VISUAL ARTISTS K NETWOR
Exhibition 2013-2014 s
VISUAL ARTISTS K NETWOR
Exhibition 2013–2014s
Contents
page 6 Essay: in a m u t n e Mom ystem S d e t a c i l Comp
Visual Artists Network Exhibitions 2013–2014 Publication © 2014 National Performance Network. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner in any media or transmitted by any means whatsoever, electronic or mechanical (including photocopy, film or video recording, internet posting or any other information storage retrieval system), without the prior written consent of NPN. ISBN-13: 978-1501067792 ISBN-10: 1501067796 Design & Production: Big Tada Inc with Ian Hewitt-Woods Editor: Alec De León Additional copies of this publication may be downloaded in PDF from www.npnweb.org/ resources/ or printed bound copies ordered from Amazon.com. National Performance Network Visual Artists Network PO Box 56698 New Orleans, LA 70156 504.595.8008 // telephone 504.595.8006 // fax info@npnweb.org
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
on the front cover John Hitchcock & Emily Arthur Chemically Wasted Warhorse, 2011 screenprint & drawing 44 x 30 inches
page 9 ns Exhibitio page 10 Mazzotta Matthew page 14 e ed nan Rash a J h la e e Kam page 18 Laser Liz Magic page 22 rum Joe Mang page 26 s-Tama José Torre page 28 er s Shani Pet page 32 astaño Carolyn C page 34 g Nin Truon page 38 bert Steve Lam page 42 man Selina Ro page 46 hcock John Hitc
page 46 hur Emily Art page 50 enfeld Erika Blum page 54 Pozzi Nathalie page 54 erman Eric Zimm page 58 rown Gabriel B page 61 xter Debra Ba
page 82 Wu Tsang page 86
ufman Allison Ka page 90
rince Steve A. P page 94
eyer Andrea G page 98
E arez UNIV Vargas-Su page 102
Ian Etter
page 64 ehand Darin For
page 106
page 66 ndry Katrina A
page 110
page 70 Castillo
page 114
page 74 sman Eric Gotte
page 116
page 78 ble Aaron No
RSAL
ieben Michael S ldes Juana Va Chuc Charles “
k” Siler
d Bob Snea page 118
Akiko Ko
tani
3
page 122 Fund y t i n u m VAN Com 014 2 – 3 1 0 2 Awards
page 123 nd u F y t i n u m VAN Com Projects page 123 NM querque, u lb A , S d T 51 6 A R on, WI an is d a M , k c hco , FL John Hitc cksonville Ja r, u h t r Emily A page 124 n, TX s, Housto k r o W e s r Dive rk, NY er, New Yo s a L ic g a Liz M page 124 ry ntempora o C s le e g s An CA LACE / Lo Angeles, s o L , s n nd Exhibitio klyn, NY a o o r B , n a erm Y Eric Zimm ew York, N N i, z z o P Nathalie page 125 , CT , Hartford s Y y a W t r rooklyn, N B , Real A d e e h s Janan Ra Kameelah page 125 X ouston, T H , s k r o DiverseW s, CA os Angele L , g n a s T Wu page 126 , AL mingham ir B , n e v e Ele Space On n, NY er t, Beaco b m a L e v e St
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
page 127 ers n t r a P N VA page 127 516 ARTS
nter / al Arts Ce r u lt u C ĂŠ Ash Grace Efforts of e s Initiativ t r A n ia s A he Arts nter for t e C n a m Cole y temporar n o C s a ll tor Da ts Incuba r A l a r u lt Vibe Cu Diaspora page 128 orks DiverseW useum s House M d n o m m Ha s Angeles ns LACE / Lo Exhibitio y r a r o p Contem ts Legion Ar rte y iento de A im v o M / MACLA ricana tino Ame a L a r u lt u C te for nd Institu la t r o P / PICA orary Art Contemp
page 130 Info
page 130
Visual e h t t u o Ab twork e N s t s i t r A page 130
ional t a N e h t About twork e N e c n a Perform page 131
ance m r o f r e P National rtists A l a u s i V / Network taff S k r o w t Ne page 132
Thanks page 133
Support
page 129 w Houses Project Ro ays Real Art W
RedLine e Eleven Space On rk Their Wo & n e m o W 5
stem y S d e t a c ompli C a n i m Momentu Specialist m rk ón, Prograork/Visual Artists Netwo e L e D c le A Netw ormance National
Perf
At the time of this writing, the world has been having an ugly year. Russia has invaded the Crimean Peninsula, perhaps they simply liberated it from Ukrainian rule, depending on whom you ask, or maybe those Russian soldiers really are just on vacation in fabulous Donetsk. Racial tensions in Ferguson, MO reached a flash point following the killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed African American youth, by one of the town’s white police officers. ISIS has emerged as a terrifying force, reinforcing their ideological goals with gruesome beheadings, and bloody promises. And, this awful list would be incomplete without mentioning the Ebola outbreak affecting Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Liberia and Guinea. Over 2,000 people have already died from the virus and thousands of others have likely been infected. Is there a way to curb all of this death, destruction, and conflict? The most definitive answer that can be given is as follows: I don’t know. But who is to blame? Where is the scapegoat? Everyone knows that it’s the other political party’s fault, or the other country’s fault. If it weren’t for their meddling, the people of the world would be living in a post-war, post-racial utopia. If it weren’t for Big Oil or Big Pharma, or video games or trashy reality television everything would be just fine. It is always good to have the perfect enemy, someone or something that everyone can rally against. But sadly, that is never the case. The answer is much more complex: There are no simple answers. Nothing is black and white; instead things are varying shades of muddy, dirty gray.
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
It seems that the normal, official powers that are supposed to be in charge aren’t really doing a great job. The economy is still shaky, polarizing political rhetoric has never been more prevalent and money seems to be tainting the democratic process of this nation. There are a lot of great ways to botch things, but it is less clear how to improve things, to make things better. That makes sense, according to the laws of entropy, which in a nutshell states that disorder and chaos is easier to achieve than structured, ordered harmony. If you need a concrete example, release a toddler into a room full of books on a shelf. Many of those books are going to end up on the floor. But, great change can occur from continuous, constant action, even if it is miniscule in comparison to the obstacle. It took approximately 17 million years for the Colorado River to carve out the Grand Canyon.
Speaking of large, obstructionist bodies, perhaps it is time to address government. There are different schools of thought about government and how involved it should be in the lives of its people. On one end of the spectrum, government should be involved very minimally, providing protection from foreign invaders, criminals and little else. On the other end, the government should fund the military, police, firefighters, healthcare, schools, roads, infrastructure and the arts. Other views of government suggest that a moral authority should censor movies, songs and books. There are so many variations of the ideal; it is no wonder that things get stuck in the middle, log-jammed. Remember the government shutdown of 2013? That was a real hoot. However, in the absence of solutions from government, it is up to the people to act, to chip away at the problems that stand in the way of progress, well, if they feel like it. And well, that is exactly what has been happening. Everyone, whether they have money, power, knowledge, skills or none of the above, can help change the status quo, bit by bit. Compassion, kindness and understanding don’t cost anything, but can go a long way. And then, things start to happen: goals start aligning, solutions gain traction, momentum builds and all of a sudden, change occurs. In fact, it is up to everyone to do what they can.
It appears that this is happening to the Visual Artists Network (VAN). VAN was established in 2007 because there was a vacuum in the visual arts world; no one else seemed to be doing the work that needed to be done. The National Performance Network (NPN) had existed since 1984, and it served as a model for what VAN could be. NPN created a forum where performing artists, curators and presenters could come together to talk shop, share resources and knowledge. It allowed dancers from the Midwest to connect with curators on the West Coast, playwrights from Appalachia to meet colleagues from New England. A fundamental characteristic of this network was its egalitarianism. All were treated as peers. VAN was born from NPN. It was hoped that VAN could replicate what NPN had done for the performing arts world. So far, it seems to be working. VAN started out pretty simply as a pilot project. At first, it consisted of seven arts organizations or “VAN Partners” and seven artists. Art was exhibited. Artists were paid! The participants were invited to meet and discuss the merits and challenges of the program. The results of the experiment were positive and encouraged further growth. Beginning with these small steps, and the support of dedicated funders, now, eight years later, there are 17 VAN Partners and over 100 artists have participated in the VAN program. VAN has also been growing in ways that are not describable in quantitative terms. Key goals of the program include: To help artists expand their careers, to provide a source for peer relationships to develop and to strengthen the visual arts field. There are many examples of artists who have been proactive and use the opportunities that a network can provide. Artists like Jorge Rojas, Steve Lambert, Leticia Bajuyo, Marina Zurkow, Theodore Harris and the Bridge Club collective have exhibited their work at multiple VAN and NPN Partner sites. Bajuyo was recently elected to the NPN/VAN Board of Directors. Artists like Katrina Andry, Colette Fu, Castillo, Benjamin Volta and Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle have exhibited their work at recent NPN/VAN Annual Meetings, which are the main networking events for many contemporary artists and arts organizations.
Essay
7
However, VAN is not just about exhibiting artwork. The artists and organizations that compose VAN are trying to make changes in society. They are a force for good in a world that is indifferent and they work to address issues that affect the world outside of their studios. So, within in the pages of this catalog, you will find artists such as Ian Etter and Vargas-Suarez Universal, who are trying to inspire future generations to have an interest in science and technology by using space exploration imagery. Artist Liz Magic Laser raises awareness about the propaganda and rhetoric that politicians use to forward their agendas. Steve Lambert takes uncomfortable questions and brings them out into the open for people of many different backgrounds to discuss, and makes it fun. Shani Peters and Juana Valdes dive deep into their respective multi-cultural backgrounds and examine how their heritage is shaping their future. It would be overly ambitious to say that art will save the world. But from their corner of the world, the artists in this catalog are making a difference by creating work that is intensely personal, yet connects to others. If the Visual Artists Network continues on that path it has begun, there is reason to believe its impact will be deep and profound.
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
VISUAL ARTISTS K NETWOR
Exhibition s 9
zzottaa.com a M w e h Matt www.matthewmazzott , MA
e Cambridg
se Open H2, 2o012u& November 4 – 11, 2012 –2 October 15 Arts e h t r o f r Cente Coleman York, AL
Matthew Mazzotta holds a BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago and a Master’s of Science in Visual Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has completed residencies at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Peer Group: Portable Artist in Residency in Smalle Ee, Netherlands, and at Gyeonggi Creation Center in Ansan, Gyeonggi, Korea. In 2007 he was awarded the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network Year in Review by jurors Miwon Kwon and Larry Kirkland. His work has been shown nationally and internationally and his recent The Park Spark Project was widely discussed on NPR, CNN, and the BBC. Open House, Mazzotta’s collaboration with the Coleman Center for the Arts, received numerous awards including the Public Art Network 2014 Year in Review Top Choice Award and an Architizer A + Jury Award. In January of 2011 Matthew Mazzotta began working with the Coleman Center for the Arts (CCA.) Adopting the CCA methodology of developing projects through social engagement, Mazzotta invited area residents to join him for a creative discussion about public space in an “outdoor living room.” Sitting in an outdoor living room nestled inside of orange cones on the middle of Avenue A, area residents brought items from their homes to lend to the outdoor living room. The conversation that followed highlighted participants love for York but also their frustration with the community’s loss of public space, the spread of blight and the lack of racially integrated and secular social spaces. The conversation served as an impetus for Open House which has transformed a blighted property into a public outdoor theater in downtown York.
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Open House is a sculpture in the shape of a house that transforms into outdoor seating for 100 people. The project transformed a blighted property in York — a private space negatively impacting public space — into a public space now used for movie screenings, community meetings, performance, celebration, dialogue, fellowship and community. The foundation of the work is made of locally sourced railroad ties, and on top of this sits the central row of seats — five church pew style rows graduated in height. When closed these rows are covered with ten symmetrical sections, five on each side, that unfold into flanks of seats. Custom designed industrial hinges anchor the sections to the foundation that open with the help of a marine winch crank and enough man power to counter balance the hefty structure. Concealed compartments store various jacks and tools needed for the transformation.
