Videos & Images of Past Work
Wes Bruce
@Wesbruce_
wes@livethecuriouslife.com
Hi :) My name is Wes Bruce. I’m a multi-practice artist, educator, poet, and designer. For the last decade, I've worked professionally creating large-scale, site-specific installations, exhibitions, and projects that are deeply engaging, exploratory in nature, wildly expansive in imagination and paired with education opportunities. They are intuitively threaded into communities and act as worlds within the world, full of embodied magic that blends the line between fact and fiction. They have an emphasis on engaging this gray area between the real and the imagined in an open, full-selfed experience. The installations invoke creative play in children and adults that is insightful, life-giving and adaptable. There is often a large emphasis on our connections to the natural world, which can be directly seen through the materials and ideas used as well as the connection between our emotional landscape and the literal landscape we find ourselves in. I collaborate with museums, organizations, architects, engineers, fabricators, forests, fields, families, rivers, community members, libraries and galleries. I have a degree in Art Education, was the director of a summer camp, and have been doing art workshops and community programming professionally for over a decade, with a focus on creative teen programming. My work strives to be meditative and playful, chaotic yet centering, outward and inward.
Videos & Images of Past Work
Wes Bruce
@Wesbruce_
wes@livethecuriouslife.com
Hi :) My name is Wes Bruce. I’m a multi-practice artist, educator, poet, and designer. For the last decade, I've worked professionally creating large-scale, site-specific installations, exhibitions, and projects that are deeply engaging, exploratory in nature, wildly expansive in imagination and paired with education opportunities. They are intuitively threaded into communities and act as worlds within the world, full of embodied magic that blends the line between fact and fiction. They have an emphasis on engaging this gray area between the real and the imagined in an open, full-selfed experience. The installations invoke creative play in children and adults that is insightful, life-giving and adaptable. There is often a large emphasis on our connections to the natural world, which can be directly seen through the materials and ideas used as well as the connection between our emotional landscape and the literal landscape we find ourselves in. I collaborate with museums, organizations, architects, engineers, fabricators, forests, fields, families, rivers, community members, libraries and galleries. I have a degree in Art Education, was the director of a summer camp, and have been doing art workshops and community programming professionally for over a decade, with a focus on creative teen programming. My work strives to be meditative and playful, chaotic yet centering, outward and inward.
A multi-dimensional creative practice...
Part Artist's Vision,
Part NATURALIST's specimen collection,
part mystic's DREAM IN a DESERT cave,
part explorer's travel journal,
PART HUMANIST'S COMMUNITY PROJECT,
Part Child's Magnifying glass,
part's STORYTELLER'S LIVING METAPHOR,
part poet's love letter to the world...
Recent PROJECTS :::
WHERE THE QUESTIONS LIVE ::: PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM
ADVENTURE FOREST ::: CHILDREN’S MUSEUM DENVER
WHERE THE QUESTIONS LIVE
WITH PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM ::: CHECK OUT THE PROJECT WEBSITE
WHERETHEQUESTIONS.LIVE
PAST PROJECTS ::: THE WONDER SOUND, CAVERNOUS, THE TELLS,
COURAGE MURAL, ICA TEEN ART COUNCIL COLLAB, LATE AUGUST YARROW, TAKEN BY WONDER & OTHERS
(Click the owl above)
"The Wonder sound : A world Unfolding"
trailer for the feature film by Bryan Bangerter
^ video Walk-through of the Wonder Sound
^ Video for the Artist-in-residence workshop series video recap at mass moca for
cavernous : the inner life of courage - an immersive installation in Kidspace
^ Cavernous : The inner life of courage - a short film by Ryan Shoemaker
YOU HAVE ALL THE TIME YOU NEED...
WHO I'M WORKING WITH...
MASSACHUSETTS MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
THE NEW CHILDREN'S MUSEUM SAN DIEGO
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM DENVER
INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART BOSTON
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART DENVER
MAUI ARTS AND CULTURAL CENTER
MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS
CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR THE ARTS
LUX ART INSTITUTE SAN DIEGO
OCEANSIDE MUSEUM OF ART
IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE CENTER OF NORTHERN COLORADO
MANY DIFFERENT SCHOOLS, COMMUNITY CENTERS AND NON-PROFITS
THE MARTHA'S VINEYARD FILM FESTIVAL, PARC FOUNDATION NEW YORK CITY, THE NEW SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, POINT LOMA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY, CREATIVE MORNINGS SAN DIEGO, THE BAY - LINCOLN NE, SVPER ORDINARY GALLERY - DENVER CO, SUBTEXT GALLERY - SAN DIEGO CA, RE:GALLERY - CARLSBAD CA, MANOR HOUSE QUARTERLY, SEZIO - ART & MUSIC 501(c)3, HOLIDAY MATINEE - HIGH PROFILE BLOG, YELLER ARTIST COLLECTIVE, MONIKER WHARE HOUSE, THE GARAGE CREATIVE CO-OP, SUSHI PERFORMANCE CENTER, 32 NORTH BREWING COMPANY, THE BAKERY DESIGN STUDIO, COFFEE & TEA COLLECTIVE, KEYNOTE COFFEE, AKINZ SHOP, ILLUMAN APIARY, SAN YSIDRO COMMUNITY CENTER, SOUTHERN SUDANESE COMMUNITY CENTER, SOUTH BAY COMMUNITY CENTER, LGBT CENTER HILLCREST SAN DIEGO, SHERMAN HEIGHTS COMMUNITY CENTER, THE MUSEUM SCHOOL, ATLAS GALLERY GREELEY CO, INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE, SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, WELD COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, HIGH PLAINS LIBRAY DISTRICT, THE CITY OF GREELEY, THE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION, INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES, NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS, NBC ~ NATIONAL BROADCASTING CORPORATION, KPBS PUBLIC BROADCASTING,AS WELL AS OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, BUSINESSES, AND LOTS OF OTHER FRIENDS.
