Marta Vitolins stood in the alley sandwiched between Jimmy John’s and Be Here Now painting a little door on a mural she has been working on since late July. The Ball State alumna’s dark green sunglasses were inches away from the canvas hanging on Be Here Now’s fence as she covered up blank spots with her brown paintbrush.
The mural is a two-part project by Glue & Scissors, an organization of artists that promotes local art participation and commentary. Vitolins, Glue & Scissors president, is working on the left half of the mural that depicts today’s corporate world. A giant, one-eyed robot kneels down in front of business buildings with a curving slide coming out of his pelvis.
“People who see it now are a little concerned by how vulgar it is,” Vitolins said. “Yes, there will be men coming out of this giant robot’s penis, but it is a commentary on how quickly corporate drones are produced.”
The other half is blank, but will depict artists playing guitars and writing as a contrast to corporate life. This is one of Glue & Scissors’ first community projects, and its first step in a new direction. After a year of monthly shows to display art and bring live music to the Village, Glue & Scissors is taking time to concentrate on the quality of shows and art and less about the quantity, by making the change from monthly shows to quarterly.
The group will host one final monthly show tomorrow in the Village with live music from Ben Forst, Sapphic, Coyote Armada, Bird of Paradise and Peter Blair.
“The World Has Ended” event starts at 5 p.m. at The Cup with vendors selling jewelry and accessories, portrait painting and live music. After the performances at The Cup, Village Green Records will host painting, poetry readings and live performance art.
“It’s exciting to have performance art this year,” Vitolins said. “We had one woman contact us about her being a canvas and letting people paint her. I am really excited to see how that plays out.”
Following the performances at VGR, Be Here Now will host a dance performance and more live music. It will also host an after party with live music.
The theme of the event comes from its anniversary to Glue & Scissors event “The World is Ending” and draws inspiration from the demolished block in the Village.
The decision to minimize the amount of shows was made in early August, and is set to take place this semester. Instead of monthly shows, the group will have only three shows.
“It was a decision that we all sat down and talked about,” Vitolins said. “The shows were a great success, but we really want to promote involvement and start working on community projects so we can actually do art, instead of just appreciating it.”
After “The World Has Ended” the group is starting to buckle down on getting the community involved in creating art.
“We are hoping that hosting quarterly shows, we can really make sure we are showing great art that people helped create,” vice president Chase Craig said. “It also gives us the time to make sure each event is better organized and well put together.”
Glue & Scissors is looking to host shows in September and late November. For more information on the group or tomorrow’s event, visit the group’s Facebook page at facebook.com/gluescissors.
