Archive for March, 2011
Re-Thinking the Museum: Robert Atkins on “The Museum as Knowledge Producer”
Art historian and social critic Robert Atkins, who juried the 2011 Faculty Show, presented a “Re-Thinking” talk here at the Museum in which he ruminated on the nature of art and the role of the art museum in contemporary culture. The video above includes some highlights.
In short, Atkins argued for the necessity of transforming the museum’s primary function from conservator of artistic achievement to research-based producer of knowledge, which, he contends,will demand an understanding of art as both the most complex form of knowledge and as a crucial means of apprehending the world, a significant shift for a culture that trivializes art as therapy or entertainment.
Here’s a link to a version of Atkins’ full talk:
15th ANNUAL ASU ART MUSEUM SHORT FILM AND VIDEO FESTIVAL
Mark your calendar…
SATURDAY
APRIL 23, 2011 @ 8 p.m.
TEMPE, ARIZONA
FREE
(Bring Your Own Seating)
Arizona State University Art Museum is proud to present a number of short films and videos by artists from around the world.
Thank you to all the outstanding artists who entered the 2011 Festival. The jury process included 482 entries from 43 states and 36 nations, with 20 works selected for screening.
Organized and juried for the Arizona State University Art Museum by:
Bob Pece, Southern California Filmmaker
John D. Spiak, Curator, Arizona State University Art Museum
*Juror Choice Awards and **AZ Award noted below. LeBlanc Audience Choice Award will be announced online following the festival.
WORKS SELECTED BY THE JURY FOR THE PROGRAM:
Werewolf Trouble (*Juror Choice Award)
Charlie Anderson
Boston, Massachusetts
Ryan is a werewolf. Horrified to wake up one morning only partially transformed, he enlists his friends’ aid to restore his full human form in time for an important event.
La Piñata
Manuel Arija
Madrid, Spain
Can a street mime cheer you up?
Cousins: a nature memoir
Stephen Ausherman
Albuquerque, New Mexico
A brief message on an answering machine hints at another death in the family.
Eco Ninja
Jonathan Browning
Los Angeles, California
An environmental short with a kick.
Perspective
Jon Byron
Orange, California
Three men from three different backgrounds share their introspective view of the world, provoking the realization: We’re not as different as we think we are.
Enrique Wrecks the World
David Chai
San Jose, California
Enrique learns the hard way that actions speak louder than birds!
Transferase
Terry Chatkupt
Alhambra, California
Transferase portrays a protagonist overwhelmed with anxiety after receiving a disturbing phone call. What proceeds is a sequence of small events that operate as a psychological excavation, unveiling the rapidly changing and unstable characteristics of both the protagonist and the LA landscape.
Toothless
Steven Dorrington
Essex, England
A mockumentary following the Toothfairy’s transformation as she resorts to inventive but unethical methods of tooth collection in her heinous quest for a better life.
Spectacles
Jeremy Fain
New York, New York
A young artist begins mentally undressing a beautiful passerby, yet each layer of clothing he peels away is followed by another, and another, and another…
It’s Over!
Gita Farid
Mesa, Arizona
A ragtag and beaten French Resistance fighter and a courageous and pissed- off nun risk their lives to protect Jewish orphans hidden in a convent in France.
Whirling Dervish
William Fisher
Denver, Colorado
A thoughtful, enchanting reading of a letter from the past.
Frogsy
Ariel Gregory
Missoula, Montana
A typical swamp creature takes a long, hard look at itself.
News, Weather & Sports
Dan Hudson
Canmore, Canada
A beautiful and haunting video that reflects on the human condition.
Dodo-Valse
Yuliya Lanina
Brooklyn, New York
Dodo-Valse depicts a vision of an idyllic past as seen through the eye of a forest deity.
Dan’s Big Find (**AZ Award)
Jane Lindsay
Tempe, Arizona
The story of a man who finds an arrowhead while shooting targets with his black powder pistol.
