Alexandra P. Spaulding, come together, just to burst apart

Abstract

Reviewed exhibit:: Alexandra P. Spaulding's installation, come together, just to burst apart (2014) was a temporary, site-specific work housed at the now-defunct Union Station in downtown Wichita. Spaulding notes that her goal as an artist is to make magic, particularly "the ineffable experience that is created through certain kinds of contemporary art, specifically immersive aural installation art" (2014a). Somewhat contradicting the pleasurable connotations of this statement, in a public lecture given at Wichita State University just prior to the show, Spaulding stated that she wanted to make the audience uncomfortable, and was pleased if they felt the anxiety to which she, herself, is prone (2014b). come together, just to burst apart oscillated between these two poles, creating magic and anxiety in equal measure.