Support by a grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities
SPRING LECTURES
The Object and Idea series continues this spring with a lecture by Michael Rush , the Henry and Lois Foster Director of the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University in Massachusetts . Rush will present his lecture on Monday evening, April 7, at 7:00 p.m. at the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum .
The title of his lecture will be "Video Art and the New Cinematics". Michael Rush is the author of New Media in Late 20th-Century Art and Video Art . and Curator of the University Art Museum 's current exhibition Balance and Power: Performace and Surveillance in Video Art . In his talk, Rush will present an overview of the history of video art and discuss the current practices that are shaping a new type of digital cinema. In these days of both terrorism and Reality TV, Balance and Power: Performance and Surveillance in Video Art explores the complex relationship between voluntary acting for the camera and involuntary taping by a camera on the part of power systems that have an interest in the movement of citizens.
Balance and Power features work by a diverse group of artists, from early video pioneers such as Andy Warhol, Vito Acconci, and Bruce Naumann, to emerging practitioners such as Jill Magid and Tim Hyde. Other internationally-known artists include Sophie Calle, Jim Campbell, Peter Campus, Jordan Crandall, Harun Farocki, Subodh Gupta, Kevin Hamilton, Tiffany Holmes, Paul Kaiser and Shelley Eshkar, Kristin Lucas, Steve Mann, Jenny Markatou, Jonas Mekas, Muntadas, Martha Rosler, Julia Scher, and Kiki Seror. The exhibit features a dozen video installations in a uniquely designed space created by Antenna Design Group in New York. There are large-scale installations, single channel tapes, and newly commissioned work.
On April 19 th, Anthropologist and art historian Spencer MacCallum, will speak at 2:00 p.m. followed by an object identification reception in the Museum's A. Hays Town Building. MacCallum is credited with introducing Mata Ortiz pottery to the world. His lecture will deal with the artistic renaissance in Mata Ortiz , Chihuahua , Mexico .
The museums current exhibition Transforming Tradition begins with the story behind the Casas Grandes culture (1100-1450 A.D.) that specialized in making coiled pots that were sculpted, fired, and painted in a tedious process that today artists refer to as La Lucha, or the Struggle. Around the time of the Spanish Conquest, the Casas Grandes culture vanished, and the tradition of making these handcrafted pots ( or ollas) was lost for nearly four centuries. This exhibition presents the work of contemporary artists from the town of Mata Ortiz , who have rediscovered the artistic tradition of their ancient ancestors and mastered the art of creating some of the finest contemporary ceramic vessels in the country. Over twenty exquisite ollas show off intricate geometric designs, decorative painting and incising, and beguiling animal forms. The exhibition also includes ceramic vessels from the 14th - and 15th -century Casas Grandes culture that inspired the modern-day revival of this complex artistic tradition.
ABOUT THE LECTURE SERIES
The art museum can be an effective public forum and the objects presented in the galleries can be powerful tools igniting discourse. The Object & Idea series relates to five compelling exhibitions in the fall of 2007 and spring of 2008 and presents six engaging and insightful scholars before the backdrop of these exhibitions. The Object & Idea series addresses a myriad of topics including 20th century American art history, African-American history, Precolumbian art history, contemporary social anthropology, Mexican history, and women's studies among many other topics. The lectures also directly and indirectly connect with current national and international events and social issues. The lectures and programs are free and open to the public.
Please visit museum.louisiana.edu for more details.
