Show Information:

The A.P.E. Gallery of Northampton, MA is pleased to present Life is Long an installation of artist William Hannum’s first cohesive body of work. The exhibition was inspired by the artist’s own video art piece “Birthday Cake Performance” which was included in A.P.E. Gallery’s summer 2012 show Round Trip. Life is Long explores themes of time, decadence, and the process of aging. The work further explores the juxtapositions of childhood and adulthood, pleasure and melancholy, as well as enjoyment of the movement of time and, conversely, the fear that stems from the passage of time. Hannum’s transformation of the motifs in the installation, such as birthday cakes; beaches; and timepieces, communicate the tensions inherent in these themes.

Artist Biography:

Having grown up in Northampton, MA William Hannum has had a long-standing connection to the arts community in the Pioneer Valley. Hannum attended Northampton High School and was a part of the 2011 graduating class. He first began exploring the themes expressed in Life is Long while still in attendance there. This show owes much of its strength to the Northampton High School arts program and the artist hopes that his exhibition will enable others to see the great importance of investing in our schools’ art programs and the ways in which doing so inspires our students, which therefore in turn inspires and enriches the broader community.  Now in attendance at Colorado College, double majoring in Studio Art and Art History, and having just returned from a semester studying at the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland, Hannum still prefers to create much of his artwork beyond the walls of academic settings – drawing influence from a myriad of modern artists including, but not limited to Eva Hesse and Gabriel Orozco.