La Memoria Die Cani (*Juror Choice Award)
Simone Massi
Pergola, Italy
My cheeks brush against the stone, I look out from a break in the wall.
Pretty Kitty
Gregory McDonald
Burbank, California
A man gets revenge on his cat for taunting him with silence.
Ex-Sex (*Juror Choice Award)
Michael Mohan
Los Angeles, California
Two former lovers navigate their fizzled relationship by confusing their emotional needs with their physical desires. Ex-Sex makes it better. Ex-Sex makes it worse.
The Late Mr. Mokun Williams
Kenneth Price
Greensboro, North Carolina
This pre-technological fable mirrors a modern day spam email in a handwritten letter by a frantic African girl on the run.
La La Love You
Max Sokoloff
San Francisco, California
A teenager gets ready for her boyfriend to come over and gets herself into a difficult position.
THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING FOR THEIR ANNUAL SUPPORT OF THE FESTIVAL:
FRY’S KETTLE CORN
http://fryskettlecorn.com/
STAR VIDEO DUPLICATING
http://www.starvideo.com/
Visit the ASU Art Museum Festival Page for guidelines regarding next year’s festival and a history of this annual event:
http://asuartmuseum.asu.edu/filmfest
Please show your continued support of the ASU Art Museum by making a donation online through the link provided below. It is a very easy process, and donations of as little as $5 can help provide the foundation for future programs and exhibitions.
https://secure.asufoundation.org/giving/online-gift.asp?fid=371
ANOTHER ACTIVE WEEK AND THE SCHEDULE FOR APRIL – It’s not just black and white
Quickly sharing a few of the activities that took place this past week in conjunction with It’s not just black and white: Gregory Sale – Social Studies Project 6.
On March 15 there was a lively discussion on the topics of Art’s Role in Resilience Science and Other Innovations in Thinking with national figures, led by Gregory Sale, Gordon Knox, Sander van der Leeuw, Richard Toon, and Adriene Jenik (by Skype), in association with ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability.
On Saturday, March 19, Gregory provided the second of four Tent City Jail tours led by officers of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. Twenty community members joined the artist for, as the artist refers to it, (Re)SEARCH-based, first-hand experience. Again, the questions were lively and the tour eye-opening. The next tour is scheduled to take place Wednesday, April 6; you can sign up now to attend.
Tuesday evening, in collaboration with Arizona Justice Project, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Innocence Project Barry Scheck spoke to an intrigued audience of close to 100 people. The insights and stories he shared were a mix of amazing, shocking and inspirational.
The coming month is jam-packed with scheduled activities associated with the project, and a few that are in the works, so we look forward to having you join us here for the engagement, dialogue and greater understanding of situations occurring in your own community.
Here is a little schedule to date. You will note that some are open to the public while others are closed. The closed to the public events are at the request of, and out of respect for, the participants:
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
4/9/11, 3:00pm-5:00pm
Films: Militarization of Justice
ASU Human Rights Film Festival features two films, Cointelpro 101 and The Response, and a panel discussion organized by ASU Professor Dr. Alan Eladio Gómez of the School of Social Transformation, Justice & Social Inquiry and Scott Henderson of the Tempe Chapter of Amnesty International.
4/13/11, 3:00pm-5:00pm
Incarceration and Prison- Hot Topics, Cool Heads
Using the technique of civil dialogue, ASU faculty from the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication will facilitate a dialogue focused on topics related to incarceration. The Civil Dialogue project focuses on creating a safe space for divergent viewpoints, inviting students and the public to dialogue safely about issues which could be polarizing in an effort to promote understanding. This event will be facilitated by ASU ProfessorDr. Clark Olson and Lecturer Jennifer Linde, Hugh Downs School of Communication.