Matthew Mazzotta Open House, 2012 dimensions variable beginning transformation photo: Shana Berger & Nathan Purath
Exhibitions
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above Matthew Mazzotta Open House, 2012 dimensions variable opening event movie photo: Shana Berger & Nathan Purath
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
top right Matthew Mazzotta Open House, 2012 dimensions variable opening event photo: Shana Berger & Nathan Purath
bottom right Matthew Mazzotta Open House, 2012 dimensions variable existing blighted property photo: Shana Berger & Nathan Purath
Exhibitions
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No In March 25
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w.kam NY ww Brooklyn,
– July 18,
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Ct
Kameelah Janan Rasheed is a photo-based conceptual artist, archivist, writer, and youth educator in Brooklyn, New York. She is the co-founder and curator of Mambu Badu (mambubadu.com), and a Senior Editor of Art & Photography at Specter (www.spectermagazine.com), a magazine publishing literature, art, and photography from emerging and experienced artists. She has exhibited her work nationally at spaces including The Center for Book Arts, The Hague Museum of Photography, and the Museum of the African Diaspora. Rasheed describes her mixed media collage series, No Instructions for Assembly, as “containing multiple pasts in the present,” created as a way to “explore the fractured state of memory and the layered nature of autobiographical narratives.” Rasheed organized eight “Excavation” sites by using the gallery as a space to examine and connect hundreds of items from her personal archive. By creating this history without “instructions for assembly,” Rasheed wove together materials intentionally gravitating around eight portraits of her own family members. Her exhibition included found photographs, images recovered from estranged family members, advertisements and articles torn from 1970s magazines, and Rasheed’s own photographs printed on large glossy paper. The impetus to carefully hoard these items stems from perhaps the most authentic part of her collection—her family’s 10-year bout of homelessness, evidenced in a set of salvaged, waterdamaged photographs. Each excavation of unearthed and repurposed materials also becomes an investigation, in which Rasheed revisits these items from her past “to conjure her family back into existence.”
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
During her VAN residency, Rasheed worked with a class at Capital Region Education Council’s [CREC] school Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts. Rasheed led students in creating assemblages of personal objects and images, which they later photographed and incorporated into books using a Japanese-style stab-binding method. This project investigated the ways in which objects extracted from an original context might be reassembled to create new personal and collective histories. Rasheed also spent four consecutive days directing a project for local high school students offered at Real Art Ways. Students learned to create assemblages and to use collage and photocopy transfer techniques. Students were then challenged to create an accordion book from a tightly curated set of supplies. Rasheed holds a BA in Africana Studies and Public Policy from Pomona College and an Ed.M. in Secondary Education with an emphasis in English Literature and History from Stanford University. She is a Visiting Teaching Artist at the Brooklyn Friends School and the Brooklyn Museum Gallery/Studio Program. Selected residencies, fellowships and honors include: Vermont Studio Center (2014), Working Classroom (2014), Center for Book Arts (2013), The Laundromat Project (2013), Juror for Center for Photography at Woodstock residency (2013), and Center for Photography at Woodstock (2012). *This residency was also a 2013 VAN Community Fund project. See page 125 for more information.
Kameelah Janan Rasheed No Instructions for Assembly, 2013 chair, found photographs dimensions variable detail photo: John Groo
Exhibitions
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
top & below Kameelah Janan Rasheed Artist talk at Real Art Ways photos: John Groo left Kameelah Janan Rasheed No Instructions for Assembly, 2013 digital photographs, found photographs, found religious pamphlets and newspapers, American flag, skin bleach cream, prayer rug, found books, prayer beads, nylons, glass jar, album cover, chair dimensions variable installation view photo: John Groo
Exhibitions
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Laser Liz Ma gwiwcw.lizmagiclaser.com
Hear o T t n a W t You l Me Wha , NY
New York
Tel
March 27
013
– April 7, 2
orks DiverseW Houston,
TX
Liz Magic Laser’s live performances and videos often intervene in semi-public spaces and have involved collaborations with actors, dancers, surgeons, market research analysts, and motorcycle gang members. Tell Me What You Want To Hear is an extension of Laser’s previous work focused on the relationship between the news media and the public, but marks a new direction by enlisting actual journalists and politicians to perform, rather than actors to play these roles. Laser’s collaborators in Tell Me What You Want To Hear participated in a series of workshops during her residency in February 2013. These collaborators included Nick Anderson, Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist; Shannon Buggs, journalist and Director of Communications for the University of Houston’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences; Felipe Campos, artist, producer, and educator; Maurice Duhon, realtor, former political candidate, musician, and reality TV personality; Lizette Garcia, Broadcast Journalism major at the University of Houston; Linda Lorelle, Emmy Award-winning journalist and former KPRC-TV news anchor; Sue Lovell, former Houston City Council member; and Mustafa Tameez, founder and managing director of Outreach Strategies, one of Texas’ leading public affairs firms. From these workshops, a loose script was developed for what ultimately became the three-channel video installation, Tell Me What You Want To Hear. Tell Me What You Want To Hear explores story-telling methods and interview techniques employed by politicians and newsmakers to elicit public support. Utilizing the format of a political talk show, Tell Me What You What To Hear poses a dialogue between political experts, the television media, and the audience. As in Laser’s previous works, this project
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
staged a live situation in which an audience became a character in the performance and resulting video. Dissecting the emotive strategies used by politicians and newsmakers, Laser exposes how factual information about the state of our political, social, and economic reality is theatrically presented to the public. Working with students from the University of Houston’s Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, performers, audience members, and the television studio control room were videotaped and edited in real time with the resulting footage presented in a three-channel video installation at DiverseWorks. Laser invited the unpredictability inherent in a live television event into her work, blurring the line between the authentic moment and the artificially performed one. Liz Magic Laser lives and works in New York City. She is a graduate of the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program and Columbia University’s MFA program. Most recently, her work was the subject of solo exhibitions at Paula Cooper Gallery, New York (2013); the Westfälischer Kunstverein, Münster, Germany (2013); and Mälmo Konsthall, Mälmo, Sweden (2012). Her work has also been exhibited at Lisson Gallery, London (2013); the Moscow Museum of Modern Art (2012); Various Small Fires, Los Angeles (2012); The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (2012); the Performa 11 Biennial, New York (2011); The Pace Gallery, New York (2011); the Biennial of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia (2011); and MoMA PS 1, New York (2010). Laser was the 2013 Armory Show Commissioned Artist. *This residency was also a 2013 VAN Community Fund project. See page 124 for more information.
above Liz Magic Laser Tell Me What You Want To Hear, 2013 3-channel HD video 60 minutes installation view photo: Eric Hester
below left Liz Magic Laser Mustafa Tameez, 2013 ink jet print mounted on Sintra board 16 x 24 inches photo: Patrick Bresnan
below right Liz Magic Laser Maurice Duhon, 2013 ink jet print mounted on Sintra board 16 x 24 inches photo: Patrick Bresnan
Exhibitions
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
above Liz Magic Laser Tell Me What You Want To Hear, 2013 exterior view of DiverseWorks photo: Eric Hester below Liz Magic Laser Tell Me What You Want To Hear, 2013 installation view photo: Eric Hester left Liz Magic Laser Tell Me What You Want To Hear, 2013 3-channel HD video 60 minutes installation view photo: Eric Hester
Exhibitions
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grum m.com Joe Ma n gru w.joeman , NY ww New York 24 , 2013 – Grace 7 f 1 o y s r t a r u o r f f b Fe nter / E e C s t r A l tura Ashé CLAul ans,
New Orle
Since 2006, artist Joe Mangrum has taken to the streets of New York, Chicago, San Francisco and elsewhere armed with sacks of colored sand that he sprinkles by the handful to create sprawling temporary paintings. Each work is spontaneous in its design and evolves as Mangrum works, spending upwards of 6 to 8 hours hunched over the ground to complete each piece. The artist estimates he has completed nearly 550 paintings over the last few years. A graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago, his paintings have appeared at The Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, as well as The Asia Society. He has also made two appearances on the television program Sesame Street. His works in progress are displayed on Facebook and limited edition prints are available through King Art Collective. Joe Mangrum’s VAN exhibition residency culminated in the creation of a sand mural installation as part of Redd Linen Night, an annual event celebrating the life and work of artist Douglas Redd, co-founder of Ashé Cultural Arts Center. Mangrum worked on the mural for 6 hours during the festivities of Redd Linen Night. The group exhibition featured work by seventeen master artists and twenty student artworks. The majority of the exhibition remained up for two weeks; all art works in Redd Linen Night were viewed by several hundred people. The sand mural Joe Mangrum created live for Redd Linen Night remained on display until May 17, 2013 and was “released” as part of the Dalai Lama’s visit to New Orleans. Some of the sand from the mural was scattered over the Mississippi River. The remainder of the sand from the mural was donated to The Kuumba Institute, Robert Moton Charter School and Kids of Excellence and went on to create several hundred new murals.
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
This VAN exhibition residency enabled Ashé to continue to embrace art as a tool for community development. It also provided the opportunity to partner with other area institutions. During Mangrum’s residency, Ashé partnered with Mardi Gras Indian gang Guardians of the Flame and Robert Moton Charter School. The work of Joe Mangrum exposed students to visual art techniques and opportunities to use sand as a medium—a new experience for many of Ashé’s young artists. This residency also enabled Cherice Harrison-Nelson, Big Queen of the Guardians of the Flame Mardi Gras Indians, to share her cultural traditions. Viewing the work of master artists along with the Mardi Gras Indian culture gave students the chance to experience versatility of craft and style as well as compare and contrast Joe Mangrum’s Native American art with local traditions.
Joe Mangrum Untitled, 2013 sand 20 x 20 feet detail photo: Alec De Le贸n
Exhibitions
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
above Joe Mangrum Untitled, 2013 sand 20 x 20 feet completed sand painting with Redd Linen Night guests and participating artists photo: Joe Mangrum below Joe Mangrum Student workshop at Robert Moton Charter School, 2013 sand, glue and paper photo: Karel Sloane-Boekbinder left Joe Mangrum Untitled, 2013 sand 20 x 20 feet detail photo: Alec De Le贸n
Exhibitions
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awings: r D d n a s ablo uman H e Photo Ret r A e W manos/ u H s o m So ans, LA
New Orle
April 17 –
22, 2014
leven
eE Space On am, AL
Birmingh
José Torres-Tama is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist. He explores the Latino immigrant experience, the underbelly of the North American Dream mythology, and New Orleans Creole history through spoken word poetry, critical essays, visual arts, short films, and performance art. He has worked in the New Orleans arts community for twenty years, and since 1995 he has toured nationally and internationally. Space One Eleven’s programming includes local and national artists who address themes of tolerance, social justice, and the tearing down of geographic and racial barriers. In keeping with this theme, José Torres-Tama’s work explores the struggle of Latino immigrant workers in defense of their human rights. This content was especially timely during the 2013 commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement.
Torres-Tama exhibited pastel drawings and assemblages, including Photo Retablos: Immigrants in Chocolate City, a series of assembled altars that document the Congress of Day Laborers/El Congreso de Jornaleros and honors the Latino immigrants who have contributed to the rebuilding of post-Katrina New Orleans. The Latino immigrant contribution to the rebuilding of New Orleans remains a dirty little secret in the post-Katrina narratives, but José Torres-Tama has been a fierce proponent in having Latinos counted as part of the epic reconstruction. The retablos are created from wooden drawers found on the streets of New Orleans and transformed by the artist into shadowboxes to house his photographic images. Each retablo piece includes a working second hand clock that pierces though the photographic images and ticks on continuously as a moving element to literally symbolize the beating hearts of immigrants who are ubiquitous at construction sites but invisible to the general public. In the International Review of African American Art, writer and curator Kristin Juarez wrote: “Torres-Tama, concerend with uncovering buried realities, emphasizes a marginalized community through the intimacy of discarded objects and photographs. Laden with a call for change, (…) Torres-Tama highlight[s a] complex and interrelated social issue(…) that will steer the future course of the South.”
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Torres-Tama presented a highly engaging presentation of visual art and performace practices as tools for social change to students at the Unversisty of Alabama at Birmingham. He was able to share his message with members of the Hispanic community through the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, and high school students of Space One Eleven’s City Center Art program. Torres-Tama met with the Southern Poverty Law Center and conducted interviews with local news media. He presented an art exhibition in Space One Eleven’s galleries which was of great benefit to the viewers, as was the artist talk which was given during the opening reception of his exhibition. Torres-Tama is the recipient of a 2010 Creation Fund Award by the National Performance Network, and is an award recipient of the NEA and a 2008 award recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation. In 2009 he was awarded a Louisiana Division of the Arts grant, is a Louisiana Theater Fellow, and received a 2005/06 Fund for the Arts Fellowship from the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture.
above José Torres-Tama Photo Retablos and Drawings: Somos Humanos/We Are Human, 2013 artist talk at Space One Eleven photo: Walt Stricklin below José Torres-Tama artist talk with students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham photo: John Fields Exhibitions
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ers Shani Pwewtw.shanipeters.com
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creen S & r e x i ut: M Steppin’ O , NY
New York
April 25 –
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May 5, 20
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Shani Peters is a New York based artist (born in Lansing, MI) working in video, collage, printmaking, and social practice public projects. Her work reflects interests in activism histories, cultural record keeping, media culture, and community building. Her 2013 Project Row Houses/ VAN residency project centered around a screening of her 2012 video short Half Hasn’t Been Told which tells a fictionalized narrative of Black and Native Americans by way of the actual experience of her Osage great-great-grandmother. In the video, her great-great-grandmother shares a model of her actual home with a mixed-race, historically iconic, extended family that organizes in solidarity with contemporary Mexican Americans rights. This public art project combined a public screening of the Half Hasn’t Been Told video with an interactive, community supported art installation including life-size cutouts of historical figures featured in the film, along with intercultural Black and Native American food and music.
