Museum To Host Exquisite Corpse Games 2017

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – The St. Petersburg-area fine arts community will have a bit of fun the same week as International Games Day with this year’s Exquisite Corse Games exhibit.

The St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts will host a special unveiling of the 2017 Exquisite Corpse Game exhibit on Thursday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m.

Exquisite corpse, or exquisite cadaver, is an artistic method invented by surrealists in which a collection of images or words are collectively assembled. The game is similar to the old parlor game called consequences, where participants write in turn on a sheet of paper, fold it to conceal the writing and then pass it to the next player for another contribution.

The St. Petersburg Exquisite Corpse Games brings together artists to create collaborative works of art without seeing the whole before the unveiling. The game is curated, led and monitored by “The Game Keeper,” Ann Marie Cash, the managing director of local internet radio station, Rhino on Air.

This year features four categories led by an experienced co-curator: Paintings (Don Gillespie), Sculptures (Scott Joseph Moore), Sculptures (Randy VanDuinen) and Poetry (St. Petersburg Poet Laureate, Helen P. Wallace). The poetry category is new for 2017.

The game began during a launch party in July at the Museum of Fine Ars, where the artists were given a few clues and an opportunity to meet the other participating artists. The game consists of seven rules, with the top two rules being: Do not share any information about their piece until after the unveiling and have fun.

During the Nov. 2 unveiling, attendees and the artists will watch the individual pieces come together to create cohesive works of art.

Most of this year’s 54 artists reside in the Tampa Bay area. Four artists from New Mexico, Texas and New York will also participate in the Exquisite Corpse Games.

This year’s international participant, Aleksandr Chudin, lives in St. Petersburg’s Sister City, St. Petersburg, Russia. Chudin accepted the challenge to participate in the Exquisite Corpse Games with the help of The Russian Heritage Group, which sponsored the delivery of his painting.

After the unveiling, the Exquisite Corpse creations will become a traveling exhibit.

For more information about the game and participating artists, visit www.exquisitecorpsegames.com.

Image via Shutterstock