Imputation: SACI Post-Bac Catalog 2019-20

Artists: Ginnia Araujo Linu Del Deo Nara Seymour Laura Silverman Mckinley Streett Lyla Zimmerman

On artistic approach

Poet and Writer, Kahlil Gibran writes in his 1923 book The Prophet, “no man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge.” I believe this is the approach in which we met the six young artists that fall of 2019. In search to coexist in this world by first existing as one’s individual self and to understand the vantage point and placement of our physical, spiritual and mental presence as it exists amongst others. These realities are influenced by various personal notions, such as the implications of tradition and genealogy and that of imagined communities reflecting on origins and perception. It is through the self will of each of these emerging artists that they have gathered and immersed themselves in italian customs, ideas and centuries of history to explore moments of critical debate while acknowledging the desire to cultivate and nourish their artistic voice and perspectives alongside that of artists, educators and scholars. Through understanding the various lenses in which art is defined and challenging the frameworks set in place to view contemporary art, each artist works to reinforce or dismantle notions presented by prior hierarchies. With hybrid opportunities to redefine the meaning of failure and transform their role as artist, a sense of poetic humanity has erupted. With a particular and sensitive approach to art making, several ideologies are visible through the works of Nara Seymour, Laura Silverman, Ginnia Araujo, Linu Del Deo, McKinley Streett and Lyla Zimmerman. Tatjana Lightbourn

Imputation

To impute is to ascribe value through an examination of the materials and the processes that where employed in realization of an object or form. The group of artists in this book offer an altered perspective from socially, politically, academically and historically prescribed “norms” and a shifted focus across a range of young and critically engaged stances, all rooted in a process of collective dialogue and shared space. The works range from painting to sculpture and encompass a broad array of approaches to art making, all of which have social foundations and implications. Healing and belonging are in dialogue with works that grapple with the veneration intrinsic to oppressive systems. Agency and aspirational upkeep navigate conversations on receding values and mass production. Rejected policing brushes against reclaimed positionality. The works expose social control and provoke the viewer towards an enduring meditation on the need for counter-narration. Drawing upon one year of profound reflection and shared studio space this group of artists, all of whom shifted residence from the United States to Italy from fall of 2019 through the now historically marked spring of 2020, offer a refreshing yet weighted look at the Florentine context subverted as a site for cultural production, as a space for engaging the imposition and implications of social distancing and as a place for the questioning of the legitimacies of the framing of history and canons. This book is an attempt to work towards the rectifying of a longstanding and constantly evolving social wrongdoing on behalf of the systems and institutions of art. It is an attempt to reclaim and recalibrate the neglected value of art to enact change that is simultaneously personal and collective. We ask that you as the viewer work to impute beyond the prescribed narratives and frameworks with openness and honesty. Justin Randolph Thompson

Thanks to: Dario Arcamone, Nicolas Combarro, Patricia Cordoba, Janine Gaelle Dieudji, Rajkamal Kahlon, Tatjana Lightbourn, Anna Rose, Andrew Smaldone, Agnes Stillger, John Taylor, Justin Randolph Thompson, Chris Wyatt-Scott

Graphic design: Ilaria Biccai