By Examiner Staff Writer
Althea Murphy-Price buys synthetic hair with the fervor of a passionate wig maker or extensions-addicted pop singer.
With the plastic manes, she creates art works in the shape of hats and other accessories.
Her works, inspired by beauty salons, are meant to question how we perceive others? cultures, she said. “Things may appear odd or bizarre to us when we don?t relate to them.”
Intentionally deceptive, Murphy-Price manipulates her compliant medium until it is unrecognizable.
Murphy-Price?s pieces are on view at the Howard County Arts Council?s juried exhibit, Fashion Statement. She submitted slides of her work to the Council before moving to Indiana to teach print making at Indiana University.
Every year, over 160 artists vie for the Council?s gallery space, said Coleen West, the Council?s executive director. “It?s a highly competitive process. Shows are booked two years in advance. We do about 8 to 10 exhibits a year.”
The Council selected Murphy-Price to display her innovative work beside three-dimensional sculptures from an equally inventive artist, Donna McCullough.
“Their craftsmanship is topnotch technically as well as conceptually,” West explained about the pairing.
Since evolving from painter to sculptor, McCullough has created pieces using steel, wood, carved stone and steel-based metals adorned with aluminum and copper screenings. Beyond earthly elements, McCullough has woven vintage gas, coffee and cookie tins into dresses and aprons.
“In a way, my pieces are my life history,” said the Westminster artist. Her garments comment on women?s bonds often formed while cooking and cleaning and their status in the workplace.
“I still feel that we?re not where we should be and there are large inequities in the corporate towers,” she explained. “Some of my earlier pieces, all steel, are about wearing armor and going to battle, protecting yourself and presenting yourself in a way that’s more acceptable for others.”
Viewers often tell McCullough her work reminds them of Edgar Degas? sculptures, she said. “I?ve always liked Degas? work since I was a little girl seeing his [Little Dancer, Aged 14] at the Baltimore Museum of Art.”
“I just had this urge to work in metal,” she said. “I wake up and its like I need to do this.”
IF YOU GO
Fashion Statement
VENUE: Howard County Center for the Arts
8510 High Ridge Road, Ellicott City
WHEN: Through Dec. 14
Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.
RECEPTION: 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 30
INFO.: 410-313-2787
