UF School of Art + Art History (SA+AH) associate professor Craig Smith, Ph.D, now has a permanent installation in the Elsewhere Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The installation, #NCTRIAD, is a collection of artifacts pulled from the museum that looks at sports celebrations and accomplishments.
“The film, video, and digital sound elements will be archived online and hosted by the museum, whereas the sculptural installation will remain on view in perpetuity,” Smith said.
Included in the exhibit is a plaque created especially for the installation, with a short quote from Smith.
The plate reads: “As one performs sport, the performance implants memory into one’s being; their ontology. One exercises this memory through a reliance on the sensations of their body. One is thus calling things to remembrance from a repeating performance of sport.”
Smith, who was a resident at the museum May 2017, took eight site-specific research trips in the Piedmont Triad region where he spoke with the players on the golf course to gain a better understanding of how different sports impact their social engagement.
“The amount of knowledge regarding art, archival research, or even the museum itself by any club member or player was quite varied,” Smith said.
Before coming to UF in 2010, Smith taught at many other universities and colleges, including New York University, Goldsmiths College (University of London) and the London College of Communication (University of the Arts London).
The Elsewhere Museum, located in Greensboro, North Carolina, was a former thrift store. It’s residency allows artists to live and work in the museum while creating their site-specific and responsive work.
See more of Smith's work on Instagram and follow him @craigsmithii.
