WHAT IS CONTEMPORARY ART AT BARD?

Scientifically Correct: Molecular Structures, Arrows and Pathways" by Coco144

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:48:00 -0500

Bard College is pleased to announce “Scientifically Correct: Molecular Structures, Arrows and Pathways,” a solo exhibition featuring 56 new works by aerosol artist COCO 144 at Bard’s Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Center for Science and Computation.

The paintings in “Scientifically Correct: Molecular Structures, Arrows and Pathways” are executed with acrylic, aerosol paint, watercolor and inks on paper. Incorporating the visual imagery of the scientific world, COCO interweaves his name with scientific imagery, reinventing his name as an equation in a new context.

COCO 144 is one of the essential painters in New York City’s subway art movement. Coco began to write his name on the streets in late 1969, then was among the first generation of subway writers from 1970-1972, making a significant mark on the Broadway line (No. 1 Train) and becoming one of major writers of Manhattan. While painting in the subway system, he created the first stencil in the writing movement, enabling him to tag his name with great speed. He maintained a unique style and was one of the first writers to channel that energy onto canvas, at a studio workshop in 1972. As early as 1973 he introduced aerosol art into galleries and became one of the most famous aerosol artists worldwide.

The first exhibition of this magnitude at the Gabrielle H.Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Center for Science and Computation at Bard, the 56 paintings measuring a total 198 linear feet, are the the size of almost three NYC subway cars. COCO continues to reinvent and push the limits of aerosol writing, painting through the lens of a microscope, fusing aerosol writing with the imagery of a scientist.

This exhibition marks the 40th anniversary of Coco 144’s contribution to writing, aerosol culture and street art.

Curated by Fernando Ruíz Lorenzo and Tom Wolf, Professor of Art History.

Opening Reception and Artist’s Talk:

Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Center Center for Science and Computation, 7p.m.-9p.m.

Center hours: 9:00 a.m.-7 p.m. daily.

Image Mapping

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0400

This continually updating selection of images invites you, the user of this “map,” to connect with us, its creators. Each day we will post a different image that has been tagged “contemporary art at bard,” for one reason or another, on the internet. We invite you to decide how relevant such an image is for your own use. In using our map, what are you looking for? Did you find it? Does it matter? Click on the image to contribute to our research.

This is a piece by Sasson Soffer, an international artist, who...

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:15:00 -0400

This is a piece by Sasson Soffer, an international artist, who has installed other stainless steel, public sculptures on University campuses around the world.

[posted by Courtney Malick]

A conversation between Clark Solack and K8 Hardy about mud wrestling at Bard. [posted by Clark Solack]

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:07:00 -0400

Clark Solack: Can you tell me a little bit about where the idea of having a mud wrestling event came from?

K8 Hardy: I had mud wrestling events in brooklyn on the 4th of july for 3 years prior to the one at Bard.

CS: Are you into wrestling?

KH: Not particularly, but my roommate at the time, Tara Mateik, was very into wrestling. We were the few who had a backyard in brooklyn and wanted to do something besides just barbecuing and drinking on this patriotic day. (July 4^th). The first one was organized by me, tara mateik, and josh thorson. We are all primarily video artists.

Tara now also does a lot of performance. Eventually they moved out and I continued the tradition. We burned an american flag to kick off the first mud wrestling event.

The 4^th is a great day that most people have free but by simply partying it’s almost as if you are being patriotic. It was the first 4th of july after 9/11. We all felt conflicted and mud wrestling seemed perfect for the day. It’s a good way to express ambivalence about nationalism.

CS: Do you find any connection to the lucha libre? Being from texas and all? But as an illegitimate response to it maybe?

KH: What’s lucha libre?

CS: The masked mexican wrestler culture.

KH: Uh, no not really. It’s just dirty and physical and aggressive and exciting, plus it’s a good way to touch other people.

CS: (Laughing)

KH: Plus it’s gross and dirty and not proper. Not that it was a reactive desire.

It’s active, pro-active.

CS: I’ve seen some photographic documentation of the events, particularly the ones by Cass Bird. There is a strong sense of dirty, half-naked bodies in action. There’s a sense of connectivity among the wrestlers.

KH: I always reffereed. I had very strict rules so that no one got hurt, more strict than wrestling sport rules. Yeah it’s amazing, i mean the energy totally shifts.

No one cares about what they have on, everyone is dirty. It’s incredibly equalizing

and especially since winning was not the point. After the first one, I realized how amazing it was to have a social event that forced everyone to get loose

and connect. No one looks cool and everyone is dirty; even if don’t wrestle you get splashed. People really let loose.

CS: So how did the shift occur when the event moved from back-yard Brooklyn to Bard main campus?

KH: Well for one, I announced that costumes were required in order to wrestle.

That’s kinda obvious—if you want to wrestle you have to wear something you don’t mind ruining. It was fun to get people to dress up to destroy their clothes.

The Bard event was also different because it wasn’t as queer. Although a lot of gays still came up from the city because it’s such a beloved tradition, so the tone was still pretty gay. Ei (Arakawa) and I kicked it off by doing a dance/performance around the pit as a hetero-christian couple in heat. I had a floral dress on that was pre-cut so Ei could tear it off. I befriended the grounds crew and got a guy to come over with his tractor to dig the pit.