4/19/11, 6:00pm-8:00pm
Women and Social Change/Gina’s Team Discussion Panel
A planned panel discussion will likely include Sue Ellen Allen of Gina’s Team, Peggy Plews of Arizona Prison Watch and Donna Hamm of Middle Ground Prison Reform. The panelists will share their experiences within the criminal justice system and their ideas on reforming the prison and jail system. An open discussion for those who attend the event will follow. The program is organized by students enrolled in Women and Social Change, taught by ASU Professor Dr. Alesha Durfee. Lead student organizers include Danica O’Grady and Katelyn Johnston.
4/26/11, 5:30pm-7:30pm
Incarceration and the Mentally Ill: Punitive vs. Restorative Justice
A formal dialogue with approximately 20 participants discussing the care and treatment of those with mental illness as their lives intersect with the criminal justice system. The goal is to bring together individuals with diverse perspectives and experiences, from the advocates for increasing rehabilitation of mentally ill offenders to those who feel the criminal justice system in place in Arizona is working well. The event is organized and managed by Mary Lou Brnick of the non-profit organization David’s Hope.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC with advance registration (off-site)
4/06/11 and 4/23/11, 2:00pm-3:30pm
Tent City Jail Tours
Tour Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Tent City Jail. Tours will be offered on Wednesday, April 6; Saturday, April 23; and Wednesday, May 4. All tours begin at 2:00 p.m.
Group size is limited to 20 adults. Tours are conducted by MCSO Jail staff. Admission is free. Advance registration is required for Tent City tours. For details see the project website at http://www.itsnotjustblackandwhite.info
CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC
4/02/11, 12:00pm-5:00pm
Mother Daughter Distance Dance
The Mother Daughter Distance Dance is a dance workshop organized by Elizabeth Johnson, Teniqua Broughton and Gregory Sale as a component of the “It’s not just black and white” exhibition at the ASU Art Museum. The workshop engages incarcerated women who are graduates of the rehabilitative arts outreach program “Journey Home” and their daughters, through an original collaborative choreography to help repair relationships and prepare moms for the transition home and to help families who have been apart know each other for who they are NOW. The daughters perform at the museum exhibition space for and with their incarcerated mothers, who dance at Estrella Jail. The two sites are connected virtually through a live video feed. Both the mothers and the daughters will take a series of dance classes prior to the virtually-connected dance workshop.
4/12/11, 1:30pm-4:00pm
Adult Probation Division Meeting
(Organized by Julie Chavez)
A meeting with the Adult Probations unit. This divisions of supervisors interviews people in the jails and supervises inmates while they are allowed on leave for work in the community and on probation while still serving time, participating in programs such as ALPHA and additional reentry efforts.
4/18/11, 9:00am-12:00pm
Pretrial Services/Adult Probation Meeting
(Organized by Penny Stinson)
A meeting of various directors from the Maricopa County Superior Court Pretrial Services and Adult Probation Units as well as a training session.
4/26/11, 8:15am-11:00am
Adult Prob Exec Mgmt Meeting
(Organized by Therese Wagner)
The Maricopa County Adult Probation Executive Management Team will be holding their monthly meeting in the space.
4/27/11, 2:00pm-4:00pm
Adult Probation Division Meeting
(Organized by Anna King)
Unit meeting of adult probation officers who supervise clients with a variety of offenses.
– John Spiak, Curator
It’s not just black and white is supported a grant from
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
Additional Blog Posts
Angela Davis, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Youth in Detention = Social Practice
Reconnecting – It’s not just black and white
Dream like you mean it: The Mother-Daughter Distance Dance
Another Active Week and the Schedule for April
Waiting for Release, Sentencing Reform & Welcoming Home
Invitation to Join Us for Volunteer Event – GINA’s Team
Inside & Outside – It’s not just black and white
More Similar Than Different + Tent City Jail Tour Opportunity
You can’t move forward until you know where you are
Olympic Gold Medalist, Gina’s Team and PVCC Students!
