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January Issue 2004
Weatherspoon Art Museum in Greensboro, NC, Offers Exhibition Addressing Poverty
The Weatherspoon Art Museum at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, is organizing a new exhibition, Borne of Necessity, to be presented from Jan. 18 through Apr. 11, 2004. This unique, thematic group exhibition considers the conditions and effects of poverty through the work of ten contemporary artists or artists groups. Borne of Necessity brings together recent or newly commissioned work - including photography, print, audio, electronic media, and architecture - that proactively addresses the situations of those economically disadvantaged and that comments on the larger social and political factors contributing to individual and societal poverty.
The participating artists have been selected because their work addresses poverty through a variety of biographical, anthropological, theoretical, and political viewpoints. Presented as a whole, the artists' work articulates one another and collectively brings to light some of the many complexities of the subject of poverty in contemporary life.
Organized by Weatherspoon curator of exhibitions Ron Platt, Borne of Necessity will feature work by artists from Canada, England, Slovenia, and across the United States. Participants are Julie Ault and Martin Beck, Peggy Diggs, Anthony Hernandez, Tom Hunter, Marjectica Potrc, Michael Rakowitz, Camilo Vergara, Ken Lum, Samuel Mockbee and Rural Studios, and the artists' collective, Temporary Services with Dave Whitman.
The integration of social and artistic concerns is paramount for these artists. Some, such as Lum, Ault, and Beck, have addressed social and political issues since the 1980s, sustaining and reinvigorating approaches that were widely used by conceptual and community-oriented artists working in the 1960s and early 1970s. The four artists/artist groups who have been commissioned to make new work for the exhibition - Julie Ault and Michael Beck, Peggy Diggs, Marjectica Potrc, and Michael Rakowitz - share this commitment to civic responsibility and activism, often engaging in community-based projects that involve collaborations with individuals and groups outside the art world.
While other contemporary artists have addressed the subject of poverty in their work, Weatherspoon staff knows of no other museum exhibition of contemporary art that has focused on the topic. "As a university art museum that also serves the public, the Weatherspoon is committed to presenting exhibitions that examine and promote discussion about important social and cultural issues of our time," said Nancy Doll, director. "Art can be a powerful lens through which to gain new perspectives on the world around us. Borne of Necessity is a groundbreaking show, and obviously one that is very timely." The exhibit is particularly relevant in North Carolina. The state has done pioneering work to define poverty and now is experiencing a higher rate of joblessness than the nation as a whole.
With the exhibition, the Weatherspoon aims to extend viewers' awareness of factors and conditions that contribute to economic marginalization; to reject the stereotype of poverty as an intractable condition caused by an individual's moral or social failings; and to encourage more engaged responses to poverty as a societal issue.
An illustrated, 80-page catalogue will include essays by Platt and noted scholar and critic Carol Becker, Dean of the School of The Arts Institute (Chicago, IL). Included with the catalogue is a CD entitled "Dave's Stories." Produced by the artists' collective Temporary Services, the recording presents the candid observations and experiences of Dave Whitman, a Chicago man who has been homeless for fifteen years. Whitman's stories provide specific information about a way of living that is shared by many, articulated by few, and rarely accessed by others.
A number of free public programs have been scheduled on various evenings throughout the exhibition including:
A five-part film series, entitled "Economies of Poverty" organized by artists Julie Ault and Martin Beck, will address critical moments or periods in history that greatly impacted both people's lives and community livelihoods. Collectively, the films are meant to articulate poverty as a structural part of larger economic, social, and political formations. Dates and titles include: Jan.22: "Bread and Roses," (Ken Loach, 2001, 110 min.); Feb. 12: "The Big One," (Michael Moore, 1998, 90 mn.); Feb. 26: "Memories of Underdevelopment," (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, 1968, 97 min.); Mar. 25: "Fast Food Women," (Anne Lewis, 1991, 30 min.) plus "Stranger with a Camera," (Elizabeth Barret, 2000, 60 min.); and Apr. 8: "The Bicycle Thief," (Vittorio De Sica, 1949, 87 min.). Each series program will include a brief essay by the artists and a synopsis of each film.
On Mar. 18, the Weatherspoon will host a panel discussion focused on art, social activism, and service within the context of poverty in women's lives. Moderated by Ron Platt, panelists will include Peggy Diggs, artist; Dr. Jill Fuller, UNCG Department of Sociology; and Marian Franklin, Associate Executive Director, Women's Resource Center of Greensboro.
Artist Camilo Vergara will present a slide lecture on the development of his work in the exhibition on Feb. 5 at 7:30pm in the Weatherspoon auditorium. Additional gallery talks will be given at 12:30pm on Jan. 28 (Ron Platt); and three other Thursdays throughout the exhibition: Feb. 19, Mar. 4, and Apr. 7 (speakers to be announced).
WUAG FM 103.1, the radio station of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, will broadcast "Dave's Stories," the CD recording that accompanies the Weatherspoon exhibition catalogue. Dates to be announced.
The Greensboro Public
Library is sponsoring public discussions on poverty in conjunction
with Borne of Necessity. "Literacy and the Poverty
Line" will consider the effects of low-income existence on
youth and adult literacy, on Jan. 27 at 7pm, Greensboro Public
Library, Central Branch (Church Street). A number of local branch
libraries will organize public discussions of Barbara Ehrenreich's
book, "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America."
For more information on dates and branch locations, contact 336/373-2471.
The Museum has received generous support for the exhibit from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Rockefeller Foundation, the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, the Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation, and the NC Arts Council.
For more info check
our NC Institutional Gallery listings, call 336/334-5770 or on
the web at (www.weatherspoon.uncg.edu).
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