CS: Something about this ritual you two performed reminds me a little bit about Collier Shore’s project on high school wrestlers. There’s so much pent-up homoerotic tension involved. Was your dance with Ei maybe an intervention, or a ritualistic territorialization to let everybody know that the queers were still the boss?

KH: Definitely the latter.

CS: Did any of the grounds people who helped create the pit come to the event?

KH: No, but I did invite them and pay them more than their wage.

CS: Mud wrestling at bard has become legendary. Do you have any plans for more?

KH: I hope to do one last mud wrestling event. Don’t know where yet.

CS: I can’t wait!

KH: Yeah me too.

CS: From what I’ve observed of your art practice, there is a deep sense of consistency. In other words, it is clear that you are always thinking and working no matter what your particular interests may be. In making a gesture towards the perhaps more underground and time-based interventions that have happened at Bard—and i’m thinking of Jay’s secret boathouse on the water below Blithewood—can you offer any comments on what it means to have a sustainable practice that may not find its way into official documentation?

KH: Well it’s difficult. I feel like part of my practice is organizing and creating events, bringing people together. It’s something i love to do, set up the parameters for, and that I do well. I love to get people excited and feel community.

Amy Sillman said that the mud wrestling event was the best thing that ever happened to that MFA program in its history. It really brought us together.

I contemplated for a long time about how to make event organizing a clear part of my art practice, but i gave up because it ruins the event.

If i get too conceptual and intentional it changes the tone, and that’s not fun.

I just like bringing people together and getting them excited or interested and spreading pleasure. But it’s a lot of work. It’s really hard to do. That mud wrestling even easily took me 40 hours of work, at the least.

CS: Did anyone tape it?

KH: Well i made up a rule at bard called “no fashion photography.” People didn’t really know how to take that and so it limited the documentation. One artist did ask me if she could videotape her wrestling match, which of course was fine. I would never stop a participant from taking photos or video. But I said no fashion photography so that people wouldn’t come just to fetishize and take photos

which after 3 years in Brooklyn did happen.

CS: Well it brings up the difference between the event and the spectacle.

KH: Also it’s too much pressure if too many people are taking photos, it changes the event. Yeah. Lauryn Siegel made a video at that mud wrestling event.

CS: Oh wow! I didn’t know such a document existed. Would you like to talk a little bit about the labor involved in building this project?

KH: Um, well I am very proud of my pit production. It evolved over the years

Basically I dig the hole first, then I remove any sharp or hard objects like rocks or sticks. Then I line it with a blue tarp and fill it. To fill it, I sift the dirt that was dug up, as long as it’s not too rocky and tedious. Also some of that dirt goes to build up the perimeter and cushion it. Then if I can I buy a few bags of soil from the garden store, just because people get really cut up and bloody from rocks and stuff in the dirt. Then I have a water hose and it’s basically on the whole time

so the pit gets soupier and soupier as the wrestling goes on. The hose is very important beccause you have to constantly spray wrestlers’ faces to get the mud off so they don’t suffocate.

CS: It sounds like a lot of responsibility.

KH: Well you don’t want to create something that hurts people who participate. I mean, inevitably there is pain from intense physical activity, ya know?

CS: Of course. But that’s part of the draw a little bit I imagine.

KH: Yeah the danger.

CS: Well, maybe we can leave it there, and perhaps chat more in the future? Thank you so much!

KH: Thank you!

[posted by Clark Solack]

Image Mapping

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0400

This continually updating selection of images invites you, the user of this “map,” to connect with us, its creators. Each week we will post a different image that has been tagged “contemporary art at bard” for one reason or another, on the internet. We invite you to decide how relevant such an image is for your own use. In using our map, what are you looking for? Did you find it? Does it matter? Click on the image to contribute to our research.

[posted by Nova Benway]

I hate flamenco is a series of artists’ works presentated...

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:46:00 -0400

I hate flamenco is a series of artists’ works presentated in a formal/informal, public/private format at my home. I hate flamenco will run through the 2009 and 2011 CCS course.

The first session of I hate flamenco will present the work of the Spanish collective Bestué/Vives this Wenesday 7th of Octuber at 7:30 pm.

[posted by Manuela Moscoso]

This is one of many works by Brazilian artist, Leya-Mira...

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:12:32 -0400

This is one of many works by Brazilian artist, Leya-Mira Brander, curated by CCS student Laura Barlow. This is the first exhibition of the Bulletin Board project for the Fall ‘09 semester and it has been relocated to a vitrine inside of the CCS Library. The Bulletin Board project at Bard is the third venue in which it’s founder, Matthew Higgs, has implemented the system of exhibition making. This project originally began at CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts in San Francisco, and has since also been started in the lobby at Whitle Columns gallery in NYC.

[posted by Courtney Malick]

This is one of two Franz West pieces, currently situated outside...

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:10:13 -0400

This is one of two Franz West pieces, currently situated outside of CCS, on the lawn. One of the two is in the Marieluise Hessel collection, and the other is on long term loan.

[posted by Courtney Malick]

This is an aerial shot of Christian Phillip Muller’s,...

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:36:59 -0400

This is an aerial shot of Christian Phillip Muller’s, