Never Never Land
dal 16/11/2000 al 22/12/2000
Segnalato da
Jim Anderson
James Angus
Markus Baenziger
Rico Gatson
Arturo Herrera
Pierre Huyghe
Tommy Kenny
Mary Magsamen
Jason Middlebrook
Michael Minelli
Daniel Mirer
Takashi Murakami
Stephan Pascher
Daniela Steinfeld
Gabriele Stellbaum
Brian Tolle
Type A. (Adam Ames and Andrew Bordwin)
Andrea Bowers
Dara Birnbaum
John Espinosa
Alix Lambert
Guy Richards Smit
Charlotta Westergren
Omar Lopez-Chahoud
16/11/2000
Never Never Land
Schmidt Center Gallery, Boca Raton
From narrative videotapes to large-scale sculptures, the exhibition reflects the artists' celebration, ambivalence and criticism of the visual ingenuity and commercial success of the Walt Disney Co., which the exhibition's organizers believe to be one of the most significant forces in popular American culture. The Peter Pan story represents the central theme in the Disney mythology and is the theme upon which the Walt Disney Co. has built its empire, according to W. Rod Faulds, director of Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Galleries.
The influence of the Disney phenomenon on visual arts is highlighted in Never Never Land an exhibition of two dozen contemporary artists, curated by Omar Lopez-Chahoud.
From narrative videotapes to large-scale sculptures, the exhibition reflects the artists' celebration, ambivalence and criticism of the visual ingenuity and commercial success of the Walt Disney Co., which the exhibition's organizers believe to be one of the most significant forces in popular American culture.
The Peter Pan story represents the central theme in the Disney mythology and is the theme upon which the Walt Disney Co. has built its empire, according to W. Rod Faulds, director of Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Galleries, "It is the tale of a boy who never grows up, and Never Never Land is the place where such an existence is possible: a fantastic utopian world where dreams come true."
Guest curator Omar Lopez-Chahoud has organized several contemporary art exhibitions in New York City in recent years. He is a graduate of Florida International University, and he earned a master of fine arts degree from Yale University School of Art and London's Royal Academy of Art.
For Never Never Land, Lopez-Chahoud has selected artists from diverse cultural backgrounds. Some, such as Melissa Marks, choose to work in a way that appears to embrace the narrative modes and ideal freedom promoted by the Burbank-based corporation.
Others, including Bonnie Collura, adopt a critical approach to western popular culture and mythology, effectively attempting to unravel Disney's ideology. Architecture also plays an important role in the exhibition, including notions of simulation and utopianism.
"As Disney continues to fabricate fictional characters and places, and promotes its fantasy as real life, Never Never Land will present the work of contemporary artists whose works portray imaginary worlds, and question the relationship of the unreal to the real," said Faulds.
Other artists who will participate in the exhibition include Jim Anderson, James Angus, Markus Baenziger, Rico Gatson, Arturo Herrera, Pierre Huyghe, Tommy Kenny, Mary Magsamen, Jason Middlebrook, Michael Minelli, Daniel Mirer, Takashi Murakami, Stephan Pascher, Daniela Steinfeld, Gabriele Stellbaum, Brian Tolle and Type A. (Adam Ames and Andrew Bordwin).
The exhibition also features a series of artists' videos by Andrea Bowers, Dara Birnbaum, John Espinosa, Alix Lambert, Guy Richards Smit and Charlotta Westergren.
Schmidt Center Gallery - Boca Raton campus - Tel: 5612972966