The Gallery At Steel Pixel Studios

Untitled found by Melissa R. Strom

“Untitled” Found broken transistor radio 2.375 x 0.875 x 3.25 inches Found in 2022 by Melissa R. Strom This piece of art is a found object. It is a small, green-gray, rectangular transistor radio. Covering about half of the front of the radio is a silver speaker that has a circular indentation pressed into it. There appears to be a few small areas where the metal speaker is stained or scratched.  On the front of the speaker, the text “Westinghouse” is written in tall and narrow, metal, blocky letters. To the right of the text is a small metal crown emblem, underlined, and centered in the middle of a thin circle. All of the metal is silver in color. The same circled and underlined crown emblem is situated in the bottom, left corner of the speaker as well. In this area, the flat, metal speaker appears to be starting to peel away from the rest of the radio’s plastic body. Along the bottom left side of the radio is a crack in the green-gray plastic. At the top of the left side is what appears to be a small hole, where an attachment may be plugged into the radio. Along the top left and the top right sides, there are two areas where a dial can be spun. The top dial does not appear to change anything. The right dial causes a thin white number to appear in a small window next to the logo on the speaker. It can be turned to 53, 6, 7, 10, or 16, moving from the upper portion of the numbers to the lower. On the rear surface of the radio appears to be a horizontal, rectangular vent. There are slats that go in two opposing directions that meet at the middle. Above the vent in small, raised letters reads the text, “6TRANSISTOR” upside down. This object was not manipulated by the artist, who found the object as it was. Welcome to the Real World will be on display at The Gallery at Steel Pixel Studios from May 15-July 7, 2023. There will be an artist reception on May 25 from 6:30-8pm. The Gallery at Steel Pixel Studios is located at 701 N New St. FL1, Bethlehem, PA 18018.

$953 by Melissa R. Strom

"$953" Created in 2023 by Melissa R. Strom Acrylic, receipts, glue on found fabric on canvas 8 x 24 inches This piece of artwork is made of a long, narrow, vertical canvas wrapped in plaid fabric that the artist found. It has a green, red, and tan plaid pattern on it. About three quarters of the way in from the left, there is a long seam that runs down from the top to the bottom of the canvas. It appears that the fabric was cut and shifted so that the plaid pattern no longer matches up with the fabric it meets at the seam. On top of the fabric, pieces of torn-up receipts and checks have been glued, some of which still have the items and store names legible. Some wrap around the right edges of the canvas. On top of this, there is white acrylic paint that obscures some of the receipts, checks, and the pattern of the fabric. Letters have been stenciled out of the paint to read “58.8 cents per dollar” and “37% of men’s median income” running sideways down the left side of the canvas. Some of the plaid is clearly visible through the letters to the furthermost left.. The letters are easier to read in some places than in others, as they overlap diagonally under layers of paint. Although difficult to read, after careful scrutiny, viewers will find statistics on the status of women’s income in the United States from the years 1950 and 1975. In 1950, women who worked full-time all year received 58.8 cents for every dollar earned by men. In 1975, women’s median income was $953, or 37% of men’s median income. Continuing to engage pattern shifts in her work, a bed of plaid is interrupted by layers of receipts for items such as food and other necessities, mailed bills, and checks that the artist collected over time from their own travels and encounters. She considers these items to be tokens from the so-called “real world.”  Welcome to the Real World will be on display at The Gallery at Steel Pixel Studios from May 15-July 7, 2023. There will be an artist reception on May 25 from 6:30-8pm and a closing reception on June 28 from 6:30-8pm. The Gallery at Steel Pixel Studios is located at 701 N New St. FL1, Bethlehem, PA 18018.

Keep Your Friends Close, but Your Enemies Closer by Melissa R. Strom

“Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" Created in 2022 by Melissa R. Strom Magnetic videocassette tape, ink, and glue on canvas 8 x 8 inches This piece of art is made of a square canvas wrapped in magnetic videocassette tape. The tape itself is black, shiny, and has a reflective quality to it. One long piece of tape, about half an inch wide, loosely wraps the entire canvas vertically/in a vertical manner, from the front all the way across and around the upper and lower sides, and back. The edges of the tape are visible, forming overlapping, layered stripes as they appear to have been hastily wrapped with the tape drooping from the bottom at various lengths. If the viewer examines closely, they may find an obscured reflection of themselves. Black ink has been painted along the left and right sides of the canvas where tape does not fully conceal the edges of the canvas. Welcome to the Real World will be on display at The Gallery at Steel Pixel Studios from May 15-July 7, 2023. There will be an artist reception on May 25 from 6:30-8pm. The Gallery at Steel Pixel Studios is located at 701 N New St. FL1, Bethlehem, PA 18018.

The Greatest Human Drama that the World has Ever Known! by Melissa R. Strom

"The greatest human drama that the world has ever known!" Created in 2022 by Melissa R. Strom Magnetic videocassette tape and glue on canvas 8 x 8 inches This piece of art is made of a square canvas wrapped in magnetic videocassette tape. The tape itself is black, shiny, and has a reflective quality to it. One long piece of tape, about half an inch wide, tightly wraps the entire canvas horizontally/in a horizontal manner, from the front all the way across and around the left and right sides, and back. The edges of the tape are visible, forming stripes as they just meet each other as opposed to overlapping. If the viewer examines closely, they may find an obscured reflection of themselves. Welcome to the Real World will be on display at The Gallery at Steel Pixel Studios from May 15-July 7, 2023. There will be an artist reception on May 25 from 6:30-8pm. The Gallery at Steel Pixel Studios is located at 701 N New St. FL1, Bethlehem, PA 18018.

And I'm Gonna be 40! by Melissa R. Strom

“And I’m gonna be 40!” Created in 2023 by Melissa R. Strom Broken VHS tape, ink, acrylic on polystyrene 20 x 24 inches On a clear piece of polystyrene, the words “Charlie Chaplin had babies when he was 73” are hand painted, spaced over the middle of the piece in a thick black ink. Layered over top of the text are the smashed bits and pieces of a black VHS tape. Most of the outer casing of the VHS tape sits in the bottom right corner of the piece. Although the center of it is smashed, we can see through two smashed pieces that the text originally read, “for best picture please adjust on your screen”,. The inner tape of the VHS spills and snakes up to the top left corner of the artwork. Bits of black and clear plastic from the smashed tape are sprinkled around the piece. Welcome to the Real World will be on display at The Gallery at Steel Pixel Studios from May 15-July 7, 2023. There will be an artist reception on May 25 from 6:30-8pm. The Gallery at Steel Pixel Studios is located at 701 N New St. FL1, Bethlehem, PA 18018.