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Peters completed her BA at Michigan State University and her MFA at The City College of New York. She has exhibited, screened and/or presented her work in the US and abroad, including exhibitions at the Schomburg Center for Black Culture and Research, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, MoCAD Detroit, Project Row Houses, The Savannah College of Art & Design, The Contact Theatre (UK), and Seoul Art Space Geumcheon (SK). She has participated in multiple residencies including programs hosted by The Center for Book Arts, The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the Lower East Side Printshop, the Bronx Museum of Art’s Artist in the Marketplace program, apexart’s Outbound Residency to Seoul, S. Korea, and The Laundromat Project. Peters’ work has appeared in the Amsterdam News, Art Papers Magazine, and The New York Times.
above Shani Peters Steppin Out: Half Hasn’t Been Told, 2013 mixer and screening
Exhibitions
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above Shani Peters Steppin Out: Half Hasn’t Been Told, 2013 mixer and screening right Shani Peters Half Hasn’t Been Told, 2012 single channel video
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
above & left Shani Peters Steppin Out: Half Hasn’t Been Told, 2013 mixer and screening
Exhibitions
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astañoano.com C n y l o r a st C .carolynca A www s, C
Los Angele
Rescue e h t o t p Po st 24 , 2013
nto de A e i m i v o M MACLA / ugu June 7 – A
San José,
CA
Carolyn Castaño is a Los Angeles based artist whose work explores the figures of Latin American political dramas and drugs wars. Characters are depicted in a diversity of materials ranging from glitter to rhinestones surrounded by images of tropical flora, coca flowers and marijuana leaves. Castaño’s paintings are beautified with motifs fraught with cultural symbolism in an effort to provide a point of access - beauty, nature, the exotic - to address these struggles. Castaño’s interest is to ponder the human toll of these events while also exploring established yet paradoxical fantasies regarding wealth, love, criminality, honor and beauty. During her residency at MACLA, Castaño presented a video, in a mock family room setting, depicting a Spanish language on-air news report. The video, El Reporte Femenil/ The Female Report, features Castaño, in character, as Colombian newscaster Silvia Godoy where she reports on the past and current status of Latin America and, in particular, the accomplishments and downfalls of women south of the border.
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mer A o n i t a L ura rte y Cult
VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Castaño also worked with MACLA’s Peapod Adobe Youth Voices Academy students from Summit High School. The youth worked closely with Castaño to create their own newscast/video project in which they revisited their own stories, accomplishments and the obstacles they overcome daily. Carolyn Castaño lives and works in Los Angeles. She is a graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute and the UCLA School of Art and Architecture, as well as a California Community Foundation Getty Fellow and recipient of the prestigious C.O.L.A. Individual Artist Fellowship. Her work was featured in LACMA’s critically acclaimed exhibition, Phantom Sightings: Art After the Chicano Movement, which traveled to El Museo de Barrio, New York City, and the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo Rufino Tamayo in Mexico City, among other venues.
above Carolyn Casta単o El Reporte Femenil/The Female Report, 2012 video photo: Carolyn Casta単o left Carolyn Casta単o Beauty Queen and Girlfriend (Laura Zu単iga), 2009 acrylic, glitter and mixed-media on canvas 60 x 48 inches
Exhibitions
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With a background in Landscape Architecture from the University of Washington where he taught from 2001 to 2011, Seattle-based artist Nin Truong eventually found his calling by merging his interests in skate culture with the world of fashion and other design disciplines. With his partner and co-principle Christa Thomas, he founded WKND Studio – a design studio with a storefront coffee shop. He is also the creative director of Maiden Noir, creative director of Blk Pine Workshop and head menswear design for Stussy International. In 2003, Truong co-curated a traveling exhibition the Push Project, featuring eight established artists investigating the aesthetics of skate culture. In spring and summer 2013, Asian Arts Initiative (AAI) invited Nin Truong to develop and create Skate Shop – a youth-generated pop-up skate shop in the storefront window of AAI’s Youth Arts Workshop (YAW) space on Vine Street in Philadelphia’s Chinatown North/ Callowhill neighborhood. YAW’s space, a former hair salon appropriately named “The Salon,” an integral part of AAI’s new permanent home and multi-tenant arts facility on Vine Street, offers an interesting opportunity to address the intersections of urban history and youth access, as well as the dynamism and challenges of the Vine Street Expressway in its front yard – a formerly pedestrianfriendly corridor now split in two by Interstate 676.
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Beginning in April 2013, Truong collaborated with participants of the Youth Arts Workshop, staff, and local teaching artist Nicole Schaller, to design their own mini skateboards, stickers, t-shirts and other merchandise. Within YAW – a tuition-free afterschool arts program for youth grades 6-8 – Nin Truong guided students in exploring creative economies, art and design, and skate cultureinspired concepts and aesthetics. Workshops included field trips, guest speakers, and 2-D and 3-D design/build workshops. The culmination of the project was the creation of a “mock skate shop” that filled the storefront window of “The Salon” and opened with a showcase of youth artwork in June 2013. The idea for Skate Shop: Nin Truong and Youth Arts Workshop emerged in part out of Asian Arts Initiative’s desire to further engage with its site-specific context – a commercial corridor along the north side of the Vine Street Expressway – as well as to create a youth arts and hang-out space that addresses these circumstances. By activating YAW’s storefront window, Skate Shop highlights both its historical urban context and the importance of youth-focused spaces beyond skate parks in a rapidly changing urban terrain.
Nin Truong Skate Shop, 2013 multimedia installation storefront view photo: Tim Kyuman Lee
Exhibitions
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above Nin Truong Skate Shop, 2013 multimedia installation merchandise created by students in the Skate Shop photo: Tim Kyuman Lee right Nin Truong Skate Shop, 2013 multimedia installation Nin Truong working with students to create merchandise for the Skate Shop installation photo: Tim Kyuman Lee
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
above Nin Truong Skate Shop, 2013 multimedia installation youth created skateboard design in the Skate Shop photo: Tim Kyuman Lee
Exhibitions
37
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True/Fa ! e M r o F orks pitalism W
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June 16 –
21, 2013
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Steve Lambert’s father, a former Franciscan monk, and mother, an ex-Dominican nun, imbued in him the values of dedication, study, poverty, and service to others – qualities which prepared him for life as an artist. He first made international news following the presidential election of 2008, when he published a “Special Edition” of the New York Times, a replica announcing the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other good news. He has developed and led workshops for Creative Capital Foundation, co-directs the Center for Artistic Activism, an anti-advertising agency, and is an Assistant Professor at SUNY Purchase. In the summer of 2011, Lambert began a national tour of Capitalism Works For Me! True/False, a 9 by 20-foot, carnivalesque sign that invites viewers to vote and then tallies their responses on an LED scoreboard. Lambert has said that the goal of the work is to foster conversation around an often taboo subject by being playful. “Start a conversation about capitalism and friends edge away slowly, and strangers even faster,” he explains. “But this is what art is for. This is what art does well. It creates a space where new ideas and perspectives can be explored.”
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Prior to its installation in the galleries at CSPS Hall, the sign was displayed at three public locations in Cedar Rapids, each in a neighborhood that had been impacted by severe flooding in 2008. In 2013, these areas were still in the process of rebuilding, and debates over the city’s handling of recovery funds were frequent and heated. In this context, passersby were invited to vote, have their picture taken and, if they wished, explain their vote in front of a video camera. The video documentation was then edited by the artist and included in the gallery exhibit, alongside video from other cities in which the work had been shown. Visitors to CSPS Hall, of course, were also able to vote. In addition, they were invited to explain their vote in written form and post it on a gallery wall. As a result, several thousand Iowans became engaged in the conversation. Lambert’s projects have won awards from Prix Ars Electronica, Rhizome, the Creative Work Fund, Adbusters Media Foundation, the California Arts Council, and others. His work has been shown everywhere from museums to protest marches nationally and internationally, featured in fourteen books, four documentary films, and placed in the collections of The Sheldon Museum, the Progressive Insurance Company, and The Library of Congress. Lambert has discussed his work live on NPR, the BBC, and CNN; his work has been covered by the Associated Press, The New York Times, The Guardian, Harper’s Magazine, The Believer, Good, Dwell, ARTnews, Punk Planet and Newsweek. He has collaborated with a variety of groups, ranging from the Yes Men to Graffiti Research Lab and Greenpeace.
above Steve Lambert Capitalism Works For Me! True/False, 2014 detail photo: Mel Andringa left Steve Lambert False!, 2014 detail photo: Mel Andringa
Exhibitions
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Steve Lambert Capitalism Works For Me! True/False, 2013 installation view photo: Steve Lambert
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Exhibitions
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Selina Roman was born and raised in Florida where she began her career as an investigative journalist. Her photographic work continues the journalistic tradition of asking questions and seeking out alternative views. Roman’s Puerto Rican background and Florida upbringing is present in her work through her use of vibrant color and texture. For her VAN exhibition residency Roman showed work from her series, The Burqa Project. The project features the garment worn by Muslim women and challenges viewers to question beauty. The photographs show western women wearing burqas in a variety of scenarios from domestic situations to formal, abstract compositions. The project is not meant to be documentary, but metaphoric. Specifically, can something that is loathed and demonized be considered beautiful? The Burqa Project also questions: Can there be power in anonymity and the unseen?
The VAN exhibition residency offered a unique opportunity to show The Burqa Project. It was the first time since graduate school that Roman had showed the work in its entirety. The show provided a platform for viewers to engage the work. During the residency, Roman shared the work with GirlPower, a community agency that serves at-risk teens in Miami-Dade. The young women had never seen burqas in person and Roman brought some from her own collection for them to see and try on. They were particularly interested in finding out what the world looks like from inside the garment. Roman obtained a Masters of Fine Arts degree from the University of South Florida in Tampa. She currently works as an adjunct photography professor at the Art Institute of Tampa, as well as gallery assistant at Gallery 221, Hillsborough Community College. She is a member of Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator and has shown her work internationally. Her work is also in numerous private collections.
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Selina Roman Escape, 2009 archival inkjet print 36 x 24 inches photo: Selina Roman
Exhibitions
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above Selina Roman Untitled (Sand), 2012 archival inkjet print 40 x 60 inches photo: Selina Roman right Selina Roman Untitled (Lean), 2011 archival inkjet print 30 x 24 inches photo: Selina Roman
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Exhibitions
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hcock John Hihtybcridpress.blogspot.com Madison,
WI
hur Emily FAL retmilyarthur.squarespace.com le,
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Seed Air, Lan20d13, June 24 –
29,
516 AR,TNMS ue
Albuquerq
John Hitchcock uses multimedia methods in conjunction with print media and its long history of social and political commentary to explore relationships of community, land and culture. Emily Arthur’s fine art practice is informed by a concern for the environment, displacement, exile and the return home from dislocation and separation. She seeks the unbroken relationship between modern culture and ancient lands which uses tradition and story to make sense of the enduring quest to understand our changing experience of home. Artists John Hitchcock and Emily Arthur participated in Air, Land, Seed with their project Impact Vs. Influence, a largescale printmaking installation in 516 Arts’ front gallery. Air, Land, Seed was a small group exhibition that addressed global tensions between home and exile, drawing from the unique perspectives of the indigenous peoples of Native North America. The exhibition featured Hitchcock, Arthur and additional artists who engaged in the politicized medium of printmaking to exhibit works that question the forced displacements and ideologies that define our collective contemporary existence. In Impact Vs. Influence, the re-appropriation of colonial markers – flags, boats and airwaves – served to subvert the control and militarization of indigenous homelands. Through participatory live print actions, performance, exhibition and dialogue, the artists repurposed these potent icons inscribed in the US Marine credo: “From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli, We fight our country’s battles, in the air, on land and sea.”
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
In addition to their VAN exhibition residency, Hitchcock and Arthur collaborated with Marwin Begaye and Ryan O’Malley, printing a large-scale banner and inviting the public into the gallery to engage in dialogue and participate in the creative process throughout the duration of the residency. At the end of the week, during the Downtown Growers’ Market, the artists staged a Print Blitz in which the public was encouraged to observe and participate in the production of multiple prints, and by using the artists’ designs on both fabric and paper, the artists made and ceremonially distributed screen printed objects in the Native tradition of “give-aways.” The culmination of the Print Blitz featured the communally-designed banner produced during the VAN residency week in the Parade of Flags demonstration at the close of the Downtown Growers’ Market. John Hitchcock is Graduate Chair and Professor at the University of Wisconsin Madison and earned his MFA in printmaking and photography at Texas Tech University. Emily Arthur is an Associate Professor at the University of North Florida. She received an MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and has served as Fellow at the Barnes Foundation for Advance Theoretical and Critical Research. She has served as an International Artist-in-Residence in France and Japan with artists from the Diné/Navajo Nation. *This residency was also a 2013 VAN Community Fund project. See page 123 for more information.