IT’S NOT JUST BLACK AND WHITE: Gregory Sale – Social Studies Project 6
Waiting for Release, Sentencing Reform & Welcoming Home – It’s not just black and white…
As we await our inmate collaborators’ graduation from the ALPHA program, their release from jail and for them to rejoin us in the exhibition space as members of the outside community, the projects and conversation of It’s not just black and white continue to build.
Last week Gregory hosted the students of the Women & Social Change class of Assistant Professor Durfee of Women & Gender Studies at ASU. The students are in the beginning process of organizing a social action on the ASU campus to raise awareness of the untimely death of prison inmate Marcia Powell. Powell, 48, died May 20, 2009, after being kept in an outdoor human cage in Goodyear’s Perryville Prison for at least four hours in the Arizona sun with temperatures in the 107 degree Fahrenheit range.
As a social practice and performance artist, Gregory has much experience with public action. He listened to the student’s ideas and provided insights into possibilities of making the action more impactful. The students were engaged and passionate, and we are excited to see their event in action. We will definitely share dates and times for their action when they have been confirmed.
On Thursday Gregory and I met with Alan Gómez, Borderlands Scholar and Assistant Professor of the School of Justice and Social Inquiry at Arizona State University, and Scott Henderson of theTempe Chapter of Amnesty International. Together, Allan and Scott are developing one day of programming for the 3-day First Annual Human Rights Film Festival at ASU. On Saturday, April 9, the ASU Art Museum will host the afternoon program PRISONERS’ RIGHTS, MILITARIZATION OF JUSTICE. The afternoon will present three short films: Cointelpro 101, The Response and a new video based on It’s not just black and white by Gregory Sale. The screenings will be followed by a panel discussion on the program topic led by key figures of the community. I have posted the complete festival screening program below; the panels are still being confirmed, and we’ll share that as well once it is available.
On Friday, GINA’s Team hosted a volunteer informational gathering for the Welcome Home project. The Welcome Home project is a volunteer mentoring organization that welcome’s home female inmates upon release. The program included an amazing introduction and insight from Sue Ellen Allen, a former inmate of Perryville prison and co-founder of GINA’s Team. She shared the story of Gina, a 25-year-old mother who befriended her at Perryville and who died of leukemia while serving time. She introduced Gregory by stating the importance of his project in creating greater community awareness and dialogue, and Gregory shared his project with the audience. Sue Ellen went on to introduce Gina’s mom; Karen Hellman, ATS Program Manager, Counseling & Treatment Services of the Arizona Department of Corrections; Jan Weathers, Re-Entry coordinator, Counseling & Treatment Services of the ADOC; and Marianne Petrilloa, a GINA’s Team board member. They all spoke with grace from multiple perspectives, providing additional insights into the complex topics of the current state of corrections in Arizona.
Lastly, the key note speaker was introduced, member of the Arizona State House of Representatives Cecil Ash (R.Mesa). Rep. Ash shared stories of his years in a position at the Maricopa County Public Defender’s Office. He presented example after example of cases where he felt the mandatory sentencing (for those not from AZ, mandatory sentencing laws in this State leave very little, if any, flexibility for a judge hearing the case – sentences must also be served consecutively) was beyond extreme. He talked about his efforts to get sentencing reform bills heard on the house floor and the lack of support for such bills at this current time. It was clear that Rep. Ash is passionate, has clear vision and insight, and most of all has complete integrity when it comes to these issues, yet still confesses that he is constantly attacked by those who stick to the “tough on crime” mentality often used as a defense for not even considering possibilities of change to the current system.
It was once again an eye-opening week at the ASU Art Museum, and much more is on the way, like tomorrow’s (3/15) discussion Art’s Role in Resilience Science and Other Innovations in Thinking from 2 – 3:30pm.
And there’s still time to sign-up for this Saturday’s (3/19) tour of Tent City Jail at 2 p.m.
We hope you’ll join us!
– John Spiak, Curator
It’s not just black and white is supported a grant from
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
First Annual Human Rights Film Festival at ASU
Free and open to the public; each grouping of films will be followed by panel discussions.
