FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Springfield, MO. (June 15, 2021) – The Springfield Art Museum is pleased to announce the acquisition of Kansas artist Rebecca Hackemann’s participatory sculpture Visionary Sightseeing Binocular, currently installed on the Museum’s grounds as a part of the special exhibition Four by Four (4x4): 2020 Midwest Invitational Exhibition. Since 2014, the 4x4 exhibition has recognized and encouraged artists working in all media who reside in the four-state region of Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kansas.
Hackemann’s work is on view along with bodies of work by Rebecca Drolen (Arkansas), Glyneisha Johnson (Missouri), and Crystal Z Campbell (Oklahoma). Hackemann joins previous 4x4 featured artists Shawn Bitters, Sage Dawson, Anne Austin Pearce, and Emily Wood in having work acquired to the Museum’s permanent collection. Her sculpture is currently located on the stage of the Museum’s outdoor amphitheater.
Hackemann was born in Germany, educated in England, and has been living and working in the midwestern United States for the last fifteen years. She is a conceptual artist working in a variety of media including photography, social practice, public art, and drawing. She holds a PhD in Critical Practice from UAL, Chelsea College of Art London, an MFA from Stanford University, and a BFA from the University of Westminster. She was a Whitney Museum of American Art ISP Program Studio Fellow and has exhibited her work extensively, both nationally and internationally.
This work was commissioned by the Museum for inclusion in the 4x4 exhibition. The binocular includes archival photographs of the Museum site at different points throughout its history, as well as an artistic rendering of the Museum site through Phase I Master Plan improvements to the grounds. By turning the crank, viewers can rotate the 3-D images, presenting a unique opportunity to consider the passage of time, change, place, and the environment around us – both built and natural.
Visionary Sightseeing Binocular is the first acquisition of intentionally participatory sculpture installed on the Museum’s grounds. This acquisition also marks the first permanently installed work on the grounds by a woman artist. This acquisition supports the Museum’s goal of acquiring public outdoor sculpture, as well as works by artists who originate or work in the Midwest. Additionally, this work further diversifies the voices represented in the Museum’s collection.
Hackemann notes, “I am deeply honored and thankful to have my work represented in the collection of the Springfield Art Museum, first and foremost as an artist - for it is every artist’s dream to have their work preserved in this way - but also as a first generation immigrant. It is time to diversify museum collections and I am very happy and honored to be part of this process. I hope this work will give perspective to the evolution of this amazing Museum in Springfield that will soon go through another transformation.”
See the 4x4: 2020 Midwest Invitational Exhibition through June 27, 2021 in our New Wing Galleries. Financial assistance for this project has been provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. The Springfield Art Museum is located at 1111 East Brookside Drive. Admission is always free. Donations are gratefully accepted.
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The Springfield Art Museum is Springfield, Missouri’s oldest cultural institution, founded in 1928. A department of the City of Springfield, the Museum invites you to connect with the world, your community, and yourself through active engagement with art objects. For more information, please visit www.sgfmuseum.org or contact Joshua Best, Museum Affairs Officer at (417) 874-2859 or jbest@springfieldmo.gov.