John Hitchcock & Emily Arthur Chemically Wasted Warhorse, 2011 screenprint & drawing 44 x 30 inches
Exhibitions
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John Hitchcock & Emily Arthur Impact Vs. Influence, 2013 screen-print and painting 24 x 42 feet detail photo: 516 ARTS
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
above John Hitchcock & Emily Arthur Impact Vs. Influence, 2013 screen-print and painting 24 x 42 feet installation in progress photo: 516 ARTS left John Hitchcock Impact Vs. Influence, 2013 silver screenprint detail photo: 516 ARTS
Exhibitions
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where… y r e v e , r e t Water,stw29a , 2013 ugu July 11 – A ir Work e h T & n Wome Sante Fe,
Austin, TX
Erika Blumenfeld’s installation, Water, water, everywhere…, incorporates photographs, charred debris collected from recent wildfires across the Southwest, desert sand, and a bonsai-trained tree native to Texas. This work poignantly studies shifting water patterns due to climate change, natural resource and land ownership, and increasing drought in the Southwest. Blumenfeld approaches her work as an ecological archivist, and has chronicled a range of subjects including the physics of atmospheric and astronomic phenomena, bioluminescent organisms, wildfires, and the remote landscape of Antarctica. In each series, she investigates the simple beauty and complex predicament of our environment and ecologies, working with institutions such as the McDonald Observatory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, South African National Antarctic Program and the organization Cape Farewell.
Blumenfeld’s growing concern for the injustices against our environment has led her to document the ecological and human impact caused by anthropogenic environmental negligence and climate disruption. Currently, she is making artworks about the aftermath of the recent wildfires in the Southwest of the United States, photographing and collecting the charred remains of trees, grasses, pinecones and needles, dirt and animal bones. This new Wildfire Series is both a eulogy to the incinerated flora and fauna as well as forensic evidence of the impact of climate disruption. For her VAN residency, Blumenfeld shared her work with dozens of children discussing it in the context of the impact of drought, wildfires (which had devastated a small community near Austin the year before) and climate change. She worked with them to create charcoal rubbings using ash from wildfires, a material that she uses in her own work. continues on page 52...
Erika Blumenfeld Displaced Nature, 2013 Texas native colima prickly lime ash bonsai-trained tree, scientific glass instrument, water dimensions variable installation view photo: Women & Their Work
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Exhibitions
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Erika Blumenfeld is an internationally exhibiting artist and Guggenheim Fellow with a BFA in Photography from Parsons, The New School of Design. Since 1998, she has approached her work much like an ecological archivist, and has created photo- and video-based works through the study, witness and documentation of the natural world. Her art has been featured in Art In America, ARTnews, Nature: Climate Change, New Scientist and Camera Arts magazines, and appears in the books Photography: New Mexico published by Fresco Fine Art Publications (2008), and The Polaroid Book (2005, 2008) published by Taschen. The artist’s recent work from Antarctica appears in the book Arte Da Antartida (Art from Antarctica) published by Goethe-Institut (2009), in which Blumenfeld’s essay “What is White” is also included. “What is White” has been translated into both Portuguese and German and is also published on GoetheInstitut’s Culture and Climate Change website.
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Blumenfeld’s artwork is in the permanent collections of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Lannan Foundation, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts, The Polaroid Collection, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, and the University of Texas. Blumenfeld has received grants from Creative Capital Foundation, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Land Rheinland-Pfalz Kultusministerium, Polaroid Corporation, and a purchase award from the New Mexico Museum of Art. She was Ballroom Marfa’s inaugural artist-in-residence, and was awarded a Special Editions Fellowship from the Lower East Side Printshop.
Erika Blumenfeld Fire Mandala: Spiral No. 1 (Silver Wildfire: Gila National Forest, New Mexico 2013), 2013 wildfire burned debris (rocks, trees, pine needles, pine cones, bark, cacti, dirt) and hand-hammered Tibetan song bowls 8 x 8 x 4 feet photo: Women & Their Work
left Erika Blumenfeld Water, water, everywhere…, 2013 mixed media installation view photo: Women & Their Work below Erika Blumenfeld artist talk during Water, water, everywhere… photo: Women & Their Work
above Erika Blumenfeld installing “Fire Mandala: Spiral No. 1 (Silver Wildfire: Gila National Forest, New Mexico 2013)”, 2013 wildfire burned debris (rocks, trees, pine needles, pine cones, bark, cacti, dirt) and handhammered Tibetan song bowls 8 x 8 x 4 feet photo: Women & Their Work right Erika Blumenfeld area recreation centers created charcoal rubbings during Water, water, everywhere… charcoal paper rubbings photo: Women & Their Work
Exhibitions
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un cf comm
ity fund
Pozzi Natha liweww.nakworks.com , NY
New York
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NY
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In October 2013, LACE presented the North American premiere of Interference, a large-scale, physical game installation by architect Nathalie Pozzi and game designer Eric Zimmerman. Interference was exhibited at Track 16 Gallery and presented in partnership with USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative and IndieCade 2013, The International Festival of Independent Games. Interference is a strategic social game where you win by stealing from other players. Five suspended, super-thin steel walls dotted with organic patterns resembling cell tissues act as vertical game boards. The twist is that each turn you must steal a piece from another game going on between other players. While each game takes place in a local area of one of the walls, the games themselves can move across the walls – and games even collide with each other as they drift across the walls’ surfaces. Interference encourages players to negotiate, argue, and scheme with and against each other, across physical space, social space, and the spaces between games. Architect Nathalie Pozzi and game designer Eric Zimmerman have collaborated on a number of playable installations that have appeared in Paris, Berlin, Dublin, Moscow, Los Angeles, and at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Nathalie Pozzi is an architect, whose projects cross the boundaries of architecture, installation, and art, exploring the critical intersection of space, light, material, and culture. Her work includes contributions to the architectural studio Casagrande & Rintala, in projects like Bird Cage at Yokohama Triennale of Art and Installation 2001 at the Florence International Biennale of Contemporary Art. She also works as a designer and production consultant for large-scale art installations. Currently she is completing a full renovation of a traditional mountain village home in the Italian Alps. Eric Zimmerman is a game designer and a 20-year veteran of the game industry. Eric co-founded Gamelab, an awardwinning NYC-based studio that helped invent casual games with titles like Diner Dash. Other projects range from the pioneering independent online game SiSSYFiGHT 2000 to tabletop games like the strategy board game Quantum and Local No. 12’s card game The Metagame. He is the co-author with Katie Salen of Rules of Play and is a founding faculty and Arts Professor at the NYU Game Center. *This residency was also a 2013 VAN Community Fund project. See page 124 for more information.
Nathalie Pozzi & Eric Zimmerman Interference, 2013 dimensions variable installation view photos: Erica Rodriguez
Exhibitions
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Nathalie Pozzi & Eric Zimmerman Interference, 2013 dimensions variable detail photo: Erica Rodriguez
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Exhibitions
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rown .net B l e i r b a G rown w.gabrielb A ww Tacoma, W
ject Ironic O, 20b13 October 3
– 10
RedLine O Denver, C
Gabriel Brown is an artist, activist, and shoe cobbler born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. He creates multimedia installations, satirical street performances, and collaborative community projects that examine consumerism, waste, and garbage. Brown has exhibited at the Northwest Museum of Art & Culture, Korea National University of the Arts, and throughout community centers, street corners, and public restrooms. Serving two years in AmeriCorps he worked as a community organizer on environmental and neighborhood projects in Spokane, WA. Currently, Brown works for Spaceworks Tacoma, a program that activates empty storefronts and vacant spaces with art and creative enterprise. He holds an MFA from Washington State University and has been a professor of sculpture, 3D-design, and humanities. Brown can be found cobbling shoes, raising his daughter, and tending chickens on an urban homestead in downtown Tacoma, Washington.
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Brown showed two pieces as part of the Ironic Object exhibition at Denver’s RedLine in October 2013. Curated by Lanny Frances DeVuono, the show included his Tricked Out Shopping Cart, 2006-2013, an installation that paired a customized steel cart with a video entitled, Sorting Bottles and Cans with Tricked Out Shopping Cart Recycling Machine. As DeVuono notes in the exhibition catalog, the concept for the piece emerged through a series of public performances on homelessness, during which Brown created a “soupedup shopping cart for the homeless” as a commentary on “yuppie preoccupations” with conspicuous consumption and up-cycling. Expanding on the shopping cart as a metaphor for problematic consumerism, Brown’s other piece in the exhibition, Lost Carts of Spokane, 2006-2013, offers a portrait of the city’s urban spaces through a series of digital photographs documenting abandoned shopping carts throughout Spokane.
Gabriel Brown Lost Carts of Spokane, 2006–2013 ongoing digital photo series dimensions variable photo: Gabriel Brown
As part of his residency at RedLine, Brown collaborated with the art teacher at a local high school to do a Cellphone Deconstruction Art Workshop with high school seniors. He also conducted the workshop for a second group of students (grades 6-12) during RedLine’s Monthly Art Class. The workshop was given in two parts. During the first part students deconstructed cell-phones and explored what is inside, while the second part involved creating mandalas from the many pieces that make up a cell-phone. Brown discussed the process of recycling phones in the United States and how the US actually ships technology abroad to be taken apart and recycled. This workshop was an incredible experience for students, because they got to think about the role of technology in their lives from a new perspective along with working with a professional artist who uses unconventional materials in his work. Participating students were thoroughly engaged in the experience of contemporary art making.
Exhibitions
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Gabriel Brown Tricked Out Shopping Cart, 2006–2013 steel cart, custom accessories, can crusher 32 x 32 x 40 inches photo: Gabriel Brown
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
xter m a B a r b e D axter.co w.debrab A ww Seattle, W
ject Ironic O, 20b13 October 3
– 10
RedLine O Denver, C
Debra Baxter is a Seattle-based sculptor and jewelry designer who combines carved alabaster with crystals, minerals, and metals. She received an MFA in Sculpture from Bard College in 2007 and a BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 1996. She also studied at Academia di Belle Arti in Florence, Italy. Baxter has received an Artist Trust Individual Artist Grant and two 4Culture Individual Project Grants. She was recently nominated for a Louis Comfort Tiffany Biennial Award. Baxter’s work has been featured in Zoo Magazine, Germany, Edelweiss Magazine in Switzerland, Zink, Art Ltd., Design Bureau and Sculpture magazines, as well as in hundreds of brags all over the world. Her work has been exhibited in solo shows, including Wanting is Easier Than Having at Platform Gallery, Seattle; So Proud of You at Howard House, Seattle; and Debra Baxter at Massimo Audello, New York City. Recent group shows including, Making Mends at Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA; Death and other Objects at Or Gallery, Vancouver, BC; and Women in the Director’s Chair at Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN. Two of Baxter’s pieces were featured in RedLine’s Ironic Object exhibition in October 2013: Crystal Brass Knuckles II (I am going to realign your chakras motherf*****), 2013 and Devil Horns Crystal Brass Knuckles (mosh safely), 2013. The two works, created from crystal set in gold- and silver-plated bronze, respectively, demonstrate the technical refinement of jewelry making while engaging themes of violence. Lanny DeVuono, the exhibition’s curator, suggests that Baxter’s crystal brass-knuckles are both humorous and feminist, delicate and sharp. He states, they “manage to suggest both menace and new age spiritualism.”
Debra Baxter Ironic Object, 2013 photo: Ken Hamel
During her time in Denver, Baxter held a workshop for students (grades 3-5) from a local elementary school. Participants constructed “power objects” using paper, clay, paint, rocks and found objects. After discussing the history of amulets, talismans, and alchemy, the students created objects that made them feel empowered and gave them luck. By removing art from the museum context, Baxter created an approachable atmosphere which made artistic experiences relevant to students’ lives and easy for them to understand. Exhibitions
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
above Debra Baxter teaching “power object” class to K–12 students left Debra Baxter Devil Horns Crystal Brass Knuckles (mosh safely), 2013 quartz crystals, silver plated bronze 4.5 x 4.5 x 2 inches photo: Debra Baxter opposite Debra Baxter Crystal Brass Knuckle II (I am going to realign your chakras motherf*****), 2013 quartz crystals, gold plated bronze 6 x 4.5 x 3 inches photo: Debra Baxter
Exhibitions
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Darin Forehand brought his 1860 French Star Wheel lithography press to Birmingham to create PrintProject, a community print shop at Space One Eleven. Birmingham youth and artists were given access to the print workshop to create lithographs, relief, and monoprints while open discussions established new and renewed artistic investigations that challenged marginalized opinions and concepts. PrintProject was designed to allow artists to work freely in a professional print shop environment under the supervised assistance of a skilled Master Printer. A mentor relationship fostered dialogue that gave voice to the aesthetics similar to the print workshops of Atelier 17 Paris, Taller Gráfica de Popular Mexico City and the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop in New York City. Forehand shared his knowledge and skills as a Master Printer through artist talks, printmaking demonstrations, a lithography workshop, and collaborations with artists. Community members engaged by Forehand included faculty and students from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Miles College, high school students of Space One Eleven’s City Center Arts Program, and Birmingham area artists.
