The Rubix
The Rubix is a temporary experimental structure created for visual and installation art research. Faculty in the Department of Art, Art History and Visual Studies are exploring the question: What is public art and how is it made? Future projects in and on this structure will attempt to answer this question.
- Collaborators
- Art, Art History & Visual Studies(external link)
A New Framework for Public Art
The Rubix is a new public art making opportunity at Duke. Designed and built by Art, Art History & Visual Studies lecturers Bill Fick and Stephen Hayes, the Rubix is an infinitely changeable three dimensional “canvas” for art projects. Both the interior and exterior can be designed anew with each installation, and the freedom of this flexible structure opens new realms of possibility. The Rubix is both a pop-up exhibition space and an artistic statement in itself. As artists face the challenge of finding affordable space to share their work with the public, the Rubix offers an alternative solution.
In Spring 2020, the Rubix will be the primary project sign for “Advanced Printmaking: The Printed Installation” (ARTSVIS426, taught by Bill Fick). Using the new manga graphic novel The Man Without Talent (Yoshiharu Tsuge, 2020) as prompt, students will craft two apartment rooms inside the Rubix entirely out of paper. The two rooms will be “furnished” with printed objects, and Japanese characters will cover the exterior. Students will also collaborate with Ryan Holmberg, a historian and critic of Asian art and comics, as they work on interpreting The Man Without Talent in 3D. (Holmberg was translator for the book’s English edition.)
Do you have an idea for the Rubix? Questions and proposals can be directed to Bill Fick (bill.fick@duke.edu).
