For a unique and immersive experience, head downtown to 413 E. Adams St. from 6-9 p.m. March 28 or 29 and see a one-of-a-kind, massive art installation inspired by the rich history and subsequent decay of the Pillsbury Mills site. Over two tons of artifacts, building remnants and other curiosities from the former Pillsbury site have been transported to a long-unused upper floor of an old building just east of Café Moxo. Historical artifacts are on display along with newly created works of contemporary art. Rusty office equipment, piles of debris, vibrant paintings, provocative messages, lit abstract sculptures and objects glowing under blacklights fill the vast space. Collectively, the installation provides a narrative of contemporary society through a lens of the past.
Everything happening at the Pillsbury site is a result of passionate, tireless and dedicated individuals, notably Chris Richmond and Polly Poskin, who spearhead the nonprofit working on clean up and redevelopment efforts. So is this downtown exhibit, curated by Robert Mazrim, who has worked with Moving Pillsbury Forward on all of the art-related activities at the site. Mazrim spent 30 years as an archaeologist, but his passion is art, having earned a bachelor’s in fine arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His focus has traditionally been mixed media and canvas, using found objects and debris, manipulating artifacts to place contemporary culture in the past tense.
Mazrim worked with Richmond to create a display of historic items which many people saw in the loading dock area when touring the Pillsbury site last year. These items have all been relocated downtown. For many years, a network of underground graffiti artists had been painting murals at the Pillsbury site in the dark of night. When Richmond and Mazrim encountered two of them on one occasion, the connection evolved into a partnership, not an arrest for trespassing. Mazrim and Richmond embraced the graffiti artists, Shock and Static. This unusual collaboration led to a massive multi-media exhibit in one of the abandoned buildings at the Pillsbury site, and a two-night celebration in November attracted over 1,300 people.
Betsy Dollar, known for her creativity and dynamic leadership related to the arts in Springfield, offered Shock and Static an apartment for visiting artists in the Springfield Art Association complex, where she serves as executive director. In true Springfield fashion, where everyone knows someone who is connected to someone else, conversations led to Chris Nickell agreeing to offer unused space in one of his downtown buildings for the PILLSBURIED exhibit project. Nickell owns seven buildings within a block of the Old State Capitol. He is supportive of the arts and committed to making downtown more attractive.
Mazrim says the show comes from the environmental and social tragedy of the Pillsbury site. The intent is to bring something redeeming from the rubble. Just as the copper, steel and aluminum have been salvaged from the site, the aesthetic materials and building ruins are being salvaged and repurposed. Dollar says Mazrim has a very keen eye for the more current movement in contemporary art and is pushing the envelope of what people in Springfield see as art. She also says both Shock and Static are taking their graffiti art to a much higher level than standard tagging with logos.
Relics, decayed history, emotion, aesthetics and disintegration are all elements of the narrative of PILLSBURIED. Andy Warhol once famously said, “Art is what you can get away with.” Mazrim said, “This is the purest, most honest art I’ve been involved with. It is art for art’s sake.”
What happens next is uncertain. Mazrim curated this exhibit out of a labor of love, with support from other creatives and entrepreneurs. All of this is temporary. No one is getting paid. Experience the energy and mystery for yourself on March 28 and 29. Admission is free, although donations to support the artists are encouraged and art will be for sale. For more information, contact [email protected].
Final public tours of Pillsbury site
Moving Pillsbury Forward is hosting free, one-hour public tours of the former Pillsbury site on Saturday, April 6, and Saturday, April 13, at noon and 2 p.m. These are the last scheduled tours. Any future tours will be dependent on contractor schedules related to demolition. Tours begin at the south dock entrance at the corner of 16th Street and Phillips Avenue. Parking is available in the adjacent south lot and along 15th Street. No reservations are needed.
Tours are in and around buildings on a generally level concrete surface. Sturdy shoes or boots are recommended. The tours focus on the historic Pillsbury era at the site and include information gathered by interviewing former Pillsbury employees. The tours will also highlight street/graffiti art created by artists. To support the surrounding community, guests are encouraged to bring food donations for the Pillsbury neighborhood micropantry.
