In preparation for the opening of the exhibit "Tools as Art" The Hechinger Collection, Cleo Copeland and Michael Walmsley, Joplin prepare to hang "Blue, Red, Brown" an acrylic with paintbrushes on canvas by Arman.

If you had a hammer would you hammer in the morning?...in the evening? Or would you see the possibilities of a hammer becoming a work of art, like the nationally and internationally recognized artists represented in the Hechinger Collection.

John Hechinger was heir and CEO of the family hardware and building materials chain started by his father in 1911. A move to a modern building in 1978 left Hechinger bemoaning the bare walls and empty hallways, but prompted the idea of displaying art that paid homage to the everyday tool. The entire collection now numbers over 350 paintings, sculptures, prints, and mixed media works in all media.

Tools as Art, Spiva's summer-long exhibit, opens to the public on Saturday, June 30. The exhibit presents 65 artworks from the Hechinger Collection and includes much more than just hammers. Saws, power drills, ladders, paint-brushes, wrenches, screwdrivers, shovels, and a tool box of other items are depicted, used as, or transformed into art in some way.

As exhibit curator Sarah Tanguy writes in the catalog, „Typically, we go about our daily chores not thinking twice about the hammer we pick up or the ladder we step on...We are so close to them that we no longer marvel at their economy of form and their elegance of design. The art collection of hardware industry pioneer John Hechinger awakens our appreciation.

In the artist's hands common tools are rendered in an unlikely material, such as Hans Godo Fräbel's Hammer and Nails made of glass, or Zen Saw II made of rice paper by John Mansfield. Tools can become another utilitarian object, such as Rake Back Chair #2 by Lee Schuette, or decoration for Hand Tooled Jacket II, a kimono by Debra Chase. Howard Finster's saw becomes a canvas for his folk art image and message, Mountains of People Use Tools, while a saw becomes part of Christopher Plowman‚s steel sculpture, Still Life with Tenon Saw.

From Fernand Léger's lithograph Les Constructeurs to Mr. Imagination's Paintbrush Portraits, the exhibit is eclectic in its range, too, from serious to playful. As the catalog describes, "...the collection often blurs the distinction between high and low art by identifying art with labor and tools, and stressing the basic fact that artists use tools to create art."

Humor is evident throughout the collection, too, as evidenced in Henryk Fantazos's Women in Labor, a rendering of women in high fashion on a work site, and Vladamir Salamun's Joined at the Handle, which pokes fun at the saying "two heads are better than one."

Several featured artists substitute found objects in their work. Richard Tipping's Drill-a-Phone substitutes a drill for the earpiece of a dial-up phone, reminding the viewer of some-one who could talk your ear off. Ken Butler combines several tools to create Saw Blades/Scythe/Guitar, a playable percussion instrument.

"Tools as Art is a show that both Ty Pennington and Tim the Tool Man‚ Taylor would enjoy," noted Spiva Director Jo Mueller. ""It's the perfect introduction to Spiva's new season of exhibits based on the theme, Art as a Practical Matter.‚"Mueller hopes that viewers will see the Tools as Art show as a fun, creative exhibit..."maybe even an extreme makeover of definitions about what art can be."

"Besides, she continues, "after seeing Tools as Art, you may want to explore the possibilities your toolbox at home holds."

Presentation of Tools as Art at Spiva Center for the Arts is sponsored by Crossland Construction Company, Inc. of Columbus, KS, with additional financial assistance from The Friends of St. Avips, and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency, with advertising support from Joplin Convention & Visitors Bureau. Tools as Art From the Collection of John W. Hechinger tour organized by International Arts & Artists of Washington, DC.

Spiva Center for the Arts is located at Third and Wall in downtown Joplin. The galleries and Gallery Gift Shop are open Tuesday through Saturday 10am–5pm and Sundays 1–5 pm. The Center is funded through memberships, contributions, and grants. Admission to the Main Gallery is by voluntary contribution.

For additional information, please call 417.623.0183.

George A. Spiva Center for the Arts
222 W. 3rd Street
Joplin, Mo 64801
Tel: 417-623-0183
Fax: 417-623-3805

See you at Spiva—where imagination lives!