It's standing room only at Philo show

What does an art gallery do when only two people can stand in the exhibit room at a time? They set up an exhibit for two people. College senior Eric Zimmerman's exhibit, "The Green Meadow," which opened Wednesday at the Philomathean Art Gallery, plays off the two-person capacity of the fourth-floor College Hall room. The gallery was found structurally unsound because of weak floor beams last semester, and the University imposed the two-person limit to prevent a floor collapse. Zimmerman designed his exhibit as a two-person labyrinth to utilize the uniqueness of the problematic room. The exhibit, which runs through October 21, is set up as a maze with dozens of sheets of green construction paper covering the floor. Bordering each piece of the maze are strips of different colored paper, which act as labyrinth walls. Zimmerman also includes excerpts from several different writings on each sheet of paper. Upon completion of the game, a story made up of the excerpts will be finished. According to Zimmerman, the exhibit is "site-specific." He said that he created it over the summer with the intent of using the gallery. "I wanted art that's a game, that is fun to play and intellectually stimulating," Zimmerman said. Choosing the text, he explains, was a long and arduous process. All of the pieces relate to labyrinths and self-reflection, an influence of the Post-structuralist ideologies Zimmerman has been studying at the University. The participants in the game begin facing each other without wearing shoes, so, according to the rules posted outside the door, they "do not disturb The Meadow." The players alternate walking along the blocks and reading aloud the printed excerpts, until each participant is stopped by the maze's barriers. At that point, new participants take over, changing the direction of the pieces to continue moving. The game concludes when the players meet face-to-face on the board. Although only two people were allowed on the board at a time, several watched from an adjacent room, crowding around the doorways. The first winners of Wednesday evening's premiere said they enjoyed the game. "Each statement [of the text] makes you think -- very profound," said Eun Han, a first year Fine Arts graduate student. According to Art Gallery director Jessica Cooperman, the exhibit will be open Monday through Thursday afternoons until October 21. Zimmerman said "people are welcome [to come] up here and play. My intent was for people to have a good time."

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