A portion of the museum's general operating funds for this fiscal year has been provided through grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a Federal agency that fosters innovation, leadership and a lifetime of learning, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

CHAIN REACTION: Rube Goldberg and Contemporary Art looks to the influential, early 20th-century cartoonist Rube Goldberg to set the stage for contemporary artists engaged with humorous explorations of mechanical devices and functions. His critique of increasing industrialization in the first half of the 20th century includes a plethora of drawings and descriptions of fantastic machines that celebrate the long way around a simple task. He drew thousands of hilarious, madcap contraptions born from a fascination with engineering structures as well as vaudeville comedy. This exhibition will combine Rube Goldberg drawings from the Williams College Museum of Art's singular collection with paintings, video, sculpture, and site-specific installations from the late 1990's that honor rudimentary processes and logical organization. Artists include William Bergman, Steven Brower, Diana Cooper, Roman de Salvo, Sam Easterson, Peter Fischli and David Weiss, Arthur Ganson, Tim Hawkinson, Martin Kersels, Alan Rath, Jovi Schnell, and Jeanne Silverthorne.

Exhibited together in a museum for the first time, 57 Rube Goldberg's drawings and recent works by these inventive artists engage in a fascinating visual exchange and raise stirring questions about the role of the mechanical in today's increasingly electronic age.

CHAIN REACTION: Rube Goldberg and Contemporary Art is organized by Ian Berry, Curator of The Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, for the Williams College Museum of Art in collaboration with The Tang. A catalogue featuring a commissioned poem by Lawrence Raab and a flipbook by artist Dean Snyder will be available.

The museum has begun groundbreaking on the new Louise Bourgeois permanent, outdoor sculpture installation. Construction work will continue through September 30, 2001. The museum will be wheelchair accessible during this period. See the Construction Watch for accessibility and parking information.

Contact: Weezie Mackey, Public Relations Coordinator
413-597-3178; WCMA@williams.edu