made of recycled pieces of plexiglass, the work was slowly assembled over the course of nine months using pieces of different red signs. “For some years I drove by a signage store that was next to my studio and only just recently did I realize that they were just throwing away all of the big pieces of plexiglass,” Ms. Frund said. When fully put together, the sign appears to write out “One Word” in intertwining letters. But, Ms. Frund said, “The title is actually [named after The Graduate,] a 1960’s film and in the film there is a character who tells Benjamin, the main character, that ‘the future is one word: plastics.’” At the time the film was being made, consumer plastic was not yet, as Ms. Frund puts it, “completely covering the earth.”
Last week, Ms. Frund also worked with Choate students and included their work in her show. The entire Visual Arts Concentration group worked with the artist for five days, learning how to make art out of recycled plexiglass, fabrics, magazines, and paint. And during Community Service Day, the same students, along with the residents of Bungalow, a sixth-form girls’ dorm, created a large-scale installation next to the PMAC. That work, titled “Project Plastic,” highlights reminds its audience that only 9% of the world’s recyclable plastic is, in fact, recycled.
The Visual Arts Concentration students led the process of selecting this year’s artist-in-residence. As Ms. Frund explained, “I had an open studio last year and a group of students approached me, saw the work, and that’s how I came to be a visiting artist.” When asked why she chose “One Word” and other artwork to display, she added, “The students last year had seen a lot of work that incorporated plastic and post-consumer waste, I chose very specifically to focus on that.”
Ms. Frund’s display in the PMAC gives students an idea to ponder: the consequences of our consumerist society. “These pieces give a perfect image of sustainability at Choate,” said Max Zhang ’22. “It gives us all something to think about the next time we hold a plastic cup in our hands.”
Kathryn Frund, Choate’s current artist in residence, presented her environmentally-focused work to the community last Friday, October 12.
