Sideshow | Dave Cole
An exploration of the United States’ national identity, deeply rooted patriotism, work ethic, and its most cherished symbols, Sideshow invites us to reconsider familiar objects and ideas with a healthy dash of wit, irreverence, and spectacle.
From excavators and children’s toys to the American flag and the source of the underlying value of the US dollar, multidisciplinary artist Dave Cole repurposes familiar tools and objects to create delightful and unexpected juxtapositions.
Alongside the main exhibition in the Boiler Room gallery, Cole’s outdoor installation The Knitting Machine will be on view in the North Courtyard. From July 1–4, you’re invited to come watch as Cole uses telephone poles as knitting needles and two large excavators as arms in an attempt to create the world’s largest knitted American flag on the Momentary campus, live before your very eyes.
Visitors are encouraged at any time during the knitting process, but we’ll host a special celebratory toast to cheer on the final “purl one, knit two” on July 4. Once complete, the flag will remain on view through July 16.
Free, no tickets required.
RUN OF SHOW
Note: In case of rain or other inclement weather, The Knitting Machine will not be on display. The indoor Boiler Room installation will remain open rain or shine.
July 1
The Knitting Machine will knit from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
July 2
The Knitting Machine will knit from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
July 3
Intermission—no knitting will take place, but visitors, photography, and video are welcome.
July 1 – August 27
Gallery Hours, Sideshow on view
July 5 – 16
Tuesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., The Knitting Machine on view
ABOUT THE ARTIST
“Art can be both intellectually rigorous and conceptually accessible without compromising either value—I think it comes closest to its purpose when it is.”
Dave Cole grew up working with iron in his grandfather’s blacksmith shop, on the family farm in New Hampshire. He attended Brown University, graduating with honors in 2000. Cole has had solo exhibitions at Mass MoCA, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, and The Norton Museum of Art, among others.
Cole’s work is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Brown University, where his work is on permanent display.
He lives and works in Hudson, New York.