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Darin Forehand’s VAN residency coincided with Interchange, an artist exchange between Space One Eleven and Houston’s Project Row Houses. Organized by Space One Eleven, Interchange was designed to bring artists together to exchange experiences. Forehand and the other exchange artists participated in the panel discussion, “The Color Line Has Not Disappeared,” moderated by Rick Lowe, and held an exhibition of their site specific installations in Space One Eleven’s galleries. Space One Eleven and Project Row Houses share common missions and joined together in exploring themes of tolerance, social justice, and the tearing down of geographic and racial barriers during Interchange and the 50th anniversary of Birmingham’s Civil Rights Movement. Darin Forehand is a Master Printer with over twenty years of experience printing for numerous national and international artists. He received a BS from Florida State University and an MFA from Ohio State University. He has established Forehandpress, a lithography atelier in Houston, TX.
Somya Singh Opening, 2013 lithograph 12 x 16 inches photo: Space One Eleven
Artist Somya Singh and Master Printer Darin Forehand during Forehand’s lithography workshop at Space One Eleven photo: Space One Eleven
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A native of New Orleans, LA, Katrina Andry received an MFA in printmaking from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, in 2010. She currently lives and works in New Orleans, maintaining her printmaking studio at Xavier University. Andry’s work explores the negative effects of stereotypes on the lives of minorities and how these stereotypes give rise to biased laws and ideologies in the Western World. Her large-scale prints—some as big as five feet—confront the viewer with these derogatory cultural clichés. The prints feature figures in watermelon/black face. They represent those who are targeted by racist characterizations. However, Andry specifically uses non-minority figures in this role to illustrate the fact that stereotypes are unjustly perpetuated. Stereotypes are neither based in truth nor innate characteristics of a specific person, instead they are ideas forced onto a group of people as a whole. Portraying entire populations in a negative light, stereotypes confer on the perpetuator an impression of superiority and a greater sense of normalcy.
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Andry was listed in the September, 2012 Art in Print magazine as one of the top 50 printmakers. Her work was also featured on the popular Beautiful Decay blog. She has recently shown at Staple Goods Gallery, New Orleans, in a group show, Shape of Place, curated by each of the collective’s members. She has also been an artistin-residence at Anchor Graphics in Chicago and Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, CA.
Katrina Andry Mammy Complex: Unfit Mommies Make for Fit Nannies, 2011 digital media and color woodcut reduction 40 x 60 inches Exhibitions
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above Katrina Andry Mammy Complex: Unfit Mommies Make for Fit Nannies, 2011 digital media and color woodcut reduction 40 x 60 inches detail photo: Bottletree left Katrina Andry Congratulations You Made It!: Working Your Way Up the American Caste System, 2009 digital media and color woodcut reduction 42 x 58 inches detail photo: Bottletree right Katrina Andry The Jungle Bunny Gave You Fever. The Only Cure is to Fuck the Bunny. She Wants It., 2011 digital media and color woodcut reduction 40 x 60 inches photo: Bottletree
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Exhibitions
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hibition eeting ex
annual m am van
Castillo
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6, 2013 1 – 0 1 r e ition Decemb b i h x E g n al Meerlteians, LA u n n A N VA ry Arts Center New O Los
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Castillo is a native of Los Angeles, where she lives, works and teaches. She earned a BA in art education, with an emphasis in drawing and painting from California State University, Fullerton, and an MFA in sculpture from Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA. Castillo was born in Los Angeles to a Colombian immigrant family. Her Filipino, African, Spanish, and Indigenous Colombian lineage has had a profound influence on her work. Rife with ancestral and historical symbolism, her work utilizes materials such as hair, food, rope, burlap bags, rags, painting, and digital imagery, both projected and printed. Her installations explore materials and their perceived identity. Presenting materials in a new way that embodies layers of meaning—while not denying their identity—remains a source of fascination for Castillo. Her installations use human and synthetic hair as a metaphor for ancestry within the galaxy. As she makes each hairball and joins them together in the shape of a circle, Castillo’s process becomes a series of individual meditations in homage to her ancestors. The use of hair is symbolic of genetics, as well. A single strand of hair contains one’s DNA—an astonishing amount of information stored in a tiny organic structure. A person’s head is covered with thousands of individual hairs, thousands of copies of genetic information. How would the immense amount of genetic information contained within a single strand or a full head of hair express or manifest itself?
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The exploration of hair as a medium is psychologically charged. Identity is declared by the way people wear their hair. Hairstyles are statements. Hair is valued, cared for, meticulously groomed. Yet when it becomes detached from the head and found on any surface, its value is gone and replaced with revulsion. The relationship to hair is contradictory, one of attraction and repulsion. Recent exhibitions include: Prospect New Orleans – P3, SUR: Biennial, Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, California African American Museum, Watts Towers Arts Center, Ontario Museum of History and Art, and MACLA in San José, CA. She has also collaborated with sculptural assemblage artist John Outterbridge on several installations in Los Angeles. Castillo is a recipient of the City of Los Angeles Fellowship as well as the Visions from the New California Award.
Castillo Strand, 2009 manila rope dimensions variable photo: Bottletree
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Castillo excentricidad eliplica (ecliptic eccentricity), 2000 synthetic hair balls each 3 x 3 x 3 feet detail photos: Bottletree
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Eric Gottesman is a photographic artist, teacher, and activist. Since 1999 he has been working in and around the Middle East and Africa, as well as in rural North America, collaborating with communities to produce photographs and videos that often challenge preexisting images and perceptions of a culture and/or place as well as the concept of singular artistic authorship. Many of Gottesman’s projects examine the quiet, long-term, psychological impact of mass trauma. It was the relationship of trauma and production of culture in recent Ethiopian history that led to the project on display at the VAN Annual Meeting Exhibition. In 1982, Ethiopian writer Baalu Girma secretly wrote Oromaye, a novel and a thinly-veiled critique of the communist regime ruling his country at the time. Ten days after the book’s quiet publication, government censors ordered it removed from bookstores. Five months later, Baalu Girma disappeared, never to be heard from again. This photographic series is an excerpt from Gottesman’s ongoing project based on the life and fiction of Baalu Girma. Extracting words from interviews with Girma’s daughter and text from the novel itself, Gottesman ended up with two lists of adjectives: one that describes the real-life author from his eldest child’s perspective and one that describes his fictional protagonist in his own words. With these adjectives as a guide, Gottesman hired and photographed an Ethiopian actor portraying these two different characters. Through these images and a video of the same actor reading the novel’s introduction as a barber transforms him into character, Gottesman tries to visually distinguish the author Baalu from his character Tsegaye.
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In doing so, he clarifies (or blurs?) the line between the performative and the photographic. It is here, as it tragically was in Girma’s life and death, that the fictional and the historical collide. Gottesman studied politics and economics at Duke University and, later, art at Bard College. In 2003, he was named one of the top 25 young American photographers in 25 Under 25: Up-and-Coming American Photographers. Eric has been the recipient of numerous awards, fellowships, and grants including the Light Work Grant, a Fulbright Fellowship in Art, an Artadia award, an Aaron Siskind Fellowship, the apexart Franchise award, and grants from the Magnum Foundation, the Open Society Foundation and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Most recently his work has been exhibited at the Addison Gallery of American Art, the deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, and the Clark Gallery. In 2012 he was both an artistin-residence at Amherst College and an Edward E. Elson artist-in-residence at the Addison Gallery of American Art. He will have a solo show at Hamiltonian Gallery in Fall 2013. His first collaborative monograph, Sudden Flowers, will be published by Fishbar in Spring 2014. He has taught at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Amherst College, the International Center for Photography, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston and in collaborative workshops in Lebanon, Jordan and Ethiopia.
above Eric Gottesman Smoker, 2013 framed inkjet print 8 x 10 inches photo: Eric Gottesman top right Eric Gottesman The Oromaye Project, 2013 detail of dogtag photo: Bottletree right Eric Gottesman The Oromaye Project, 2013 installation view photo: Bottletree
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Eric Gottesman Oromaye (Introduction), 2012 video (5 minutes) dimensions variable photo: Eric Gottesman
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Eric Gottesman The Oromaye Project, 2013 installation view photo: Bottletree
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ble Aaron AN woww.aaronnoble.net s, C
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Albuquerq
Los Angeles-based artist Aaron Noble is a nationally and internationally respected artist who is known for both his large-scale mural projects and his fine art practice. He has painted murals all over the world in cities such as London, Beijing, Djogyakarta, Indonesia; Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. His most recent projects in Albuquerque include The Cuckoo’s Nest, or What You Hustlin’ Brother?, 4th Chamber and Quantum Bridge; the latter of which is Noble’s largest and most ambitious mural project to date. Commissioned for Heart of the City, an exhibition at 516 ARTS, 4th Chamber was painted in collaboration with partnering organization Warehouse 508 mural arts instructors, Roberto Reyes, Faustino Villa and Noah de St. Croix. 4th Chamber was designed and conceived as a massive, three-paneled portable mural that, upon completion of Heart of the City, would become part of the City of Albuquerque’s Public Art collection. 4th Chamber itself is a companion piece and continued investigation of thematic material explored in Noble’s breathtaking mural, Quantum Bridge, completed in Albuquerque in the early part of 2014. As Noble describes, “Quantum Bridge embodies my response to the interests and challenges of the young artists of the Warehouse 508 mural program. It is a semi-abstract time travel epic with aesthetic roots in comics, graffiti and Hip-Hop.”
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516 ARTS held several Open Studio events in which the general public was invited to visit the gallery to both watch and engage with the artist as he worked on the mural. What resulted was an intimate opportunity to witness a professional artist at work in a very accessible surrounding. Noble openly discussed his process involving comic books, collage, painting and drawing and the variety of techniques and tools he regularly uses. Noble also gave an artist talk at the Central New Mexico Community College in which he thoroughly discussed his influences and evolution as a visual artist living and working in both the Bay Area and currently in Los Angeles. Noble is the co-founder of the Clarion Alley Mural Project (CAMP) that was formed in 1992 to create and facilitate opportunities for artists to paint murals on the Clarion Alley between Valencia and Mission Streets in San Francisco. His work has been shown in museums and galleries alike including, the Torrance Art Museum, Hammer Museum, Blum & Poe, Morgan Lehman Gallery and the Guerrero Gallery.
top Aaron Noble 4th Chamber, 2014 element contribution by Noah de St. Croix, mural apprentice photo: Roberto Reyes
above Aaron Noble 4th Chamber, 2014 aerosol and acrylic on canvas on panel 96 x 214 inches photo: Margot Geist Exhibitions
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above Aaron Noble 4th Chamber, 2014 detail photo: Rhiannon Mercer left Aaron Noble 4th Chamber, 2014 aerosol and acrylic on canvas on panel 96 x 214 inches photo: Margot Geist
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the M y b d e v o M March 7 –
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TX
Los Angeles-based artist Wu Tsang tells stories through the language of moving pictures. Whether focusing on a specific location, a particular piece of writing, or the life of a performer, Tsang fully inhabits each world in order to re-construct a mirror narrative that is as visually complex as it is emotionally rich. He combines two distinct modes of storytelling through film: documentary and fantasy, so that certain truths may be made visible through the blurring of fiction and reality. By combining these two modes, Tsang addresses questions of identity, politics, and social constructs. Originally drawn to film as an activist, Tsang is interested in the medium’s broad reach in regards to narrative. He thinks about film and the performance of actors and non-actors differently than traditional documentary filmmakers do. Rather than simply ethnographically portraying a subject through the lens, he utilizes fantasy and imagination to provoke the viewer to connect more deeply with the subject matter. The work actively engages queer communities and attempts to shift the terms—“queer” and “community”—in the hopes of creating agency for individuals and subcultural groups without commodifying or co-opting them.
