No Reservations
dal 14/10/2006 al 22/2/2007
Segnalato da
14/10/2006
No Reservations
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield
Significantly, the exhibition includes work by both Native and non-Native artists, but will present only artists who engage the larger contemporary art world, as opposed to those attempting to maintain strict Native artistic traditions. The ten artists invited are of a generation that has come of age since the initial Native Rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
In the first decade of the twenty-first century, census figures attest
that more and more Americans are identifying themselves as Native
American. With the populace claiming Native ancestry growing three times
as fast as the population as a whole, Native people are one of the
fastest-growing minority groups in the United States.
Recognizing its location in an area steeped in Native lore, The Aldrich
Contemporary Art Museum is pleased to announce the exhibition No
Reservations: Native American History and Culture in Contemporary Art,
which will be on view from August 23, 2006, to February 25, 2007. Curated
by Aldrich director of exhibitions Richard Klein and funded by The Andy
Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Elizabeth Firestone Graham
Foundation, and LEF Foundation, this large-scale group exhibition looks at
artists whose work deals with both the deep cultural legacies and complex
histories of Native peoples in the United States. The project challenges
preconceived ideas of what form Native-influenced work can take.
Significantly, the exhibition includes work by both Native and non-Native
artists, but will present only artists who engage the larger contemporary
art world, as opposed to those attempting to maintain strict Native
artistic traditions. No Reservations is based on the premise that the
influence of Native culture and history is pervasive and has acted as
inspiration for a diverse group of artists, resulting in work that
explores the topic from multiple vantage points.
The ten artists in the exhibition are Matthew Buckingham, Lewis deSoto,
Peter Edlund, Nicholas Galanin, Jeffrey Gibson, Rigo 23, Duane Slick,
Marie Watt, Edie Winograde and Yoram Wolberger. All of the artists are of
a generation that has come of age since the initial Native Rights movement
of the 1960s and 1970s, with their work acknowledging the past, while
integrating the influences of the modern world and global culture. Much of
the work considered for the exhibition does not look “Indian," but rather
incorporates Native content in surprising and innovative ways that defy
easy categorization, like the work of Israeli born artist Yoram Wolberger.
Stereotypes and commercialization of the Native American are explored in
Wolberger’s work through vibrant red and blue molded plastic figures of
children’s toys replicating cowboys and Indians holding bows, arrows and
spears poised for combat. In his series entitled Cowboys & Indians,
Wolberger drastically increases the scal e of small, cheap, disposable
toys to larger-than-life status, dramatically altering the viewer’s
relationship with the familiar iconography of American childhood. In
doing so, Wolberger’s sculptures ask specific questions regarding how the
objects we give our children comment on American culture as a whole.
The implication of organizing No Reservations on the East Coast, and
particularly in Connecticut, is also important and wide-ranging. The
Aldrich is located in a region where European colonization initiated the
first truly organized genocide of Native peoples. The Pequot, of eastern
Connecticut, were the first tribal group living in the land that would
become the United States to be systematically eliminated. This history,
combined with the rebirth and economic success of the Pequot nation in the
last 25 years, creates a significant social and political landscape in
which to present this exhibition.
Direct transportation from New York is available. Please call
203-438-4519 to reserve a seat.
Opening reception Sunday, October 15, from 3 - 6 pm.
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
258 Main Street - Ridgefield