Bruce Larsen’s “Artifacts” exhibit, now available for viewing in the International Arts Center, features sculptures created from repurposed artifacts.
The reception, held in the IAC on Monday at 5 p.m., included hors d’oeuvres and a presentation made by the IAC art curator, Carrie Jaxon. Larsen discussed his inspiration and explained the artwork on display.
“I hope (the viewers) get an appreciation for those that came before them,” Larsen said. “I want these artifacts to have another life.”
Larsen said he considers himself a “modern archaeologist” because of his utilization of antiques and historical artifacts in his work.
Included in some of his pieces are shell casings from World War II and the bow of a ship wreck off Mobile Bay. Some of the artifacts Larsen uses in the exhibit are estimated to be more than a century old.
According to his artist statement from the exhibit, “many of these pieces were handed down from generation to generation, but now are discarded and forgotten, symbolic of our own mortality.”
Lauren Underwood, a senior art education major from Pelham, attended the reception and expressed her appreciation for Larsen’s work.
“I consider myself an artist as well, and it’s really cool to see other artists use repurposed material to create their art,” Underwood said. “He created something beautiful out of something that might be seen as garbage.”
Underwood’s favorite piece in the exhibit was “Firefly” because of Larsen’s use of a working light fixture in a mounted figure.
“The Firefly is abstracted, but you still know what it is, and you can still see the subject matter as well as the materials used,” Underwood said.
The IAC is celebrating its one-year anniversary of bringing culture and art to the students and community of Troy. The IAC promotes the arts to art students and also to anyone interested in expanding knowledge of culture.
Jaxon opened the presentation for Larsen by discussing the IAC’s success in this past year, with several exhibitions circulating since its opening.
“The IAC is very welcoming,” Underwood said. “I think they’re trying to get the word out to more than just art majors to come to events like these.
“I want more students who aren’t art majors to come and see the work and effort put into this center.”
When asked about his choice to display his work at the IAC as opposed to a more prominent location, Larsen, who studied industrial design at Auburn University, stated that he is an “Alabama boy” who loves this state and that he wants to support what the program is doing here.
Larson resides in Fairhope, where he is actively involved in the art community and is well-known for his work with special effects in movies, such as “The Patriot,” “Black Knight” and “Lincoln.”
According to AL.com, his art is also owned by Bill Clinton, Sting, Robert Plant and the crown prince of Bahrain.
Larson’s “Artifacts” sculpture exhibit will be on display in the IAC until Feb. 1.
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