Spheres of Glass: Re-imagining Aesthetics of Nature and the Social
Spheres of Glass: Re-imagining Aesthetics of Nature and the Social
Curated by Katrin Pesch and Tim Ridlen
Curated by Katrin Pesch and Tim Ridlen
April 17–June 6, 2014
April 17–June 6, 2014
Visual Arts Gallery @ SME 142
Visual Arts Gallery @ SME 142
Opening reception on Thursday, April 17, 2014, 5pm
Opening reception on Thursday, April 17, 2014, 5pm
Closing reception on Thursday, June 5, 2014, 6–9pm
Closing reception on Thursday, June 5, 2014, 6–9pm
One stumbles over concepts like stumbling over stones. One can get entangled in seasonal branches or in theoretical discourse. Departing from the re-evaluation of the nature/culture dichotomy within the disciplines of science and humanities, Spheres of Glass takes on problems of being in the world created by the "abstract" theoretical scientific conceptualizations and the "actual" social interaction with material culture. Some of the artworks in the show, comprising of video, sculpture, photography, and works on paper, are framed by the prospect of ruination and others extend the definition of the environmental beyond nature while constructing workable solutions to contemporary problems. The aesthetic strategies represented here describe and imagine rather than reveal and explain the social construction through mimesis, tactility, and dialogue. Natural and cultural forces shape the material world just as much as social imaginaries. While it is important to reconsider who or what participates in the assembly of a social collective, attempts to de-center the subject cannot come at the expense of working to overcome social inequalities. Re-thinking the notions of nature and culture thus implies changing our understanding of environmental crisis so as not to divert attention from social realities or replace problems of contemporary society that remain unsolved. Participating artists: Juan William Chávez, Detroit Tree of Heaven Woodshop, Judith Hopf, Leslie Thornton and Ron Vawter, and Erika Vogt
One stumbles over concepts like stumbling over stones. One can get entangled in seasonal branches or in theoretical discourse. Departing from the re-evaluation of the nature/culture dichotomy within the disciplines of science and humanities, Spheres of Glass takes on problems of being in the world created by the "abstract" theoretical scientific conceptualizations and the "actual" social interaction with material culture. Some of the artworks in the show, comprising of video, sculpture, photography, and works on paper, are framed by the prospect of ruination and others extend the definition of the environmental beyond nature while constructing workable solutions to contemporary problems. The aesthetic strategies represented here describe and imagine rather than reveal and explain the social construction through mimesis, tactility, and dialogue. Natural and cultural forces shape the material world just as much as social imaginaries. While it is important to reconsider who or what participates in the assembly of a social collective, attempts to de-center the subject cannot come at the expense of working to overcome social inequalities. Re-thinking the notions of nature and culture thus implies changing our understanding of environmental crisis so as not to divert attention from social realities or replace problems of contemporary society that remain unsolved. Participating artists: Juan William Chávez, Detroit Tree of Heaven Woodshop, Judith Hopf, Leslie Thornton and Ron Vawter, and Erika Vogt
Related programs:
Related programs:
Lecture
Lecture
Vivian Sobchack
Vivian Sobchack
Stop + Motion: On Animation, Inertia, and Innervation
Stop + Motion: On Animation, Inertia, and Innervation
Wednesday, April 23rd, 5:30pm
Wednesday, April 23rd, 5:30pm
Visual Arts Presentation Lab @ SME 149
Visual Arts Presentation Lab @ SME 149
Film Screening
Film Screening
Curtis Tamm & Hermione Spriggs
Curtis Tamm & Hermione Spriggs
THOSE THAT THROUGH THE EAR BECOME AN ATLAS (2014)
THOSE THAT THROUGH THE EAR BECOME AN ATLAS (2014)
Thursday, May 1st, 6pm
Thursday, May 1st, 6pm
Visual Arts Presentation Lab @ SME 149
Visual Arts Presentation Lab @ SME 149
Film Screening
Film Screening
Walt Disney, Mickey Mouse, 3 animated shorts (1929-1935, digital transfer)
Walt Disney, Mickey Mouse, 3 animated shorts (1929-1935, digital transfer)
Dziga Vertov, The Eleventh Year(1928, digital transfer)
Dziga Vertov, The Eleventh Year(1928, digital transfer)
Thursday, May, 8th, 5pm
Thursday, May, 8th, 5pm
Visual Arts Presentation Lab @ SME 149
Visual Arts Presentation Lab @ SME 149
Film Screening
Film Screening
The Invisible College / Mariana Botey, The Passage of a Few (2000, digital transfer)
The Invisible College / Mariana Botey, The Passage of a Few (2000, digital transfer)
The Otolith Group, Medium Earth (2013)
The Otolith Group, Medium Earth (2013)
Thursday, May 22nd, 6pm
Thursday, May 22nd, 6pm
Visual Arts Presentation Lab @ SME 149
Visual Arts Presentation Lab @ SME 149
Film Screening
Film Screening
Allan Dwan
Allan Dwan
The Poisoned Flume (1911)
The Poisoned Flume (1911)
Thursday, June 5th, 6pm
Thursday, June 5th, 6pm
Visual Arts Presentation Lab @ SME 149
Visual Arts Presentation Lab @ SME 149