Buncha Tools

The human species is hardly unique for using tools. Herons fish with bait; veined octopuses build homes out of coconut shells; seagulls drop oysters onto roads to be cracked apart by cars; and elephants dig wells, then plug them with balls of bark to prevent evaporation. On one score, though, we have those beasts beat: We can turn our tools into useless pieces of art.

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More About

• John Hechinger
• Coral Springs Museum of Art
• Jacob Lawrence
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media
• Visual Arts

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“Tools in Motion: The Hechinger Collection,” a traveling exhibit stopping at the Coral Springs Museum of Art, does just that. The collection is the brainchild of the late John Hechinger, a captain of the hardware industry who developed a philosophical fascination with tools. “When you go to the caves and look at the drawings of the cavemen and -women,” he said, “you see their tools along with their bison.” Jacob Lawrence, a late, legendary African-American painter, spoke with similar profundity about humanity’s implements: “Tools have a history. In many of the panels of the Renaissance, you see the same tools as carpenters use today. They haven’t changed at all since then, so they’ve become a symbol of order and aspiration to me.” “Tools in Motion” spotlights Lawrence’s work, along with found objects, colorful pop art-y paintings of toilet seats and hammers, and loads more.

The exhibit runs daily through August 15 at the Coral Springs Museum of Art (2855 Coral Springs Drive, Coral Springs) Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Sundays. Admission costs $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for students, and free for members and those under 12. Call 954-340-5000, or visit csmart.org.
Mondays-Saturdays. Starts: May 19. Continues through Aug. 15, 2011