Think Inside the Box

(SCENE) Metrospace will unveil a community-wide art exhibit entitled “Think Inside the Box” featuring the work of mid-Michigan schools at a special public opening on Friday, Dec. 12 from 6-9 p.m. The exhibit will run from Dec. 11-14 and can be viewed during regular gallery hours.

The exhibit, which was coordinated by Susannah Van Horn of the Michigan State University (MSU) Art Education program, is a compilation of white lidded boxes that were donated by the MSU Surplus Store and offered to all mid-Michigan schools who wished to participate. The boxes served as the boundaries for the “Think Inside the Box” project, but did not limit students in the amount or types of materials that they were able to use to create their unique works of art.

Although the trend in creativity and education today is to "think outside the box," little attention is being paid to the benefits of "thinking inside the box." Thinking outside the box can be so open-ended that it is limiting to the creative process. Artists, in an attempt to let their minds wander, fail to fence in their thoughts long enough to follow a project through to the end product. They may generate more ideas, but the ideas are so disconnected that they have difficulty putting those ideas into a final work of art.

(SCENE) Metrospace is East Lansing’s City-funded contemporary art gallery and performance space. It is located at 110 Charles St. in the colorful Division Street parking structure, next door to Georgio’s Pizza. (SCENE) is open Thursdays from 2-5 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 2-6 p.m. and Sundays from noon-4 p.m. during scheduled exhibits. For more information about the space contact Tim Lane at (517) 319-6832.