blasts from the past

Dali
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXT2E9Ccc8A&feature=related

Basquiat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yceebS7LXiw&feature=related

posted by the Contemporary

Q & A with Suzanne Opton

Q: How did you conceive the SOLDIER project and gain access to the military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan?

A: I'm interested in portraiture and I was curious to see who these people are who volunteer for the military. Watching them on TV at the beginning of the war, I couldn't really see them. They were always hidden behind so much gear and they were speaking in their role as representatives of the military. My son would be eligible for the draft if there were a draft, and thinking about what it would have been like for him to be in the military, I wanted to see these soldiers as I would see my own son.

I called military bases all over the country trying to gain access. I plied them with my credentials as an editorial photographer, but I was turned away. When I called the public affairs office at Fort Drum, the officer asked if it was a political project. I said, "No. It's art. Portraits of soldiers.
Just art." They asked when I wanted to come and how many people I wanted to photograph. I was lucky.

Q: What were your goals or expectations for the project?

A: I wanted to make a vulnerable portrait of a soldier. I wanted to stand our idea of soldiering on it's head, because when I think of soldiers I think of how young and vulnerable they all are. I wanted to make portraits that show soldiers as brothers, fathers, sons or lovers.

Being a photographer is a license to go where you don't belong. I wanted to know who these soldiers were and I wanted to find out what of their war experience we could see on their faces.

Q: How did you decide on the pose for the soldiers - head down and looking sideways?

A: I had been interested in playing with the idea of a subject laying his or her head down, but it never quite worked out. When I was invited to the army base, I thought this was the perfect situation for this pose.

I work slowly with a large format camera. I'm interested in a collaborative sort of portraiture. Even though the photographer has the final power, if you give the subject time, he composes himself for the camera. Richard Avedon once said that people often confess to photographers. It's an unearned and fleeting intimacy, but it can be nurtured. By giving someone a provocative and appropriate pose, and then leaving them alone, their minds may wander and they may bring a revealing aspect to their portrait.

Q: Have the soldiers seen the photos and what do they think of them? Are they aware of the billboard project?

A: I sent one of the black and white standing photographs to each of the 90 soldiers who participated in the project. The first show was in Syracuse NY not far from Fort Drum. We sent out catalogs and invited all 90 soldiers to the opening. I was in touch with some people who said they were excited to come - they'd never been to an art opening. Critic Vicki Goldberg gave the lecture and I thought it would be an evening of art meets the military... But then some soldiers were shipped out shortly before and in the end none of them attended.

They were aware of the billboards, but I never heard directly from any soldiers about them. One soldier's mother wrote to me and wanted a print of the image on the billboard. She said that his time in Iraq and Afghanistan was hard on him and his family and "this photograph portrays his trials."

Q: What have you learned about these soldiers through the process?

A: It was very interesting to be on the army base. I had no first hand knowledge about soldiers. We were all struck by the camaraderie, the love between the soldiers we met. One of my assistants was a 21-year old photo student, who said, "My mother would kill me but I'm almost jealous of these guys." They had some powerful things his life lacked - comrades who would risk their lives for each other, a sense of making a difference in the world and a clear mission. Whatever else, we had great respect for that.

I didn't understand, however, what the soldiers thought of the photographs. Later I met a Vietnam vet who told me that while in active duty, these portraits are not images that soldiers could comment on. He told me that they would have to wait ten years until they had grieved over the piece of their life they lost, and then maybe the photographs would have meaning to them.

Q: What has been the most surprising or satisfying response to the project?

I have been surprised and gratified by the huge response the project has garnered. And when I saw the very large prints I realized that they were like the heads of fallen statues and yet they maintained their intimate quality. I've never liked sentimental imagery, but I think these portraits are both intimate and tough.

I have been surprised by people thinking the images are so disturbing and some people thinking the soldiers were actually dead.

Email interview between Suzanne Opton and Stuart Horodner, 8/22/2008
Opton's website can be found here -- www.suzanneopton.com

posted by the Contemporary

PLUGGED IN

PLUGGED IN

I have been wanting to write about the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center's mission and methods for a while now-a kind of position paper that explains to people why and how we function. With our 35th Gala coming up on September 13th, now is a good time to put forth such thoughts; clarify the practices that we are proud of; and suggest ways for interested parties to use our facility, programs, and events to further their own creative lives and art careers.


1.

Our Mission Statement says, "The Atlanta Contemporary Art Center's mission is to promote excellence, experimentation and education in all forms of contemporary art. The Contemporary provides access to resources and support for emerging and established artists on local, regional, national and international levels and creates opportunities for them to share their work with the public. In all aspects of its programming the Contemporary is committed to gender equality and cultural diversity. By developing, educating and cultivating energetic audiences of knowledgeable supporters the Contemporary serves as a major multidisciplinary arts center in the Southeast."

WHO: We show work from the local, regional, national, and international art scenes regularly. Since the Contemporary has four dedicated galleries (Main, Left, Four, and Round), as well as the outdoor pavilion space in front of our building, we balance solo and group exhibitions in these unique spaces. The combination of these shows presents a diverse diet of consequential ideas, objects, and experiences, including art made in studios and on site, by solo creators or collaborators.

