Villa Terrace: Room-size plant is actually art
This article by Mary Louise Schumacher appeared in both the online and print editions of the MJS

Plants inhale and exhale, just like we do, though we rarely think of it in such terms. Inspired by this idea and the strange and wonderful wallpaper in a second-floor gallery at the VillaTerrace Decorative Arts Museum, artist Yevgeniya Kaganovich hatched the idea for a room-size installation that will behave like human lungs but will take on the appearance of a fantastical organism, with long stems, bulbous roots and shoots.

The computerized work, created in collaboration with multimedia artist Nathaniel Stern, will sprout from the museum’s decorative interior and respond to environmental triggers, such as fluctuations in temperature and light. The life of the museum is implied in the artwork, which will alter over time.

“Strange Vegetation” opens Wednesday at Villa Terrace, 2220 N. Terrace Ave., with an opening from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and an artist’s talk at 6:30 p.m.

“Life Cycles,” a talk by an assistant professor of art history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, held in conjunction with the show, will be at 7 p.m. June 16.

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