How to go
What: “Recycled Quotes” by Leigh Waltz
Where: Gallery 510, 510 E. Fifth St.
When: Continues through March 26
Artist talk: 3 to 7 p.m. March 25
More info: (937) 672-6717 or www.lorettapuncer .com/gallery.html
Miamisburg artist Leigh Waltz has a message to share.
His views on the oil crisis have been debossed in metal. Some are rather large, like his 6-foot long artist statement, but most are index-card size.
His work is on display in the “Recycled Quotes” installation, the third 510 Project at Gallery 510.
“Right now, I’m not concerned with making art that is decorative...,” Waltz said.
“With population growth, demand for fossil fuels will not diminish with lower production. It just doesn’t seem like the time to make a pretty picture.”
Waltz has stamped a total of 130 quotes in aluminum covered with glass plates. He educated himself through websites, blogs and other books.
He said was inspired to learn more about the fossil fuels crisis by reading “The Impending World Energy Mess” by Robert L. Hirsch.
“In a nutshell, the book says in three to five years, it will be obvious to everyone that we will have a liquid fuels crisis,” Waltz said. “When peak oil production comes down, society will change in a very big way. And most people are in denial of it.”
Viewers of his current installation will get an eye-opening education. Here’s a small sampling of the quotes on view:
“With water shortages and oil running out, governments may be able to hold back the tide of change for a short while, but not for long.” — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in February.
“You’ll want to set your thermostat to hunter-gatherer.” — Leigh Waltz
“This gas station has been closed by order of the second law of thermodynamics.” — Leigh Waltz
Each quote is also stamped with a seal that states, “Let’s Talk About Peak Oil” in the style of Danse Macabre, with a skeleton holding a gas can.
“But the most important quote is the one that says, ‘blah, blah, blah, blah ...’ because it doesn’t really matter what we say. The only thing that matters is what we do,” said Waltz, who owns a truck, but takes a fuel Sabbath every Saturday.
To accompany the installation, Waltz has written and illustrated a 20-page booklet.
With a very diverse range of interests, Waltz has always collaborated with writers, poets, puppeteers and other creative types. He has done performance art and hosted live art events since 1999. He founded the Dayton Live Art Network in 2005 to foster collaboration and information sharing. He and his wife, Miki, live above his studio in Miamisburg.
Contact contributing arts writer Pamela Dillon at pamdillon@woh.rr.com.
About the Author