UnchARTed Studios on Merrimack Street in downtown Lowell opened its doors on Saturday
with its grand opening. The Ignition event featured multimedia art from 13 artists, including
Culturehive’s Gilbert Gandia. There was also other art by Hali Vik, Lindsey Parker, Samnang
Riebe, Roy Hawes, Tim Goguen, Michael Dailey, Corey Luebbers, Fran Collazo, Bradford
Rusick, Michael Meador, Matthew Weir and Ali Torrice. Music and performances continued
through the reception late into the night.

One man band “Packrat” playing the keyboard.

Hali Vik, one of UnchARTed Studios founding members, said she found out about the second
floor Merrimack Street space after she had lost her own studio space. After taking a tour
through the mess that was to someday be UnchARTed Studios, she and Lindsey Parker
committed the time to clean the space and bring it up to code. The opening was a culmination of
all the hard work to prepare the space as both studios for artists and a gallery to show work for
public viewing. There is currently a waiting list for artists who would like studio space.

The full roster of musical events and performances throughout the day as well as the
careful curation of art along the walls indicated that UnchARTed Studios is serious about its mission.

Obhehi Janice gave a performance preview of Fufu and Oreos, a one woman performance
premiering on May 13th at the 119 Gallery in Lowell. If the preview was anything like the actual
performance, humor and wit will fill the show as Obehi explores her identity.

Obhehi Janice gives a preview of Fufu and Oreos.

Some art in the show, such as “Flight of the Lesbians” by Tim Goguen depicted a sexual encounter between
two lesbians. This piece was an example of some of the provacative work shown at the gallery. In contrast, there was other work such as “Natural Appropriation” by Bradford
Rusick which featured mixed media representations of flowers, birds and landscapes.

“Natural Appropriation” by Bradford
Rusick

“It’s About Time” by Lindsey Parker featured colorful geometric forms against a blue
background. The lines and shapes weaved themselves in and out of other shapes to form
different layers.

“It’s About Time” by Lindsey Parker

“Lemon Heads” by Michael Dailey showed three prominent yellow forms
juxtaposed together with
faces, presumably the lemon heads. One of these lemon heads had an almost human body
while the other heads floated against the background of abstract shapes.

“Lemon Heads” by Michael Dailey

The event was well attended by visitors looking for an interesting art experience in downtown
Lowell. The mix of art on the walls, music, performance, and wide open area in which to
socialize created a fun atmosphere for art lovers to socialize and appreciate the art.

The Artbotics opening took place at both the 119 Gallery and the Revolving Museum in Lowell, MA. The exhibits contain works which integrate both art and technology. UMASS Lowell students showed their work at the 119 Gallery as part of the “Play” exhibit” and Lowell High students showed their work at the Revolving Museum as part of the “Other Side” exhibit. “Play” will show at the 119 Gallery from April 26 through May 5.

“Play” and “Other Side” are the culmination of students learning about art, computer science, and robotics where the final result is an interactive and public exhibit. The students incorporate microcontrollers, motors, LEDs, and various sensors to make their exhibits interactive. While there were many great exhibits, this article covers only a few.

Music in Motion

“Music in Motion” by Nathan Maillet allows the viewer to create music by walking back and forth in front of sensors. As the viewer walks back and forth, hammers will hit the keys on a xylophone. A different sensor controls each hammer, so the viewer (and listener) can create music. The high level of control makes the exhibit interesting because it is possible to create many musical combinations.

Trash Monster

A pile of trash sits in the corner of the 119 Gallery. As one approaches, two recycled trash monsters rise out of the trash to greet the unsuspecting visitor. It looks like the monsters might attack but as soon as they look at their visitors with bright green eyes, they retreat back into the trash frightened.”Trash Monster” by Julia Donigian and Alyssa McCann does an excellent job of portraying an interesting environment in which the monsters live.

Simply Over-Engineered

“Simply Over-Engineered” by Eric McCann features a shy robotic arm named Claude. Anytime the viewer puts his or her hand near the arm, Claude will move away with his two degrees of freedom of movement. According to McCann, Claude is “a nice robot once you get to know him”; McCann should know with 60 hours of work fine tuning Claude. The viewer interaction with Claude provides a unique experience as it is fun to see how Claude will react to a viewer’s hand movements.

Other Side

The “Other Side” exhibit featured creatures from a dark underworld. Some creatures might be related to animals seen on this earth, such as a snake and crocodile, while other creatures were definitely out of this world. The size of a huge bug, a strangely colored egg with tentacles, and a creature with tentacles hanging from the ceiling contributed to the eerie atmosphere.