Rudd Art Museum

On exhibition: A Chapel for Humanity. Free Admission.

Celebrating our 11th summer season!

RUDD ART MUSEUM

"A Chapel for Humanity"

The chapel has been created
by artist Eric Rudd for both an
art experience and private meditation.

"A MASSIVE SCULPTURAL EPIC"
OVER 150 LIFE-SIZE FIGURES;
250 LOW-RELIEF CEILING FIGURES;
PLUS A SEPTEMBER 11 MEMORIAL
INSTALLED IN AN HISTORIC CHURCH

A 12 YEAR CREATIVE EFFORT
FIRST OPENED 12.15.2001, then opened for the entire summer 2002 season.

82 Summer Street, Post Office Square North Adams
Summer: Thurs - Sun 12-5 Fall: Sat & Sun 12-5 413.664.9550 www.ericrudd.com

FREE ADMISSION

A CHAPEL FOR HUMANITY's 2013 summer season (11th exhibition season) begins June 19. North Adams' "best kept secret," the exhibition is open to the public and free of charge.

A CHAPEL FOR HUMANITY contains a contemporary sculptural epic that includes more than 150 life-sized figures. In addition, the artist has created fifty-four ceiling panels containing more than two hundred additional monotype/painted figures assembled in low relief.

Artist Eric Rudd first began the sculptural epic in 1991. Working on and off for the next decade, it was conceived of as an installation in the present structure when the church was acquired by the artist in April, 1996. The epic was finished and installed during the summer of 2001 and was first opened to the public on December 15, 2001.

The main sculptural work is made of painted acrylic enamel on spray polyurethane foam over wood and fabric. The figures are approximately life-size or larger. Figurative groups are placed on "islands" with footpaths that allow the viewer to walk into and through the many scenes. A balcony allows the entire assemblage to be viewed from above.

An adjacent room contains 'floating' figures above an ash-colored terrain. This installation/memorial is dedicated to the September 11 victims.

Other rooms contain additional sculptural reliefs as well as a gallery of figurative drawings by the artist.

A CHAPEL FOR HUMANITY is housed in a historically important structure (built 1893, formerly the Unitarian-Universalist Church).

Fusing traditional and contemporary art, A CHAPEL FOR HUMANITY offers both an art experience and a place for meditation. It is one of the few artist chapels as well as one of the few large-scale religious installations in the United States.

The public will find many references to both religious and social history as well as current political conditions, especially as it relates to the tragic events of September 11.

The city of North Adams is known for its contemporary art venues and for its many church steeples. This project integrates contemporary art into one of the city's important historical gems.

Eric Rudd is a well-known sculptor/mixed media artist who has exhibited for over thirty-five years. His work is in many museum and private collections in the United States, Europe and Asia. He works with new technological processes and materials including robotics, industrial spray polyurethanes and blow molded polycarbonates. He is the creator of the Dark Ride Project, a 15,000 square-foot exhibition that included an actual ten-minute ride on the robotic "Sensory Integrator." It was opened to the public in 1996 until 2006. Eric Rudd founded and for ten years directed the Contemporary Artists Center, a not-for-profit artists' studio residency and exhibition facility. He has been the recipient of fellowship grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Japan Foundation. He is the author of two books, The Art Studio/Loft Manual - For Ambitious Artists and Creators and The Art World Dream - Alternative Strategies for Working Artists (www.EricRudd.com).

To respect the nature of the work and place, visitors are asked not to talk or take photographs. Due to the mature nature of the content and fragility of the sculptures, children must be accompanied by an adult.

For additional information about A CHAPEL FOR HUMANITY, please call 413.664.9550 or email: [email protected].