MYRTLE BEACH.- Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum presents the exhibit Attic Habitat: Conceptual Art Installation by Janet Orselli. Works of art often evoke a sense of place – think landscapes. But what if the art itself were the environment: a place you could step into and experience first-hand? That's the idea behind installation art, and visitors will get a chance to experience it beginning May 11 with the unveiling of Attic Habitat: Conceptual Art Installation by Janet Orselli, created in the attic-like second floor gallery of the Museum.

Orselli, a Columbia-based installation artist, builds her creations in and for a specific site from “found” items and natural materials or items made by animals, such as birds' nests. She is especially partial to objects that have emotional significance apart from their functional purposes. For example, a prior installation, titled “Baggage,” included pieces of luggage plus objects that carried emotional ‘baggage' as well, such as a small child's rocking chair.

“Through my installations, I want to create a dialogue between the viewer, the objects and a particular space,” Orselli said. “My installations are a way for me to stimulate each viewer's imagination and sensory experience.”

The concepts for these installations sometimes come from the space and sometimes from the objects themselves, which she is continually making and which she often re-uses from one project to the next. Her favorite man-made items, she said, are old things that have been changed or achieved a unique character through years of handling and use.
When she first visited the Museum's second-floor gallery, Orselli said, its small rooms and dormer-like windows suggested an attic, hence the title Attic Habitat . That suggested a place that holds memories as well as objects from the past, some of which may have substantial value and others which may be thought of as old junk – but which their owners have difficulty parting with, nonetheless.

“In my work, I am always questioning what is valuable, and why do we value what we do,” Orselli said. “That's why I (often) use things from nature, because I feel sometimes that we don't value nature enough.”