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Tsang’s residency and exhibition at DiverseWorks, Moved by the Motion, featured an ongoing collaboration with the performer boychild, whose visceral and vivid performances bring a sense of other-worldliness to the body. Central to the exhibition was the premiere of the 2-channel film, A day in the life of bliss, which simultaneously explores cinematic and performative narrative. The film follows Blis (played by boychild), who inhabits a “near future” world in which our social media avatars and online personas develop their own hive-minded consciousness called Looks. Blis, a celebritycollaborator by day and underground performer by night, discovers her ability to challenge the Looks. Utilizing sci-fi genre tropes and melodrama, the film evokes a classic “outsider” narrative that is complicated by affect, movement, and body politics. Moved by the Motion also included a live performance within the installation by Tsang and boychild. continues on page 84...
above Wu Tsang Moved by the Motion, 2014 2-channel video with sound, custom screens, and mirrors of A day in the life of bliss 20 minutes installation view photo: Paul Hester left Wu Tsang A day in the life of bliss, 2013 production photo photo: JesĂşs Torres Torres
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Wu Tsang is a Los Angeles based filmmaker, artist, and performer. His projects have been presented at the Tate Modern (London); the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the New Museum (New York); ICA (Philadelphia); and MOCA and REDCAT (Los Angeles). In 2012, he participated in the Whitney Biennial and New Museum Triennial (New York), Gwangju Biennial (South Korea), and Liverpool Biennial (UK). He was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” in 2012, and is a Film Independent Project:Involve alum. His first feature WILDNESS won multiple awards, including the Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding Documentary at Outfest 2012. WILDNESS had its world premiere at MoMA Documentary Fortnight (New York, NY), and was screened at SXSW (Austin, TX), Hot Docs (Toronto, Canada), and SANFIC8 (Santiago, Chile), among other festivals. Tsang was recently included in the Hammer Museum’s Made in L.A. 2014 biennial. *This residency was also a 2014 VAN Community Fund project. See page 125 for more information.
top Wu Tsang Moved by the Motion (featuring boychild), 2014 live performance 60 minutes photo: Rachel Cook bottom Wu Tsang A day in the life of bliss, 2013 production photo photo: Jesús Torres Torres
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Wu Tsang A day in the life of bliss (still), 2014 2-channel video with sound featuring the performer boychild 20 minutes photo: courtesy the artist and DiverseWorks
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aufmanan.net K n o s i l l A nkaufm ww.alliso , NY w
New York
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Allison Kaufman is a video artist and photographer living in New York City. She has exhibited her work nationally at spaces including HERE Arts Center and Hendershot Gallery in NYC, Moore College of Art and Design, and the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. Her exhibitions have been reviewed in the Huffington Post, L Magazine, the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review, and Bomb Magazine’s BOMBlog. Kaufman’s installation recreates a DJ and speaker showroom with towering amps, colored spotlights, and a disco ball suspended from the ceiling. A series of videos showcased several people of varying musical abilities performing popular songs in Guitar Center stores. Kaufman’s exhibition peers into the psychology of American chain music stores and how they package identities that perpetuate the fantasy of rock stardom, the human desire to be seen and recognized, and the simultaneity of exhibitionism and vulnerability. For her residency, Allison conducted two artist talks. During the opening reception of her exhibition, which 221 people attended, Allison discussed the themes within her work and then invited visitors to engage with the installation. Allison delivered her second artist talk to a group of 81 fourth grade students visiting from the Wolcott School in West Hartford, Connecticut. After a discussion about Amplified Stages and art in general, she welcomed them to interact with the installation. The children enthusiastically jumped onto the stage, danced, and delighted in becoming performers.
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Allison Kaufman received her BFA in Film and Television Production from New York University and her MFA in Photography, Video, and Related Media from the School of Visual Arts. She was an Artist in Residence at the Constance Saltonstall Foundation of the Arts and Yaddo in upstate New York, the Center for Emerging Visual Artists in Philadelphia, and the Penland School of Crafts in Bakersville, North Carolina. Kaufman is an adjunct instructor at New York Film Academy and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Allison Kaufman Amplified Stages, 2014 digital photographs, found photographs, found religious pamphlets and newspapers, American flag, skin bleach cream, prayer rug, found books, prayer beads, nylons, glass jar, album cover, chair dimensions variable installation view photo: John Groo
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Allison Kaufman Amplified Stages, 2014 Fourth grade students from the Wolcott School interact with Amplified Stages following an artist talk. photo: Lindsey Fyfe
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above Allison Kaufman Amplified Stages, 2014 speakers, colored lights, disco ball, stage, video dimensions variable installation view photo: John Groo left Allison Kaufman Amplified Stages, 2014 digital photographs, found photographs, found religious pamphlets and newspapers, American flag, skin bleach cream, prayer rug, found books, prayer beads, nylons, glass jar, album cover, chair dimensions variable installation view photo: John Groo
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Princem/steve_prince . A e v e t S s.co w.eyekon , PA ww Meadville tween e B e r u t p The Ra14 , 20 April 6 – 13 seum u M e s u ds Ho Hammon A Atlanta, G
Steve A. Prince is a native of New Orleans, LA and is currently an Artist in Residence at Allegheny College in Meadsville, PA. He received his BFA from Xavier University of Louisiana and his MFA in printmaking and sculpture from Michigan State University. Prince has shown his art nationally and internationally in various solo, group, and juried exhibitions. A partial listing of exhibitions include: the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, the National Gallery of the Bahamas, the Museum of Cultural Arts Center in Santa Catarina, Brazil, the Grand Rapids Museum of Art, the Portsmouth Courthouse Museum, Hampton University Museum, the Museum of African American Culture in New Orleans, Xavier University of Louisiana Gallery, Charles H. Taylor Art Center in Hampton, and the Peninsula Fine Arts Center. He is widely sought after to fulfill public art installations and community engagement projects. Prince’s work challenges viewers to ponder the various constraints found in popular culture that limit their freedom, and erode their sense of history, morality and ethics. He states, “I deal with themes of social and racial justice and visually explore biblical responses to the problems overwhelming today’s urban culture.” His images offer moralistic and ethical challenges to viewers. The work beckons the audience to ponder their responsibility within the fabric of the American family and to redress race, representation, and education with a new raiment woven with respect, truth, and equality.
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Each of his works reflects a keen understanding of symbolism, history, and oral traditions that challenge viewers to ponder their agency and be active in creating a better world. For Steve Prince, art is a tool used to battle social issues like violence, racism, and injustice. He considers his work “a conduit of God’s grace, helping people make sense of their lives and realize that their actions have consequences.” He believes, “There are a lot of things we haven’t dealt with in our souls, so I like to deal with them in my artwork.” The result is art interwoven with social metaphors and symbolic messages. “The intent of my work is to heighten our collective consciousness in the face of indifference and delve into the power of faith in perilous times.” Although well versed in a variety of mediums, Prince’s works primarily uses the black and white language of printmaking and drawing. When he exhibited at Hammonds House Museum in 2009 viewers were intrigued by his amazing 7-foot graphite drawings and intricate message-laden prints.
His phenomenal work and natural fit for a community engagement project made selecting him for the 2014 VAN residency a correct choice. For the residency he focused on the medium of linoleum cut printmaking. During the residency he produced two prints at the Atlanta Printmakers Studio (APS) interacting with studio artists, instructors, and students and was present during their annual communitywide Print Big Day. In addition he conducted workshops and classes at Georgia State University, Clark Atlanta University and Kennesaw State University.
Steve A. Prince Prince with artists at the Atlanta Printmakers Studio
Thirteen prints, including those produced during the residency, comprised a three person exhibition at Hammonds House Museum titled The Rupture Between. His work was also exhibited at Mason Murer Fine Art during his stay in Atlanta.
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Steve A. Prince Second Line, 2012 graphite 9 x 20 feet
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eyer info G a e r d n A ageyer. ww.andre Brooklyn,
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2014
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PICA presented the politically and historically immersed artist Andrea Geyer for the U.S. premiere of Geyer’s two-channel video installation, Three Chants Modern. Commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, during a research residency at the museum in 2013 and made possible by MoMA’s Wallis Annenberg Fund for Innovation in Contemporary Art through the Annenberg Foundation, Three Chants Modern looks at the network of women thinkers, social and political activists, artists and philanthropists who were the creative drivers and institutional pillars of the Modernist Project in New York in the early part of the 20th century. Three Chants addresses how history and power are constructed, in part, through the undeniable legacy of these women in contrast to their sparse representation in the formal history of the period. Specifically it marks the undeniable intertwined relationship between Modernism and socio-political reforms in the United States. Beyond the rediscovery of such facts, the work invites us to reflect on the failure to recognize the groundbreaking historical work of many women in today’s understanding of culture, even though the traces of their labor are present everywhere.
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In concert with her exhibition and public opening, PICA and the MFA Studio Program at Portland State University hosted a free public lecture to learn more about Geyer and her practice. The artist also spent time with the students in their studios for critique and conversation sessions and the exhibition was visited by several class groups from area high schools and colleges. The video installation was further contextualized by two choreographers, Laura Arrington and Jesse Hewitt who met with Geyer to develop a one night class as part of PICA’s education and outreach “Field Guide” program. Several large groups attended the exhibition for special screenings including the Native American Youth and Family Center and “Assembly: a social practice get-together” a symposium hosted by PICA and organized by the PSU Art & Social Practice Program, Portland Art Museum, Julie Ault and Arianna Jacob. A 2000 graduate of the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program, Andrea Geyer works with photography, video and performance, using both fiction and documentary strategies in order to address larger concepts such as national identity, gender, and class in the context of the ongoing re-adjustment of cultural meanings and social memories.
Geyer’s work has been shown at The Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Apex Art, and Artists Space, in New York City; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; REDCAT and LACE, in Los Angeles; Tate Modern and Serpentine Gallery, London; Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, Switzerland; Göteborgs Konsthall, Gothenburg, Sweden; Generali Foundation and Secession, Vienna; Smart Project Space, Amsterdam; Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Zealand; the Turin Biennale; the São Paulo Biennial; and dOCUMENTA (12), Kassel, Germany.
Andrea Geyer Three Chants Modern, 2014 installation view photo: Evan LaLonde
Geyer was born in 1971 in Freiburg, Germany. She lives and works in New York City.
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above Andrea Geyer Three Chants Modern, 2014 publication photo: Evan LaLonde left Andrea Geyer Three Chants Modern, 2014 installation view photo: Evan LaLonde
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RSAL E V I N U z uare Vargas-S .vargassuarezuniversal.com NY www
Brooklyn,
dex o C s o m s Co y 3, 2014
nto de A e i m i v o M MACLA / April 20 –
San José,
Ma
CA
Vargas-Suarez UNIVERSAL (VSU) is primarily known for large-scale murals, paintings, drawings, and sound recordings. He sources American and Russian spaceflight programs, astronomy, and aerospace architecture to create commissioned, studio-based, and public artworks for museums, galleries, private and public spaces. A major aspect of the exhibition is VSU’s dialogue with scientists and other experts at the NASA Ames Research Center, gathering information that directly informs the artwork. Vargas-Suarez is exploring concepts for retrieving materials from Mars, asteroids and other orbiting bodies in our solar system. He intends to grant access of these materials to artists, architects and designers, allowing them to expand and explore possibilities not available with traditional materials available on Earth. The exhibition installation in MACLA’s gallery was set up as a mock “clean room,” or spacecraft processing facility typically found at NASA operations centers. The installation included hand-intervened digital prints, paintings, sculptural objects, and a video produced in collaboration with artist Barbora Bereznáková. Vargas-Suarez also worked with MACLA staff and youth to create a 20 foot long mural on the exterior of MACLA’s building.
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Further, this exhibition presented an exciting educational opportunity for the hundreds of middle school and high school-aged students which MACLA serves every year. The exhibition and artist’s residency encouraged MACLA’s students to engage with art and science in a different and meaningful way. VSU, who studied both astronomy and art history in college, has been inspired by the data collected by space and research entities, including NASA. His work is an inspiration for Latino youth who may be considering studies and careers in the arts and sciences. Vargas-Suarez UNIVERSAL is based in New York. He was born in Mexico City and raised in the Houston suburb of Clear Lake City adjacent to the NASA Johnson Space Center. He studied astronomy and art history at the University of Texas at Austin and moved to New York City in 1997.
above Vargas-Suarez UNIVERSAL Landing Sites & Beyond, 2014 video photo: Barbora Bereznรกkovรก left Vargas-Suarez UNIVERSAL spraypaint and oil-based marker on wall 20 x 10 feet photo: Melina Ramirez
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Vargas-Suarez UNIVERSAL installation view photo: José Reyes
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Ian EttYe rwww.ianetter.com d, N
Mann y 4, 2014 April 28 –
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Ridgewoo
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Ian Etter has long been interested in the history of America’s westward expansion, the development of the railroad, and the steps we’re currently taking to colonize Mars. He’s fascinated by the parallels between contemporary imagery of Mars and 19th century paintings of the American West. “The paintings of Thomas Moran and others stimulated the imagination of settlers and tourists, fueling expansion and helping to fund the development of the railroad,” he explains. “Likewise, imagery from Mars builds excitement in the public and helps fund NASA. Rovers are better equipped to take high-resolution, panoramic photographs than to perform actual geological studies. Much like the early paintings of the West, the imagery allows the public to imagine itself colonizing the frontier.” The project at the center of his VAN residency, Manned Mock Mars Mission, or MMMM, began in 2013, when Ian Etter spent two weeks as artist in residence at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS). Located in the Utah desert, MDRS is an ongoing testing environment designed to simulate living on Mars, and is seen as a first step to establishing colonies there. The scientists at MDRS conduct their research in “full sim,” during which they act as fully as possible as if they’re on the surface of Mars. While at MDRS, Etter had the opportunity to work with contemporary explorers: engineers, astronomers, biologists and geologists. During the next stage of MMMM, in March 2014, Etter performed his own simulation in the Loess Hills, a desolate area in western Iowa. Living alone for two weeks, in a
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transportable space station he designed and built, he carried out a Mars simulation on a small patch of reconstituted prairie. Wearing a space suit he designed and fabricated, he conducted daily explorations of the surface. Using a mix of space-age and 19th century imagery and technology, he then created artworks that blend the histories of astronomy, space exploration and the settlement of the American West. His exhibit at CSPS featured the space suit and station that Etter used in the Loess Hills, along with video documentation, photographs and photogravure prints. “The drawings, prints and photos,” Etter explained, “function as artifacts from my two-week stay on Mars. They incorporate imagery from the observational history of Mars alongside maps and imagery of Iowa. Through mining these histories, I created a fiction that imagines a contemporary Mars in the early stages of terraforming, a Mars that is being colonized using 19th century technology.” During his residency at CSPS Hall, Etter spent his days in the gallery, re-enacting his Loess Hills explorations and conversing with invited audiences of artists, students, engineers and makers, along with members of the general public. Ian Etter was born in Alaska, grew up in Kansas, and currently resides in New York City. He studied art at the University of Iowa, Kansas State University, and Norwich School of Art and Design in the UK. His work has been exhibited in Iowa City, St. Louis, Austin and Chicago.
