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Fannin Counseling & Art Therapy Presents Unaltared, an exhibition by Robert Caldwell

Current Show, Press

Fannin Counseling & Art Therapy Presents Unaltared, an exhibition by Robert Caldwell

Opening Friday, September 7, 2018

This is not art, and I do not identify as an artist. Each altar is a relic of a living, transformative event in my psyche whose exact purpose cannot be understood or defined.

Robert Caldwell

La Crosse, WI–Fannin Counseling & Art Therapy’s (129 6th St S, La Crosse, across from the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman) fall exhibition, entitled Unaltared, will feature assemblage artist Robert Caldwell’s work in altar assemblage, opening Friday, September 7 and ending Friday, September 28. Mr. Caldwell will also be holding an altar assemblage workshop on Saturday, September 15, 2018.

Mr. Caldwell, of Viroqua, WI, has been creating “altars to the unknown” for more than 40 years. Using a wide variety of methods and objects, Caldwell creates his altars to “facilitate the unconscious in speaking the individuating message it has to offer.” In creating each altar, Caldwell pays little attention to “traditional aesthetics.” In fact, he does not view his works as art at all: “This is not art, and I do not identify as an artist. Each altar is a relic of a living, transformative event in my psyche whose exact purpose cannot be understood or defined. I recommend this process to anyone who is longing for truth and experiential meaning.”

The September 15 workshop will provide the opportunity for the participants to individually explore how creating an intuitive personal altar can help bring clarity and resolution to a conflict. Individuals interested in the workshop should attend the exhibition opening on Friday, September 7, 2018, and sign up there, as space is limited. You will be given a helpful instruction sheet regarding what to bring. The cost is $10.

Unaltared runs concurrently with Where Are You From?, a group at exhibition running from Friday, September 7, 2018, to October 26, 2018. Participating artists were asked to create works exploring the places, people, memories, and events that have shaped their lives.Where Are You From? asks artists, “How did you become you?”

Unaltared will be followed up by individual exhibition from printmaker, poet, and mixed media artist Dewayne Wrencher, running October 5 – 26, 2018. More information to come.

About Fannin Counseling & Art Therapy

Fannin Counseling & Art Therapy provides services to individuals of all ages and backgrounds, offering traditional counseling services related to anxiety, depression, and grief, and specializing in the practice of art therapy.

Melissa Fannin, MA, LPC, ATR, is a licensed counselor and registered art therapist. She specializes in the use of art therapy as a grounded, hands-on approach to developing mindfulness and creating change. Art therapy employs creative, nonverbal means of accessing grief, trauma, and personal issues. The creation of art can play a unique role in therapy, encouraging change and offering new insights. Art engages the brain’s creative centers, allowing clients to approach their difficulties from a new angle. Clients do not have to participate in art making and may stick with traditional “talk” therapy.

For more information on individual and group counseling, visit fannincounseling.com.

Melissa Fannin, MA, LPC, ATR
Fannin Counseling & Art Therapy
129 6th St S
La Crosse, WI 54601
[email protected]
608-480-1676
www.fannincounseling.com