Friday 4/8
5-8 pm — ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RIGHTS
Armstrong Hall, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
The Economics of Happiness
Saturday 4/9
12-3 pm — PRISONERS’ RIGHTS, MILITARIZATION OF JUSTICE
ASU Museum of Art, in conjunction with Gregory Sale’s art exhibition “It’s not just black and white”
Cointelpro 101, The Response
5-8 pm — IMMIGRANT RIGHTS
Armstrong Hall, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
FILM SHORTS: Dream Act Students, Arizona Women & Children Rise: Resisting SB1070, Testimonies of Resistance from Apartheid Arizona, Exiled in America
Sunday 4/10
12-3 pm — TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE
Armstrong Hall, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Long Night’s Journey Into Day: South Africa’s Search for Truth & Reconciliation
5-8 pm — INDIGENOUS RIGHTS
Armstrong Hall, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
The Snowbowl Effect
Co-sponsored by Human Rights at ASU, the School of Social Transformation, Justice and Social Inquiry, and the Barrett Honors College.
Visit humanrights.asu.edu as the festival date approaches, for updated times, locations and final film and panel selections.
Additional Blog Posts
Angela Davis, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Youth in Detention = Social Practice
Reconnecting – It’s not just black and white
Dream like you mean it: The Mother-Daughter Distance Dance
Another Active Week and the Schedule for April
Waiting for Release, Sentencing Reform & Welcoming Home
Invitation to Join Us for Volunteer Event – GINA’s Team
Inside & Outside – It’s not just black and white
More Similar Than Different + Tent City Jail Tour Opportunity
You can’t move forward until you know where you are
Olympic Gold Medalist, Gina’s Team and PVCC Students!
IT’S NOT JUST BLACK AND WHITE: Gregory Sale – Social Studies Project 6
Re-Thinking the Museum: Artist Clare Patey on “The Museum Of”
Clare Patey_ASU Art Museum from John Spiak on Vimeo.
Artist Clare Patey visited Phoenix last November to continue laying the groundwork for her upcoming project with the ASU Art Museum (more news on that to follow as it develops) and to deliver a public lecture as part of our “Re-Thinking the Museum” series.
That lecture, titled “The Museum Of,” took place Tuesday, Nov. 30, and we’re still thinking about it, largely because of Patey’s unique ability to tackle a subject — “the museum” — on so many levels at once, and with such heart and wit.
The above is an abridged version of Patey’s talk.
Invitation to Join Us for Volunteer Event @ ASUAM – It’s not just black and white & GINA’S Team
It’s not just black and white:
Gregory Sale – Social Studies Project 6
and
GINA’s Team
cordially invite you to join us as
GINA’s Team Presents
Welcome Home
Volunteer Event
WHAT:
Introduction to the GINA’s Team Welcome Home project
WHEN:
Friday, March 11th, 1 to 2:30 pm
WHERE:
ASU Art Museum, SE corner of 10th St. & Mill Ave. Tempe AZ
WHO:
All interested individuals
WHY:
When women are released from prison, no one says “Welcome Home.” Often they are lost in a world of confusion and need mentors desperately. You are a Wise Individual with a life experience to share with women rebuilding their lives. Come find out how you can be a part of this dynamic program. You will have an opportunity to impact lives, save taxpayers money and reduce recidivism.
Representative Cecil Ash, R-Mesa (Ariz.), will be addressing the importance of this vital project.
RSVP to Marianne Petrillo,
Gina’s Team Board Member
marianne0403 (at) gmail (dot) com
For more information on GINA’s Team, please visit:
http://www.ginasteam.org/
This event is an Open Bookings program of the exhibition/residency
It’s not just black and white: Gregory Sale – Social Studies Project 6 .
Open Bookings establishes a shared space for public programming within the museum during times not set aside for other museum programming. This flexible space for classes, performances, and discourse will be shared by individuals and organizations demonstrating a sustained interest in civil justice and contemporary practices of law and order.