Many of the artists we show are exhibiting their works at peer organizations around the world, and this fact helps to provide a context for our choices. This obviously works in reverse as well, and the artists that we exhibit here become more relevant to arts professionals at other venues. For example, prior to showing Matt Bryans's large scale drawings in the fall of 2006, his work was on view at the Tate Modern in London. Daniel Bozhkov's genre-bending work was included in the 8th Istanbul Biennial before he came to Atlanta to present a survey of his conceptual projects and lead an unforgettable Fastest Guided Walking Tour of our fair city. Greta Pratt's photos of Abraham Lincoln impersonators were shown at Mass MOCA before we installed them here in the winter of 2007. Jack Whitten's works were shown at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, The Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2007-08 before his Memorial Paintings went on view this past April-June.

We also are involved in traveling our exhibitions to venues elsewhere. Our solo drawing show with artist/musician Devendra Banhart was presented at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, and Diverseworks Art Space in Houston; and Nubar Alexanian's photographs taken on the film set of Errol Morris's Standard Operating Procedure traveled to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Paul Shambroom's upcoming survey, Picturing Power, was developed in collaboration with the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, and the University Art Museum at Cal State Long Beach. It will be opening here October 3rd, coinciding with Atlanta Celebrates Photography.


2.

The Contemporary lends our support to artists in non-exhibition related ways, allowing them to use our facility and staff support to realize projects in process. We helped artist M.K. Guth who was developing her ambitious work Ties of Protection and Safekeeping for the 2008 Whitney Biennial, by allowing her to set up a makeshift studio in our lobby. We promoted her project to our constituents and they came to the Contemporary to become involved, writing aspirations for the future on strips of fabric which Guth and her assistants wove into an enormous braid used in her installation in NY. This project was singled out in Holland Cotter's review of the Biennial in The New York Times.

WHAT: We exhibit the work of artists in what is often their first solo or group show at a contemporary art center. I curate artists into thematic shows that connect their works with other artists exploring similar materials, methods, concepts, and content. We give artists who are known elsewhere their first exposure in the South. These exhibition are a crucial step in the development of their careers.There are many steps in an artist's evolution-entering juried shows, showing at alternative spaces, co-op galleries, commercial galleries, university galleries, art centers, museums, art fairs, and public art projects. Exhibiting at a respected art center is a big deal and should be. We do not choose the artists shown at the Contemporary lightly, and our reputation is based on the selection of artists that we show and the clarity of our reasons for doing so.

We support our exhibitions and public events with promotional and educational brochures, publications, and on our website. Our programming is regularly reviewed by art magazines, journals, newspapers, and websites including Art in America, Artforum, Art Papers, ArtDaily.com, Artnet.com, CNN.com, Peach, The Atlantan, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, and Creative Loafing.


3.

Our public events include lectures and panel discussions, film screenings, dialogues, and portfolio reviews. The artists, curators, critics, and educators who participate in these programs are selected with the same rigor, intelligence, and diversity that informs our gallery exhibitions.15 Minutes is a uniquely accessible program where I hold candid critiques on scheduled Wednesdays of each month with artist members to discuss their work and career development. Our Artist Survival Skills series is dedicated to empowering artists by providing them with access to local and national arts professionals for workshops and talks that address practical and philosophical issues.

Our Resource Room is a social and educational space for visitors to talk, read current art magazines, watch videos, and peruse our community bulletin board where current announcements for exhibits and events taking place locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally are posted. This is also a free Wi-Fi environment.

In my role as Artistic Director, I often perform many unseen acts of advocacy for artists; recommending their work to colleagues in the field (locally and elsewhere), writing letters of recommendation, making introductions to various arts professionals, proposing their work for grants and prizes, discussing their works with collectors, writing catalog essays for them, writing about their work for magazines and journals.

WHERE: Exhibitions and events are generally on-site at the Contemporary, including the galleries, lobby, Resource Room, and in the outdoor plaza and pavilion space in front of our building. Some off-site exhibition projects and programming events also occur in the community.

WHEN: Our exhibitions and events take place throughout the year. Exhibitions change seasonally, four times per year. This provides between 12-14 shows per year, depending on how we use the galleries (sometimes a large solo or group show requires the use of more than one space).

WHY: Contemporary art has the profound power to change people's lives. Those who make it, sponsor it, write about it, read about it, collect it, and view it are each transformed in the process. Contemporary art acts as a powerful agent of experience, and the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center is dedicated to being a forward thinking, bold, rigorous, and generous force in the various ways that art functions in our community and beyond.

In order to create a thriving art scene in any city, institutions like the Contemporary must thrive, and continue to offer a unique point of view in the context of a dynamic ecology of other arts organizations and cultural presenters. We all need to be dedicated to excellence, ambition, fiscal health, collaboration, and dialogue.

HOW: Like the most progressive art centers, the Contemporary functions in a variety of ways-simultaneously operating as lab, showroom, social space, and educational facility. It is a progressive and nimble institution, shifting regularly to acknowledge and promote the dynamic nature of contemporary art and visual culture.