SEND ME A MESSAGE / Follow on Instagram
SEND ME A MESSAGE / Follow on Instagram
HAVE A IDEA FOR A FUTURE PROJECT?
SEND ME A MESSAGE & LET'S START THE CONVERSATION...
INSTALLATIONS - MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS - GALLERY SHOWS - MURALS - RESIDENCY PROGRAMS - OTHER?
THOUGHTS ON ART EDUCATION
THOUGHTS ON ART EDUCATION
WHY I BELIEVE IN ART EDUCATION :
AN EVER-BLOOMING PHILOSOPHY
ART EDUCATION, THROUGH THE MANY ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCY PROGRAMS AND COMMUNITY PROJECTS I HAVE LED AND PARTICIPATED IN, OFFERS TO ANYONE, CHILD, TEENAGER, OR ADULT, THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE ART AS A VESSEL TO PROCESS THIS WORLD OF PARADOX AROUND THEM, AND WITHIN THEM. IT OFFERS OWNERSHIP OVER ONE'S OWN STORY, MAKING YOU A SUBJECT OF YOUR OWN LIFE, FULL OF CHOICE, SELF AWARENESS, AND WORLD AWARENESS. IT'S A CONDUIT TO AUTHENTICALLY INVESTIGATE YOUR IDENTITY, TO GROW IN CHARACTER, AND TO BE ENRICHED AS A COMMUNITY OR INSTITUTION.
ART EDUCATION CAN BE A SOCIAL TOOL FOR JUSTICE, GROWING EMPATHY, AND EMPOWERING YOUR SKILLS OF ASKING GREAT QUESTIONS, TO BECOME A BETTER LISTENER TO THE WORLD AROUND YOU.
WE TAKE IN THE WORLD THROUGH OUR SENSES, MOST OFTEN OUR EYES, AND MAKING ART WITH OUR HANDS AND BODIES, OFFERS US A CHANCE FOR A KINETIC EXPLORATION OF OUR INTAKE, AND A WAY TO DISCERN AND PROCESS THIS CONTENT. MOST OF OUR SENSES CANNOT EXPRESS IDEAS ON OUR MINDS BEHALF, BUT OUR HANDS CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE PHYSICAL PARTICIPATION WITH OF ALL THIS SENSORY INFORMATION. WE CAN THINK WITH OUR HANDS; THEY OFFER AN EXHALE TO OUR VISUAL AND AUDITORY INHALE. THEY OFFER US THE GIFT OF COMMUNING VERSUS CONSUMING WITH WHAT WE OBSERVE AROUND US.
LIFE IS A DISCOVERY PROCESS, FULL OF THE POTENTIAL TO PARTICIPATE RICHLY WITH MYSTERY. THE ART PROGRAMMING I RUN AND COLLABORATE ON, INVESTS IN SELF AWARENESS / WORLD AWARENESS, THE ABILITY TO ARTICULATE THOUGHT AND THE FUSION OF THOUGHT MATERIAL INTO ARTWORK . IT BUILDS COMMUNITY, EMPOWERS EMPATHY, ENCOURAGES EXPLORATIONS OF IDENTITY, TEACHES A FINE-TUNED CURIOSITY AND WONDER FOR THE NOUNS OUTSIDE OF YOURSELF, OFFERS TANGIBLE & INTANGIBLE SKILLS, MATERIAL KNOWLEDGE, AND MANIFESTS VENUES TO SHOWCASE THESE DISCOVERIES AND SHARE THEM WITH OTHERS.
LARGE SCALE INSTALLATIONS
+
PROGRAMMING...
IN 2 ELEMENTS
ELEMENT 1.
THE INSIGHTFUL, IMAGINATIVE, AND ADAPTABLE CAPACITY TO SEE INTO HIDDEN AND OFTEN UNSEEN THINGS TO CRAFT INNOVATIVE PROJECTS THAT ARE DEEPLY ENGAGING, EXPLORATORY IN NATURE, EXPANSIVE IN IDEATION, AND WILDLY CREATIVE - ALL CULMINATING IN A WORLD WITHIN A WORLD.
ELEMENT 2.
A REFINED SKILL SET TO LOGISTICALLY ENUMERATE AND FACILITATE SUCH PROJECTS AND PROGRAMMING THROUGH CLEAR BUDGETS, CONCEPT, ATTENTION TO SAFETY PARAMETERS, TIMELINES, ASSISTANTS, AND A THOROUGH EXAMINATION OF THE SCOPE OF WORK AND ALL THAT IT ENTAILS.
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