If you or your organization are interested in scheduling an Open Bookings event, please visit the following website for information: http://itsnotjustblackandwhite.info/pages/bookings.php
– John Spiak, Curator
It’s not just black and white is supported a grant from
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
Additional Blog Posts
Angela Davis, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Youth in Detention = Social Practice
Reconnecting – It’s not just black and white
Dream like you mean it: The Mother-Daughter Distance Dance
Another Active Week and the Schedule for April
Waiting for Release, Sentencing Reform & Welcoming Home
Invitation to Join Us for Volunteer Event – GINA’s Team
Inside & Outside – It’s not just black and white
More Similar Than Different + Tent City Jail Tour Opportunity
You can’t move forward until you know where you are
Olympic Gold Medalist, Gina’s Team and PVCC Students!
IT’S NOT JUST BLACK AND WHITE: Gregory Sale – Social Studies Project 6
Inside & Outside – It’s not just black and white
Last week provided me with a lot of food for thought. It began with the second visit of MCSO ALPHA program inmates, a new group of seven, along with the return of the MCSO SRT officers who escorted the first group from ALPHA as well.
It was good to see these officers again. We had some great conversations about the project on their first visit, and we were all eager to share with them some of the activities that had taken place in the space since their prior visit three weeks before. Their insights, respect, openness and flexibility toward our process of working with the entire collaborative team made things flow so smoothly during both visits. These folks perform a tough job on a daily basis, and with that type of role I had my preconceived stereotypes of what the officers would be like and how they would, or would not, engage this project. While their backgrounds were diverse, from a veteran and ex-pro football player to a former Olympic athlete, their willingness to participate was clear during the two visits. We talked about the concepts of the overall project, a few got into the impromptu dance choreography with Elizabeth Johnson, they all helped decide the final look of the gallery (to complete or not to complete certain sections of the stripes) and helped paint, and all signed the canvas along with the artist, ALPHA group and student collaborators. I don’t envy these officers their difficult jobs, but they have my complete respect both for the role they provide our community and as quality individuals.
It was good to see the ALPHA guys again. It had been a little over a month since we first met them at Towers Jail, so getting reacquainted and hearing more of their personal backgrounds was nice. Again, the range of personalities and experience was diverse, and I found myself having the longest conversations with the ones I felt I had most in common with. One inmate from California reminded me of so many of my friends, a good family guy who was able to get things set up for his family before he had to serve his time. I could tell he was serving his time in a respectful manner and using it as a learning process to make himself an even better person once he is out. We are looking forward to re-engaging these guys with the project in the coming months as they are released. There are plans in the works for a program with the group here in the Museum, so we will let you know when it has been confirmed.
There were small things that occurred during Saturday’s visit that made me understand better the freedoms that I take for granted and what it means to be on the inside or outside. When I needed to go to the bathroom, I just went; I didn’t have to wait until two guys need to go and then be escorted. I could also could go and get a cola when I wanted one. I know these seem like extremely small actions, but ones I was afforded because I am on the outside.
Nothing makes those freedoms clearer than the end of each working day. At that point, the members of the ALPHA group get a last bathroom break, line up against a wall in the Museum and go from being playful and talkative collaborative partners to once again being inmates. They work their way up the stairs to the loading dock in a single file line, gather against another wall, are cuffed, then loaded into the caged pods of the Sheriff’s transportation van. At the end of the day, they are still on the inside.
The week continued with tour visits from junior high school to university students to the space, meeting with Gregory and talking about the concepts of the exhibition.
Tuesday night was An Inside/Outside Prison Writing Workshop, presented in partnership with the University of Arizona Poetry Center, organized by writer Ken Lamberton, poet and UA professor Erec Toso, and poet and UA Regents Professor Richard Shelton. The workshop was built upon Richard Shelton’s 30 years as a prison volunteer with the Arizona State Prison Complex, with participants sharing their experiences as present or former convicts and prison workers. The public participants included a wide range of individuals, from ASU faculty, staff and students to local writers and artists.
