WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week, Arts Observer spent the afternoon observing the installation of new exhibits at the American University Museum.
In the second floor gallery, Adam Hager, a first-year MFA student, was not just installing his art, but creating it in place. His work, entitled “Blue,” features hundreds of plastic shot glasses lining the floor filled to the rim with cobalt blue water. His fingers were stained with blue dye as a result.
The glasses begin in a corner and spread outward toward the elevator. The pattern is repetitive and, situated near a window, has reflective qualities. Hager left square gaps in his design, 
a footpath so he can navigate the series as he constructs it. He thought maybe he should let museum visitors do the same.
“I am toying with giving people the opportunity to walk through it,” he said.
“I deal with human interaction a bit. The hint of it, to see if they are brave enough to destroy the piece. It’s kind of about me letting go and letting what happens happen.” It didn’t happen. When the exhibit opened, “Blue,” was for observation only.
The first-year MFA exhibit includes the work of many other students. It opened on April 2 and runs through April 15, 2011.
All photos by Arts Observer
Above, the creation of “Blue” in progress; below, the finished installation.
