Here’s A Dozen Reasons To Visit Design 99

By Ian Perrotta

Review Staffwriter

Need a little art in your November?

Check out Design 99’s latest show, “Work and Tumble: Photocopier as Illuminator.”

Put together by local artists Nina Bianchi and Steve Hughes, the show will display the works of 12 locally- and nationally-known artists. The artists created their own original works, and through the process of Xerography – more commonly known as photocopying – they then transformed it.

“The work, in process, utilizes Xerography to duplicate, cut and paste, reassemble, enhance, reorganize, smear, transform, manipulate, mutate, explode, and activate,” says Hughes. “And everyone used it differently.”

The result is a unique blend of original and reproduced works of art. The best part about it? They’re all for sale at a low, low price.

“In an effort to bring more art to more people, single color copies of each work of art will be produced in-house on a small press duplicator in editions of 20,” said Hughes.

Because the works are reproduced through Xerography, they are available for 99 cents. Originals will also be available for the more serious collectors.

For anyone who attends the show, there is an added bonus. Since the original artwork is “transformed, possibly transmuted, [and] rendered again by copy machine,” the act of experiencing the art is art itself.

Confused? Maybe Hughes can explain it better.

“In a way, there’s a show about the show, and that’s also part of the show,” says Hughes. “There’s like an additional layer of viewing and seeing the art.”

Still confused? See it for yourself. The show runs 7-10 p.m. every Saturday in November at Design 99, located at 3309 Caniff. The show opens this Saturday (Nov. 7).