Nine large horse-shaped balloons are floating in the Edith Renfrow Smith `37 Student Art Gallery. Some upside down, some sideways and some already deflating, the horses will hang until Nov. 16, when “High Horse,” the student art exhibit created by Regann Fishell `27 and Amy Kan `27, will close.
Beneath the horses hangs transparent bright green fabric spotted with cloth flowers, pinned to the walls and held in place on the floor with rocks. As the viewer enters, two deflated horse balloons are pinned on one wall against a large background of green fabric, around which is drawn an ornate charcoal frame. The two opposite walls are smudged with charcoal and distressed strips of wallpaper, on top of which are plastered dozens of printed posters featuring photographs and drawings of horses, along with enigmatic text reading things like “I miss my son” and “Have you seen this horse?”
“A Party City balloon is how it all started,” Fishell said. Kan saw a horse balloon in the store and texted Fishell, half-joking, that they should make art with it.
Even before the Party City experience, the idea of balloons had been on Kan’s mind. “It literally came to me in a dream,” she said. “I had a dream that I filled a room with balloons.” The very next day Kan went to see her advisor, Professor Robin Strangfeld, to tell her about the concept. Strangfeld encouraged Kan enthusiastically.
Among many unique features of the show, Kan emphasized how unusual it is to see Smith Gallery shows created by multiple people. “We have the individual skills necessary to mesh together,” Kan said, describing herself as more theoretical while Fishell is skilled with power tools and the physical processes of installation.
“We drew out the spacial area on a whiteboard and we spun around in chairs and thought of what it should look like,” Fishell said, recounting their collaborative process.
One of the hardest parts, according to Fishell, involved tracking down a helium tank, which she eventually found in the back of the Ace Hardware in town. “Did you know that there’s, like, no helium tanks in Grinnell? The one we used is from 2021.” Fishell said with an incredulous laugh.
Kan said she chose the distinctive materials used in the exhibit for their temporality. “I think I wanted to deal with something that evolved over time, and seeing the exhibition space as a changing, not static space,” she said. “Also from a practical standpoint, to encourage people to go in over time, because it’ll be different each time — such is the nature of helium.”
Fishell said she was inspired by the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, when she chose to include the pale yellow floral wallpaper that adorns sections of the gallery walls. “Then we were like, what goes with the wallpaper?” she said. “A bunch of horse posters.”
According to Kan and Fishell, the response so far has been affectionate, including a shoutout on the anonymous social media app YikYak. “I’m glad people like it, because I’m really proud of how it turned out,” said Fishell.
Kan said her favorite part of the exhibit is the framed deflated balloons on the wall. “There’s a secret anagram in the title of that fake work — it’s our friend’s full legal name scrambled.” This sort of playful approach to artmaking seems to delight both Kan and Fishell.
Fishell did not hesitate before offering her advice to any students considering creating a Smith Gallery show, especially those with unconventional ideas. “Be more silly,” she said. “Be as silly as possible.”
