The display in O’Malley Library.
ANGELINA PEREZ / THE QUADRANGLE
By Angelina Perez, Arts and Entertainment Editor
Manhattan University has a new art exhibit at the entrance of the O’Malley Library featuring a column, piano keys and motorcycle bikes made with industrial-grade aluminum foil.
Amy Handfield, the director of access services for O’Malley Library, oversaw the entire process and collaborated closely with artist Jude Tallichet from conception to the current display.
“I’ve managed this gallery since 2018, and this year, the collaboration between the library and the artist came about because we were introduced to each other,” Handfield said. “I explained the space and said, ‘Perhaps you’d like to take a look’. I looked at her art and said, in my head, ‘I want to meet this artist, and I want her work to be here’.”
When Handfield first brought Tallichet to campus, she did not expect her to want to do one of the site-specific pieces, which are works of art designed specifically for a particular location and interrelated to that location.
“When [Tallichet] and her assistant visited, I took them around the library, and on the second floor, we have a Corinthian column near an atrium area near the windows and it’s one of the original columns of the old building from 1941,” Handfield said. “She saw the corinthian column, and she decided that she wanted to make it a site specific piece.”
A blurb by Tallichet is between the front desk and one of the motorcycles. It reveals her inspiration and hopes for those who decide to stop by and appreciate her creativity and vision.
“In the exhibition ‘Bootleg Index’, I try to disrupt conventional modes of seeing and encourage a deeper engagement with the familiar and the overlooked by manipulating texture and form,” Tallichet wrote. “My initial sources; the Library’s Corinthian column, motorcycles, and keyboards, aren’t exactly unfaithful to their translations, but hopefully they recede rather dramatically into the backstory. I want the artwork to sprout secondary and tertiary meanings. I hope to embrace the inherent mystery of the world around us by inviting curiosity, empathy, humor, and a sense of wonder by creating spatial experiences that maybe transcend the boundaries of language.”
Handfield asked Tallichet to compose an initial meaning for each piece, allowing students and faculty to interpret it in their own way.
“They come as objects, and that’s fine, but I wanted her to convey what she wants other meanings to come about,” Handfield said. “If someone said to you, ‘what does this piece mean?’ a response would be to ask them what they think it means, and it’s not a cop-out, it’s what she wants, almost like you have primary meaning.”
Handfield elaborated on the diverse range of artists featured in the exhibit, noting their unique approaches and intentions with the space.
“Every artist we’ve had here, ceramicists, photographers, painters and collaborative exhibitionists, has had different intentions, meanings, and mediums,” Handfield said. “But much of what [Tallichet] works with are more spaces, so she does more installation work. If you happen to be here during the first week of classes, you would see Jude and her assistant on the second floor molding the column; there’s a physicality to it.”
Sophomore physics major Sydney Gaddy has enjoyed seeing the art displays in the library since she first arrived at MU last year.
“Before the art piece that we currently have, I was already used to the previous artwork, which I would appreciate as general art that most people can understand,” Gaddy said. “Since it’s a library, we’re getting people from all different walks of life, and when I saw them taking down the old art, I was expecting another, more classical and widely accepted art style. So when I saw the tin foil, I thought it was interesting. I think it’s just a strange piece for a library, but it is interesting and temporary.”
Gaddy emphasized the importance of showcasing art in a space primarily dedicated to work, believing it enriches the student experience as they enter.
“It’s important that since we are a small school when we have artwork, it’s in a space we all use,” Gaddy said. “It helps give a good vibe and avoids making the space feel sterile.”