Wednesday was the first scheduled public tour of MCSO Tent City Jail. The tour provided firsthand experience within the complex and offered information regarding how the jail is operated. We had a great group join us for the tour, including members of our advisory board, Arizona Supreme Court employees, healthcare workers, a docent from the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, an art professor from Paradise Valley Community College, ASU graduate and undergraduate students, and members of the State Press. The tour was an opportunity for lots of questions, to which the guard was more than happy to respond. It also provided an opportunity to see for one’s self a small sampling of the conditions, systems and structures currently in place as part of our corrections and justice system of Maricopa County. There are three more tours scheduled, so please visit the website and sign up if you are interested.
More programs in conjunction with It’s not just black and white are being scheduled as I post this, so we should have some big announcement about visiting speakers in the coming days. Please continue to view our blog and the It’s not just black and white website for all the updates and schedules, and don’t forget to visit the Museum and see the current state of the installation and talk with the artist when he is present.
We hope that this project will continue to provide you with further views and insights into what it means to be inside and outside.
– John Spiak, Curator
It’s not just black and white is supported a grant from
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
Additional Blog Posts
Angela Davis, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Youth in Detention = Social Practice
Reconnecting – It’s not just black and white
Dream like you mean it: The Mother-Daughter Distance Dance
Another Active Week and the Schedule for April
Waiting for Release, Sentencing Reform & Welcoming Home
Invitation to Join Us for Volunteer Event – GINA’s Team
Inside & Outside – It’s not just black and white
More Similar Than Different + Tent City Jail Tour Opportunity
You can’t move forward until you know where you are
Olympic Gold Medalist, Gina’s Team and PVCC Students!
IT’S NOT JUST BLACK AND WHITE: Gregory Sale – Social Studies Project 6
February: A small package full of good things
February went by in a flash, but there was a lot of stuff packed in those 28 days, starting with two “Re-Thinking the Museum” events: a group panel Feb. 1 (see the post “Thinking About Re-Thinking“) and a presentation by Ian Berry Feb. 8 that was as inspiring as it was entertaining.
In case you missed the Feb. 8 event, Berry is associate director for curatorial affairs and curator at The Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College (and, the audience learned from him that evening, was Ellsworth Kelly’s studio assistant for almost 4 years). We took a lot away from his talk, especially this:
“When (curators) lose sight of regional strengths, of local opportunities, of artists that are not in vogue at the moment, we lose out on something big.”
On the 18th we hosted a season opening reception for four terrific exhibitions, which included a performance by Angela Ellsworth and the “sister wives.” Our tireless volunteer Stu took some photos of the event (in the slideshow at the top of this post), and there are more photos of festive reception-goers online at Mr. FunBooth.
And on Feb. 22 we co-sponsored an appearance at Changing Hands Bookstore by underground comic legend Joyce Farmer, whose recent graphic memoir Special Exits made R. Crumb cry (in a good way — he said it was up there with Art Spiegelman’s Maus). In an informal conversation, Joyce touched on everything from the inadequacies of our elder-care system to hanging with Crumb and Terry Zweigoff back in the 1970s to the difficulties and rewards of writing about your own family members.
Here’s a picture of me, Deborah Sussman, and Joyce at Changing Hands after the presentation. I’ll treasure this one.
And now for March: Among other things, we’re looking forward to the international Resilience Conference , which is being held at ASU this year: On March 15,from 2:00 to 3:30, a panel here at the Museum (in Gregory Sale’s Social Studies Project gallery) will feature our own Gordon Knox, along with Museum Studies’ Richard Toon, The School of Sustainability’s Sander van der Leeuw and Iraqi artist Adel Azzam Alwash, speaking on “Art’s Role in Resilience Science and Other Innovations in Thinking.”
ASU Art Museum 