Sculptures of sound reside in the Prichard

Zimoun, a Switzerland-based artist, has displayed works everywhere from Chile to China, Brazil to Belgium and many countries in between. This summer, his work has been featured at the Prichard Art Gallery in downtown Moscow.

Gallery Director Roger Rowley found Zimoun’s website a little over two years ago and sent in a contact form requesting an exhibition, allowing him to plan Zimoun’s exhibition for the last two years.

“Usually, I never hear back from an artist who is working internationally,” Rowley said. “In this case, in fact, they replied inside of 24 hours with a set of questions and I answered those questions to the best of my ability.”

In order to bring Zimoun to the Prichard, Rowley had to raise $15,000, which he did via a U&I Give, University of Idaho’s crowdfunding site. By March 26 he had done so, raising $15,780 — $780 over the goal — with 69 donors.

Rowley said the money donated allowed the Prichard to cover the installation costs and provide student volunteers who helped with the installation.

“The Prichard has a history of working with contemporary artists, both nationally and internationally,” Rowley said in an interview with The Argonaut last spring. “Our budget constraints are such that that’s more regional and national. But we like to think expansively about what we do, and in this case, we are stretching every research and capacity we have to pull off something that has never been done here before.”

Zimoun’s artwork creates sound through sculptural installations. He primarily uses industrial materials — like cardboard boxes, sticks and other common objects — in his sculptures, using small motors to create moving parts.

UI students and faculty helped install the five-piece exhibit at the Prichard. One of the pieces, which features spinning disks, had never been shown to the public before.

“As you move through the space, you hear each piece somewhat individually, but you have kind of sound bleed coming from all of the pieces,” Rowley said. “And so as you move through it, you sort of have each piece as a unique experience, but this background kind of overall experience.”

Rowley said the number of visitors to the Prichard has drastically increased since the exhibit opened on June 21. He estimated that by the end of the exhibition, the gallery may experience two to two-and-a-half times their all-time highest number of visitors to a single exhibit.

“No one comes away going, ‘I didn’t get it, I don’t know, I’m leaving,’” Rowley said. “Everyone has an impact from this exhibit on them.”

Associate UI professor Stacy Isenbarger helped Rowley install the exhibit this summer. Hearing of Zimoun before Rowley even announced the exhibition, she made sure to do her research on his previous works before aiding in the installation. Isenbarger said Zimoun’s work is substantially different than the kind of works typically housed in the Prichard.

Every exhibit in the Prichard changes the sense of space in the gallery, but Zimoun took that phrase to another level. Isenbarger helped install drywall, plaster and paint to alter the gallery space.

“(The installation) was over the summer and there were a lot of students who volunteered,” Isenbarger said. “It was nice, as a faculty member, to be part of that team instead of being in charge.”

The exhibit will run at the Prichard Art Gallery until September 22. Rowley and Isenbarger both emphasized that it is not to be missed.

“You can go in, experience it and then go do other things,” Isenbarger said. “I mean, go to the farmer’s market on Saturday, the gallery is open then, too. I don’t think art needs to be a one stop moment — you don’t need to plan your whole day around it. You should be able to see it often. Just let it become part of your day.”

Lex Miller can be reached at [email protected]