Salt Lake Art Center exhibit doubles as miniature golf course

SALT LAKE CITY — Art can be a very hands-off experience.

In fact, many museums, galleries and exhibit halls warn patrons not to touch any of the works in their halls.

As a result, in some circles art is seen as "elitist" and not very "friendly," especially where families are concerned.

"Contemporary Masters," an exhibit that's now running through mid-September at the Salt Lake Art Center, aims to change that.

Doubling as an art exhibit and a playable miniature golf course, the exhibit "offers visitors, in a good-humored way, a chance to explore their world through contemporary art and to decide for themselves whether they want to become fans," according to the center's executive director, Adam Price.

In fact, Price says this is "a wonderful opportunity to examine the relationship between art and audience.

"My own experience in this community is that not nearly enough people are given the opportunity to encounter contemporary art or to incorporate it into their daily lives."

Putters, balls and scorecards are provided, though patrons must wear protective foot coverings to prevent the holes and pieces from getting damaged.

The 18 works comprising "Contemporary Masters" include "traditional" miniature golf holes — ones that resemble a water tower, a living room ("Spencer Douglass's "After the Summit") and an artificial-turf-covered hot tub (Kislan Chan's "Take It Easy").

More abstract pieces include Craig Cleveland's pneumatically powered "Siphon & Reservoir" and John Bell's "Hole Number 9," a sloping, treacherous aluminum sculpture.

Also, 14 of the 18 holes were designed by local artists, including Davina Pallone. Her piece, titled "Putting to the Center of the Earth," incorporates yarn, wool and cotton fabric, wire and wood.

"The theme of my hole is the layers of our planet — sky, surface, soil, rock and molten core," Pallone said. "The Jules Verne-inspired title pulls in a classic sci-fi reference from 1864, three years prior to the construction of the (very first) putting green, and reflects the journey each putter will take through this layered landscape."

Peter Everett's "Donkey Kong" features three reconstructed, stand-up versions of the original game.

"The piece I made for this exhibition conflates miniature golf with Donkey Kong in a looping system," Everett explained. "But I have modified this game, which the players will see while golfing."