Ian Etter MMMM, Manned Mock Mars Mission, 2014 Ian prepares to leave the Loess Hills Analog station, in advance of his exploration of the prairie environment photo: Derek Blackman
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above Ian Etter MMMM, Manned Mock Mars Mission, 2014 Ian explores the prairie environment of the Loess Hill in Southwestern Iowa photo: Derek Blackman left Ian Etter MMMM, Manned Mock Mars Mission, 2014 simulated Mars station, video, drawings, space suit and artifacts photo: Derek Blackman
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ieben S l e a h c i M .com .msieben Austin, TX
Groves y t i n i r T t a al eben Mur
www
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18, 2
porar m e t n o C Dallas
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Dallas, TX
Michael Sieben is a professional designer and illustrator from Austin, Texas. Sieben is a founding member of Okay Mountain Collective and a co-founder of Roger Skateboards. He is the Managing Editor of Thrasher Magazine and writes a monthly column for Juxtapoz Magazine. Sieben has had success working collaboratively with Adidas, Toy Machine Skateboards, MTV, Vans and Nickelodeon. Sieben’s fictional characters juxtapose the adolescent-driven subculture of skateboarding with the sinister anxieties of adulthood, creating a distinct playful style that has become instantly identifiable within the skateboarding community. For his VAN exhibition residency, Dallas Contemporary (DC) invited Michael Sieben and assistant Josh Row to create a mural in Trinity Groves. DC has a long-standing partnership with the up-and-coming neighborhood to the west of Dallas, having commissioned four murals in the area since 2012. Responding to the rapidly changing neighborhood, Sieben’s mural depicts two dueling grackles in front of a dandelion. Both the bird and the weed are native to Texas and generally evoke a negative connotation. However Sieben depicts these grackles dancing proud, defiant and perhaps territorially. They are Trinity Groves’ newest residents and are evidence of the exciting changes happening in this colorful Dallas neighborhood.
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Along with creating the mural in Trinity Groves, Dallas Contemporary made Michael Sieben the June guest juror for #dcplusme, a new program designed to cultivate DC’s online community by creating a universally accessible space for artists to see, share, explore, and exhibit art. With Sieben as the guest juror, #dcplusme received 55 submissions. Sieben chose to publish five artists and wrote about their work for DC’s Tumblr webpage. In addition, Michael Sieben gave a well-attended artist talk at the site of the mural in Trinity Groves. The Chit Chat was moderated by Carlos Donjuan, a local street artist who is part of the Sour Grapes Collective. Discussing both the inspiration and process behind the mural, Michael Sieben, Josh Row and Carlos Donjuan presented an engaging and entertaining conversation. Michael Sieben’s strong presence within the skateboarding subculture and as an illustrator allowed Dallas Contemporary to connect with a new demographic.
Michael Sieben wall mural 35 x 12 feet photos: Jacque Donaldson
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Michael Sieben wall mural 35 x 12 feet photos: Jacque Donaldson
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ldes Juana Vwaww.juanaMvaldes.com , NY
New York
29, 2014 – 3 bator 2 u e c n n I Ju s t r ltural A u C e b i V Diaspora Miami, FL
Juana Valdes completed an MFA in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts in 1993 and a BFA in Sculpture at Parsons School of Design in 1991. She was born in Cabañas, Pinar Del Rio, Cuba and came to the United States in 1971. Juana currently teaches as an Assistant Professor of Printmaking at Florida Atlantic University in the Visual Arts and Art History Department. Valdes brings a finely honed polemic sense to her work and the range of subjects that have captured her fancy boggles the mind: organza and linen - fabrics that classified two different classes in Cuba; the collectables of the bourgeois and the servant class; the Whites and Blacks. While these oppositions are subtly built-in, they represent a preoccupation present in previous work. Throughout her body of work Valdes parses the width and breath of the issues she confronts in richly articulated forms that can be festooned with appliquéd elements or printmaking transfers. She weaves the patterns of her stories, creating a narrative with text, images and found objects as principal elements, along with fabric grids of male handkerchiefs, making the entire structure feminine and fragile.
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Juana Valdes’ most current work elicits migration as a complex process, constructing history through a continuum that involves both the “home-space” of the diasporic community along with their new homeland. Valdes examines the post-colonial history of the Americas and the current representation of Latinos, Caribbean citizens, Blacks or what the current “other” is in vogue in mainstream America, reflecting on what is ascribed, contested, and granted. This ethno-social exploration serves as the raw material for her aesthetic and formal investigation, as it circumscribes issues of transmutation via the everyday object, as a personal and time-based reference that is diachronic in orientation. Throughout her career, Juana has participated in a range of exhibitions and residencies, most currently at the European Keramic Work Center in the Netherlands (2012), the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (2009), the Artist Residency at the Center for Book Arts (2007), and the Smack Mellon Studio Program (2004). Past exhibitions include a solo show at SENSEI Gallery as part of the SENSEI Exchange Series Part 008: In the Fold in New York (2013), and travelling exhibitions Multiplicity: Contemporary Ceramic Sculpture (2007-08) and Multiple, Limited, Unique: Selections from the Permanent Collection of the Center for Book Arts (2011-13). Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator has exhibited Valdes’ work in the Caribbean and Miami.
Juana Valdes Visual Literacy 2, 2014 mixed media books and found objects, film stills, xerox transfer on cotton handkerchief 30 x 40 x 9 inches photo: Juana Valdes
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Juana Valdes Visual Literacy 2, 2014 mixed media books and found objects with film stills 30 x 40 x 9 inches detail photo: Juana Valdes
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
top Juana Valdes Visual Literacy 2, 2014 mixed media books and found objects with film stills photo: Juana Valdes bottom Juana Valdes Visual Literacy 2, 2014 mixed media xerox transfer on cotton handkerchief detail photo: Juana Valdes
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Grace 30, 2014 f o – s 4 t r 2 o e f f n Ju nter / E e C s t r A l tura Ashé Cul ans, LA
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A graduate of Southern University at New Orleans, with a degree in Fine Arts, Siler studied with Jean Paul Hubbard, Frank Hayden, and Harold Cureau as an undergraduate and credits a number of other artists as influences over the years. While an undergrad at Southern he cartooned for the school newspaper, The Digest, and wrote a humor column and contributed artwork to The Cat yearbook. He has exhibited at the Salter Gallery, The Gallery in The Courtyard, Mumbo Jumbo and the California African American Museum in Los Angeles, The West Baton Rouge Museum, The Arna Bontemps Museum, Alexandria, LA; Ashé Cultural Arts Center, The New Orleans African American Museum and the Black Heritage Gallery in Lake Charles, LA. He has work in private collections worldwide and the collection of Cultural Crossroads in Baton Rouge. He is currently the cartoonist for The Louisiana Weekly. Siler’s VAN residency included a variety of media and themes ranging from New Orleans’ lively and unique jazz scene to its equally lively and unique political scene. Siler gives us a glimpse into this treasure of American cities as only a native can, using his art to comment on its complexities, warts and beauty marks. His work spans the gamut of media from fine watercolors and acrylics to biting political cartoons, most of which find their way into various publications monthly.
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Charles Siler led community workshops for the students of Kuumba Institute and the APEX Center. The Kuumba Institute at Ashé commits to make communities more beautiful and beneficial than they were when they were inherited. Kuumba’s goal is to inspire students to use culture and the arts to help develop their power of expression and encourage the building of relationships within the community and throughout the world. Life is the inspiration of art; and artistic expressions should inspire the students’ lives as well as those in the community and throughout the world. APEX Community Advancement, Inc. was formed for the expressed purpose of supporting, innovating and creating programs and services focusing on the needs of young people from age 5 through 25. APEX offers classes in acting, art, music and dance, teaching youth how to look at the world and their fellow human being in a different way. The overarching theme is “Reconciliation, Never Retaliation.” Charles Siler’s workshops during the VAN residency served 180 youth, the majority of whom live in Central City New Orleans.
Charles “Chuck� Siler pencil and multimedia workshop with Apex Center students photos: Karel Sloane-Boekbinder
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d o Bob SnLAe abob.transitantenna.com/portfoli ans, New Orle eral Tree n e G r a l l o Family0D 30, 2 14 June 25 – Arts e h t r o f r Cente Coleman York, AL
The Coleman Center for the Arts was pleased to welcome New Orleans-based artist Bob Snead for a performance of his Family Dollar General Tree. Snead’s methodical installation consists of hundreds of sculptures of common household items sold at dollar stores, created out of the cardboard boxes in which they are shipped. The installation pits contemporary art practice against consumerism in a whimsical investigation of contemporary object making. The performance took place in a former five and dime store in downtown York, a town home to three different dollar stores. Listening to a soundtrack of factory noises, participants joined Snead to form a human assembly line, as they used hot glue guns to affix product sections together. Rolls of toilet paper, PowerAde drinks and detergent bottles were assembled using Snead’s pre-made sections. Once finished, the installation creates a one to one model of dollar store merchandise, fashioned out the very consumer waste from which their likeness originated.
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Bob Snead holds a BA in Studio Art from the College of Charleston, SC and an MFA in painting and printmaking from Yale University School of Art. He is the Executive Director of Press Street in New Orleans and founding Director of Redux Contemporary Art Center in Charleston and helped form the traveling artist collective Transit Antenna. He has exhibited with Jack Tilton Gallery and Deitch Projects in New York, the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the Contemporary Art Center of New Orleans, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, and most recently May Gallery. In 2011 he was named a distinguished alumnus of the College of Charleston for his extensive work with non-profit arts organizations.
Bob Snead Family Dollar General Tree, York, AL, 2014 mixed media, public performance dimensions variable photos: Shana Berger
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Working with a minimalist palette, Akiko Kotani transforms everyday materials by hand into large scale works and installations. In Soft Walls, Kotani envelops over 150 square feet of gallery walls using thousands of feet of crocheted plastic that she fashioned from more than 1,000 45-gallon white trash bags. The white plastic encases and flows off the walls and puddles at the floor reflecting both inner strength and external flexibility which she likens metaphorically to the characters of many women. In a nod to the love of handwork that inspired her mother as well as many other women for generations, Kotani’s use of sewing and crochet embodies the surprising power and attraction of simplicity, containing a depth of feeling within an economy of means. Kotani uses scale to transform Soft Walls into large and abstract forms, making it more conceptual art than traditional women’s handwork. In other two dimensional work including The Black Sea, Kotani sews black bamboo thread onto paper to create delicate abstractions that reference memory and the natural world. During Kotani’s VAN residency in Austin she led demonstrations and discussions with several classes. Students ranging from 5- to 13-years-old came to the gallery for art making field trips. Kotani worked with the South Austin Recreation Center, Parque Zaragoza Recreation Center, and Montopolis Recreation Center. For many of these at-risk youth, this was their first visit to a museum or gallery.
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Akiko Kotani was born in Hawaii and received a BFA from the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. She earned an MFA from the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, PA and taught at Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, PA for 21 years until her retirement in 2000. She lived in Guatemala from 2007 to 2010, where she studied under a Mayan weaver and from 2008-2010, she served as Adjunct Professor at Koc University in Istanbul, Turkey. Kotani has exhibited widely throughout the United States as well as internationally in Spain, France, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Turkey, Peru, and Japan. In 2013, she was named Pittsburgh Artist of the Year by the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Cleveland Museum of Art, the Erie Art Museum in Erie, PA, the Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, NJ and at Dokuz Eylui University in Izmir, Turkey, and Moulin a Nef at VCCA-France in Auvillar, France.
