UTICA, NY.- ”Memoryscape,” an exciting exhibition of new luminous works by Daniel Buckingham, Professor of Sculpture at PrattMWP College of Art and Design, is on view in the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute Museum of Art.




The exhibition consists of two installations, “Childhood Adventure” and “Hair Amulet,” both constructed of paper over welded steel frames and illuminated by electric light. Buckingham describes his objects as “drawings.”

“I often reflect on Werner Herzog’s documentary film “Cave of Forgotten Dreams”. This unique film was shot in an austere cave discovered in 1994 in Chauvet, France. The cave paintings span 35,000 years representing generations of work made during a period marked by a glacial-time-clock. ‘Memoryscape’ are recent luminous drawings, constructed in the form of large snapping turtle shells. The shell is a fragmentation/ puzzle of smaller shields, known as scutes. This part to whole relationship frames my narrative. The turtle form is a universal symbol found in many Creation narrative’s throughout history. I am employing the structure and growth of a turtle shell to evoke our relationship to shifting tectonic plates, and the transforming memories we experience as our ever-shifting personal growth takes new forms and meaning. This micro/ macro relationship to seeing, touching and knowing the world throughout one’s life is navigated by our dwelling/ home/ shell/ self. It prompts us to trust in our life as it unfolds and reminds us to “stay in the present,” says Buckingham.