The staff, artists, board, patrons, members, volunteers, and audience of the Contemporary each play a vital role in its success. In order to benefit from the aesthetic, intellectual, educational, and social offerings, one must participate, to choose to come here and take advantage of what we do.

Come to openings, lectures, workshops, screenings, and social events. Since we often show works by artists that are unknown to our audience, you can arrive here without an opinion about what you will see until you experience it. And seeing art and having opinions about it is a currency that serious artists, curators, educators, collectors, and art lovers crave.


4.

When you come to our openings, you have a chance to meet local and out-of-town artists who can become allies for you and your goals. This is how networks are established and from my experience, like-minded and open people tend to be generous with each other. This leads to exhibition opportunities, studio spaces, collaborations, recommendations, emotional support, and, of course, fun. If you attend public programs you may just hear that piece of information that will help you, and meet the arts professionals and colleagues who hold the key to your next opportunity in their hands. And since we all know that contemporary art attracts some of the most passionate, intelligent people on the planet, the Contemporary is where you can meet whoever you desire for whatever reasons you desire them.

Our admission costs are reasonable, and we have instituted FREE THURSDAYS, often holding exhibition-related events in the evenings on Thursdays as well.

That's what we do. What are you doing?
Be in the now by being in the know.

BE CONTEMPORARY.

1. Russell Maltz painting cinder blocks in his outdoor installation, In The Process Of Becoming, January 2008.
2. Nubar Alexanian discusses his Standard Operating Procedure photographs at the Pacific Northwest College of Art, March 2008.
3. Shana Robbins performing at Talent Show:The 2007 Biennial, July 2008.
4. Jack Whitten and Stuart Horodner at the opening reception for Jack Whitten: Memorial Paintings, April 2008.

posted by the Contemporary

Are you registered ?

posted by the Contemporary

Gene and Nat

Atlanta art lover Gene Hooff (left) and exhibiting artist Nat Andreini (right).
Nat is 1/2 of the collaborative team Sincerely, John Head--whose exhibition in Gallery Four ends this Sunday, June 15th. Scott Porter is the other 1/2.
This fashion photograph was taken when Gene generously delivered tasty hamburgers to the artists for who were in the middle of installing and had no time to waste. The lunch receipt became part of their installation. See if you can find it.

posted by the Contemporary

Scissors and Glue

I have been reviewing some of my curatorial journals--black bound books with images and texts pasted inside--portraits, quotes, websites, obits. These selections that I have culled from newspapers and magazines --are things I keep to think about, be prompted by, enjoy perusing.
They include:


"An article and headline on Saturday about the Staten Island Museum, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary, referred incorrectly to one item in the museum's collection of curiosities. It is a four-legged--not four-headed--chicken.

"Picasso's a master at being able to make a face feel like a foot." Lucian Freud

"The portrait of a loved one should be not only an image at which one smiles, but an oracle one interrogates." Andre Breton

Gavin Brown: Why did you take a year to tell me I was pronouncing your name wrong?"
Rikrit Tiravanija: I didn't think it mattered.

Jimmy Carter had solar panels installed on the roof of the White House in 1979; Ronald Reagan had them torn down in the 1980s.

Recent Exhibition Titles:
Naked Beyond Skin
Here We Dance
This Place Is Close and Unfolded
Emotion Machine

Yves Saint Laurent: Cotton shorts splattered with paint, worn with cashmere sweaters.

posted by the Contemporary

RE:Rauschenberg

Robert Rauschenberg's death on May 12th was a profound event. Since hearing the news, countless people in the arts communities of the world (and by this I mean the visual arts, dance, theatre, film, music, literature) found themselves thinking about his contribution to creative practice: inclusiveness, flow, overlay, collaboration, chance.

I found myself thinking about Rasuchenberg's working in "the gap between art and life" while I opened The New Yorker magazine to find several contemporary artists (Cai Guo-Qiang, Glenn Ligon, Sarah Sze, Chuck Close, etc) posing in their editioned T-shirts for the GAP.

I thought about Joseph Cornell and Marcel Duchamp and Kurt Schwitters and Joseph Albers and John Cage and Jasper Johns and Merce Cunningham. I thought about Bed and Monogram and Canyon and Rebus and DeKooning giving him a drawing that would be hard to erase.

And then I received an email and photos from my friend Marcel Sitcoske in LA, fondly recalling the exhibition we made together at her San Francisco gallery in 1999.
Called RE:Rauschenberg, it featured artists including Jessica Stockholder, Nancy Chunn, James Hyde, Joe Sola, Jack Pierson, David Clarkson, and others. Each sculpture, photograph, video, drawing, and painting in the gallery had its own unique sensibility, and yet they all seemed to offer a wink of tribute to this American master of serious play.

Rauschenberg was in town for his own exhibition of classic works that had been recently purchased by the San Francisco Museum of Art, and when he walked into our opening, you could feel his legendary generosity and humor immediately. He was all smiles and so were we.









Photo: (Left to right) Robert Rauschenberg, me, David Clarkson.
Courtesy Marcel Sitcoske

posted by the Contemporary