Akiko Kotani Soft Walls, 2013 crochet, plastic, canvas, staples, screws and wood 2 walls, 96 x 216 x 18 inches and 96 x 156 x 18 inches photo: Rino Pizzi
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
above & opposite Akiko Kotani Soft Walls, 2013 crochet, plastic, canvas, staples, screws and wood 2 walls, 96 x 216 x 18 inches and 96 x 156 x 18 inches photo: Rino Pizzi left Akiko Kotani Soft Walls, 2013 Akiko Kotani teaching students from Austin Recreational Center photo: Rino Pizzi
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Fund y t i n u m VAN Com 014 2 – 3 1 0 2 Awards
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
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Fund y t i n u m VAN Com Projects van partner:
516 Arts, Albuquerque, NM artists:
John Hitchcock, Madison, WI and Emily Arthur, Jacksonville, FL project:
Air, Land, Seed Community Programming Native American printmakers John Hitchcock and Emily Arthur worked with artists Marwin Begaye (Norman, OK) and Ryan O’Malley (Corpus Christi, TX) to create a largescale public art banner. They worked with the community in the production of multiples during a Print Blitz and conducted a ceremonial distribution of prints in the Native “give-away” tradition. For more information about John Hitchcock and Emily Arthur’s exhibition residency, please see page 46
top John Hitchcock & Emily Arthur Print Blitz, 2013 demonstrating linocut printing photo: 516 ARTS bottom John Hitchcock & Emily Arthur Impact vs. Influence, 2013 screenprint on paper dimensions variable volunteers assisting photo: 516 ARTS
Community Fund Awards 2013 – 2014
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Liz Magic Laser Tell Me What You Want To Hear Workshop, 2013
van partner:
van partner:
DiverseWorks, Houston, TX artist:
LACE / Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA
Liz Magic Laser, New York, NY
artists:
project:
Tell Me What You Want To Hear Liz Magic Laser, along with political, media and marketing experts, led a series of week-long workshops to teach participants how to dissect the emotionally manipulative methods used by politicians and newsmakers to generate empathy and compassion. The workshops culminated in an interactive performance using the format of a news talk show. For more information about Liz Magic Laser’s exhibition residency, please see page 18
Eric Zimmerman, Brooklyn, NY and Nathalie Pozzi, New York, NY project:
Planning and Documentation: Engaging Local Community in Extended Dialogue LACE engaged in a planning and documentation project with VAN resident artists, including a survey of past VAN resident artists and community participants. The project resulted in a Practice Sessions video to share with online audiences. For more information about Eric Zimmerman and Nathalie Pozzi’s exhibition residency, please see page 54
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
left Kameelah Janan Rasheed artist workshop at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts in Hartford, CT photo: Kameelah Janan Rasheed below Kameelah Janan Rasheed assemblage (photographs, cds, cards, letters, keys) photo: Kameelah Janan Rasheed
van partner:
van partner:
Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT
DiverseWorks, Houston, TX
artist:
artist:
Kameelah Janan Rasheed, Brooklyn, NY
Wu Tsang, Los Angeles, CA
project:
project:
Excavating and Reimagining Our Community
Moved by the Motion
Real Art Ways hosted artist Kameelah Janan Rasheed in an extended residency that engaged students from the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts in collaborative research of local history, culminating in an exhibition of the youths’ narrative photographic works. For more information about Kameelah Janan Rasheed’s exhibition residency, please see page 14
Wu Tsang, a transgender second-generation ChineseAmerican artist, developed and filmed a series of intimate interviews with members of the LGBTQ immigrant community in Houston. The interviews contributed to the research and production of a multi-media performance and exhibition that utilized a filmic installation and event space. Through these interviews Tsang provoked a line of inquiry in order to expose the boundaries between the terms “inside” and “outside” when referring to the shifting terrain of human sexuality and gender identity. For more information about Wu Tsang’s exhibition residency, please see page 82
Community Fund Awards 2013 – 2014
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van partner:
Space One Eleven, Birmingham, AL artist:
Steve Lambert, Beacon, NY project:
Steve Lambert is coming to Birmingham. Write it in crayon.
nding nerous fu e g r o f l u h is gratef tion, whic a d n NPN/VAN u o F hell sible. Joan Mitc Fund pos from the y it n u m VAN Com made the
Steve Lambert planned for a residency by connecting with the general public, news media, and human rights organizations to select sites and determine community concerns that will be addressed in his project, In My Life, True/False. The project was documented by Victoria Estok, and the resulting video will be available to audiences online. For more information about Steve Lambert’s exhibition residency at Space One Eleven, stay tuned for the 2015 VAN Catalog! [images: Lambert - Public Forum Game Show at SOE, Lambert – Public Forum in Canada, Lambert – Sign Drawing]
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Steve Lambert PUBLIC FORUM, 2014 wood, aluminum, electrical 14 feet wide, 7 inches deep, variable height photo: courtesy of CAFKA
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516 ARTS
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Partners
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DiverseWorks
Legion Arts
4102 Fannin Street, Suite 200 Houston, TX 77004
1103 Third Street SE Cedar Rapids, IA 52401-2305
713.223.8346
319.364.1580
www.diverseworks.org
www.legionarts.org
Elizabeth Dunbar, Executive Director elizabeth@diverseworks.org
Mel Andringa, Producing Director mel@legionarts.org
Rachel Cook, Associate Curator rachel@diverseworks.org
Hammonds House Museum 503 Peeples Street, SW Atlanta, GA 30310 404-612-0482 www.hammondshouse.org Myrna Anderson-Fuller, Executive Director myrna.fuller@hammondshouse.org
LACE / Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions 6522 Hollywood Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90028-6210
510 S. First Street San JosĂŠ, CA 95113-2806 408.998.ARTE www.maclaarte.org Anjee Helstrup-Alvarez, Executive Director anjee@maclaarte.org Joey Reyes, Curatorial Coordinator joey@maclaarte.org
PICA / Portland Institute for Contemporary Art
323.957.1777
415 SW 10th Avenue, Suite 300 Portland, OR 97205
www.welcometolace.org
503.242.1419
Sarah Russin, Executive Director sarah@welcometolace.org
www.pica.org
Shoghig Halajian, Assistant Director shoghig@welcometolace.org
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MACLA / Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana
VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Kristan Kennedy, Visual Art Curator kristan@pica.org Victoria Frey, Executive Director vic@pica.org
Project Row Houses
Space One Eleven
2521 Holman Street Houston, TX 77004-4247
2409 Second Avenue North Birmingham, AL 35203-3809
713.526.7662
205.328.0553
www.projectrowhouses.org
www.spaceoneeleven.org
Ryan N. Dennis, Public Art Director rdennis@projectrowhouses.org
Peter Prinz, CEO & Co-Founder peterprinz@spaceoneeleven.org
Linda Shearer, Executive Director lshearer@projectrowhouses.org
Anne Arrasmith, Founding Director annearrasmith@spaceoneeleven.org
Real Art Ways
Women & Their Work
56 Arbor Street Hartford, CT 06106-1228
1710 Lavaca Street Austin, TX 78701-1316
860.232.1006
512.477.1064
www.realartways.org
www.womenandtheirwork.org
Will K. Wilkins, Executive Director wwilkins@realartways.org
Chris Cowden, Executive Director cowden@womenandtheirwork.org
Michael Galvin, Visual Arts Manager mgalvin@realartways.org
Liberty Lloyd, Gallery Director lloyd@womenandtheirwork.org
RedLine 2350 Arapahoe Street Denver, CO 80205 303.296.4448 www.redlineart.org Louise Martorano, Executive Director louise.martorano@redlineart.org Robin Gallite, Education Director rgallite@redlineart.org
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About the Visual Artists Network The Visual Artists Network (VAN) is a national network of visual artists, curators and exhibitors providing opportunities and subsidy support for under-recognized visual artists. VAN nurtures the creation of experimental artwork and supports the touring of contemporary visual artists and their work.
Modeled after the National Performance Network’s (NPN) performing arts program, VAN was launched in 2007 as a pilot program, and in 2009 the program was formally established through the induction of the VAN Partners, leading contemporary arts organizations from across the United States. Selected in a rigorous application process, the VAN Partners join the Network for the life of their organizations, thus guaranteeing them subsidy support and services as long as their work and commitment to the Network’s values remain consistent. VAN’s dedication to long-term relationships serves the greater goal of nourishing creative communities where artists may thrive.
e twork e About th N e c n l a rm e Nationa o f r e twork, th e P n d l te a ra ne active d, field-ge cture. Its Nation ist-centere in its stru e cted u iq n o As an art u rc is te nne N) twork (NP e N e c n a m nal Perfor ers, The Natio al organiz r u lt u c e s of diver create is a group orking to w , s t is t r e a including d to provid n a s ip h s r ul par tne e and meaningf the practic s le b a n e that he leadership e ar ts in t h t f o e c n erie public exp tes. United Sta atement mission st
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
ork an in nce Netw ters form ices Performa of presen rk o rt and serv o tw p e p n d su e h g a ic g h w d and en s through ibuted an lationship tively distr c e ff e , web of re d e sign gically de are strate ed. g vited ra e v lly le ons are in successfu organizati f o r e l b ca m all nu recipro years, a sm ment and vited h involve Every two ig h e ers are in n th rt N. Given NPN Pa P w N e n in n , o jo rk ti o to applica e netw ation and ents of th requirem us nomin ro o d highly g n ri a a llowing deliberate is ss , ce to join fo on pro mbership he selecti mited me li a active s a te h process. T use NPN to facilita ) ca 5 e 7 b f o e v m ti ximu asure competi s and me small (ma ally kept lationship re le b NPN’s a ts intention in e susta re me tion, build frastructu in l a in n o rk ti participa o This na new w ver time. eation of cr e re is th tu c d impact o n ru ists a NPN’s st pport art gement. ts. a is g n rt e a y goal to su to it mmun support co d f n o a t x s e te million resourc the con leverage than $2 .9 to re o d e m n g te u si trib nt also de ctively dis ngageme ners colle munity e m co d lion, NPN Part il n a ting g of $1 m in presen al fundin n o ti e artists a v annually n ti ’s port crea ing NPN p h tc su a to m n y, lio activit an $4 mil in more th resulting e country. across th
National Performance Network / Visual Artists Network Staff Stephanie Atkins
Renata Petroni
Steve Bailey
MK Wegmann
William Bowling
Thérèse Wegmann
Stanlyn Brevé
Kathleen Welch
Steffani Clemons
Kyoko Yoshida
Alec De León
Mimi Zarsky
Kathie deNobriga
interns:
Resource Development Specialist stephanie@npnweb.org
Chief Operating Officer steve@npnweb.org
Program Associate, National Programs will@npnweb.org
Director of National Programs stanlyn@npnweb.org
Administrative Assistant sclemons@npnweb.org
Program Specialist (VAN), National Programs alec@npnweb.org
Publications Editor kathie@npnweb.org
Elizabeth Doud
Coordinator, Performing Americas Program edoud@npnweb.org
Bryan Graham IT/Design bryan@npnweb.org
Anna Henschel
Consultant, International Program renata@npnweb.org
President & CEO mkw@npnweb.org
Senior Program Specialist, Operations & Data therese@npnweb.org
Facilities Manager, Arts Estuary 1024 kathleen@npnweb.org
Consultant, U.S.-Japan Connection kyoko@npnweb.org
Senior Program Specialist, Convenings mzarsky@npnweb.org
Eun Jung Yang Fall 2013
Carrie Knopf Spring 2014
Rachel Swan Summer 2014
Monica Tyran Fall 2014
Program Assistant, National Programs anna@npnweb.org Info
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Thanks
and any people m e h t e e g cess of th cknowled c a u s o t e s h e t h o ted t NPN wis r tners and e contribu v a a P h N o A h V w e s the th ho institution including , k r o w e ar tists w t h e t N ll a s t o is t t r . f fered Visual A y Program anks are o c h n t e l ia id c s e e R p S ition their staf f. VAN Exhib e h t in d e icipat have par t
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
Support The Visual Artists Network is generously supported by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Joan Mitchell Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, the Lambent Foundation – a project of the Tides Center and Southwest Airlines. The VAN Partners also make a significant contribution to the program through their matching dollars and annual dues.
Info
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VISUAL ARTISTS NETWORK Exhibitions 2013–2014
address: P.O. Box 56698 New Orleans, LA 70156-6698 phone: 504.595.8008 fax: 504.595.8006 email: info@npnweb.org web: www.npnweb.org
Selina Roman Untitled (Sand), 2012 archival inkjet print 40 x 60 inches photo: Selina Roman