Archive for June, 2011
By myself and with my friends… July 2 – August 27 @ ASU Art Museum
By myself and with my friends…
July 2 – August 27, 2011
Krista Birnbaum (Houston)
Donna Conlon (Panama City)
Rivane Neuenschwander and Sergio Neuenschwander (Belo Horizonte / Frankfurt)
Connie Samaras (Los Angeles)
Corinna Schnitt (Hamburg)
We spend time by ourselves; we spend time with others. We are aware that these two circumstances differ greatly.
Time alone can be a period of comfort and reflection — or of nervousness and despair. It can be a time of rejuvenating our bodies, peaceful silences, an opportunity to become one with ourselves or perhaps engage in an act of individual creativity. But alone time can also be filled with boredom, fidgetiness and a restless mind that wanders in uncomfortable directions.
On the other hand, when we are with others, we can be influenced by peers to participate in activities we would never consider as individuals. Ordinary people can gain empowerment by acting collectively, with both positive and negative results. Looking no further than recent headlines, we can see examples of different kinds of group behavior – from post-sports-championship rioting to the anti-government protests occurring throughout the Middle East and Europe.
In By myself and with my friends . . . six artists explore the complexities of human nature by looking at some of the things we have in common with other living creatures, from our herd mentality to our moments of solace. The exhibition provides an opportunity for reflection, a time to examine and reconsider our own behaviors, to slow down and breathe. It is a chance to realize that even when we are alone, we are all in this together.
Featured videos include work by Krista Birnbaum, Donna Conlon, Rivane Neuenschwander and Sergio Neuenschwander, Corinna Schnitt and Connie Samaras.
Curated by John D. Spiak, ASU Art Museum, this project is generously made possible by the Everlyn Smith Family Exhibition Fund and Friends of the Arizona State University Art Museum.
COMPLETE EXHIBITION CHECKLIST:
Krista Birnbaum
Constance, 2006
running time: 3:00min
DVD
Courtesy of the artist.
Donna Conlon
Coexistence, 2003
running time: 5:26min
DVD
Courtesy of the artist.
Rivane Neuenschwander and Sergio Neuenschwander
Sunday, 2010
running time: 5:17min
DVD
Courtesy of the artists and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York.
Connie Samaras
Untitled (Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica), 2005
running time: 4:30min
DVD
Courtesy of the artist.
Corinna Schnitt
Once upon a time, 2005
running time: 25:07min
DVD
Courtesy of the artist.
They grow up so fast…
Jenay Meraz in Gregory Sale's project space for "It's not just black and white."
Because we’re a university art museum, we have the good fortune of attracting great student workers. The only problem with these great student workers is that eventually, they graduate and leave us. Of course, they do go on to do fabulous things, and we bask in their reflected glory, but it’s still hard to say so long.
This spring, Jenay Meraz, the assistant in the registrar’s office here, not only graduated from ASU with a degree in Museum Studies, but also found out that she’d been selected to participate in ArtTable’s 2011 Summer Mentored Internship for Diversity in the Visual Arts Professions. Jenay is spending eight weeks this summer at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, working with Meg Linton, Director of Galleries and Exhibitions and ArtTable member.
From all of us at the ASU Art Museum who had the good fortune to work with you: Congratulations, Jenay! And don’t forget to write!
Jenay's last day at the ASU Art Museum.
Postcommodity & Announcement Brochure for 18th Biennale of Sydney!
The announcement brochure for the upcoming 18th Biennale of Sydney includes an image of Postcommodity’s site-specific intervention Do You Remember When? (2009), which took place at the ASU Art Museum Ceramics Research Center.
We are excited to see Postcommodity continue to get recognition outside of our ASU and Arizona community!
Kade Twist, a founding and active member of Postcommodity, is a current MFA student at the ASU School of Art in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.
Cristóbal Martínez, an active member of Postcommodity, received his BFA from the ASU School of Art, recently graduated with his M.A. from the ASU School of Arts, Media and Engineering and in Fall 2011 will begin his doctoral study at ASU with Dr. James Gee and Dr. Bryan Brayboy.
In addition to the Do You Remember When? project, Postcommodity created the site-specific performance/installation Dead River (2009) for the ASU Art Museum Street Party exhibition at Martha+Mary’s 4400 location; Kade Twist created the solo work There is no end of the trail; there is merely a system of prosthesis (2006) for the Museum’s exhibition New American City: Artists Look Forward; and former Postcommodity member Steven Yazzie’s work has been included in numerous exhibitions at the ASU Art Museum over the years, including his piece Tsosido Sweep Dance (2009) in the current exhibition Self-Referential: Art Looking at Art, which runs through August 27.
Here is a link to a download for the 18th Biennale of Sydney brochure:
18th Biennale Advance Brochure
http://www.biennaleofsydney.com.au/_blog/Biennale_News/post/Biennale_Brochure/
And here is the nice response received from artist Kade Twist…
From: Kade L. Twist
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2011 11:11 AM
Greetings from the Santa Fe Art Institute!
Thank you for the note John. You are too kind.
Postcommodity is honored to be featured so prominently in the brochure, especially since it is being circulated at Venice. And we have had conversations with the curators about re-staging Do You Remember When? in a manner that is relevant to the Indigenous Australian community, as well as the potential for staging other work. We have not yet received an official letter from the Biennial of Sydney confirming our participation. Being included in the brochure is a good sign and I hope means our odds are good that we will be included, but until we receive an official notice I remain hopeful. With that disclaimer put forward, I do want to make one point very clear: Postcommodity is greatly appreciative of the support that the ASU Art Museum has provided us! You have all worked hard to ensure that we are welcome contributors to the museum’s discourse, and we thank you for this. In many ways we believe that the ASU Art Museum is our home, or at least you all do an excellent job of making us feel as if it is! We greatly appreciate Peter Held curating us into the Sustainability exhibition and providing us with a platform to contribute. Mr. Kim, Peter, Heather, John and the Museum played a significant role in enabling us to cut the hole in the floor of the institution and fully realize the work that eventually connected us with the Sydney curators. We will always have a special relationship with each of you and the museum. Also: I would like to thank Adriene Jenik for all of her support, patience and mentorship. It’s an honor to be her student and to have the opportunity to work with her and attend the School of Art’s Intermedia program.
ASU is a fantastic art community! I’m blessed that Postcommodity is a part of this community.
Best regards,
-Kade
Kade L. Twist
http://nativelabs.com/
http://postcommodity.com/
ASU Art Museum 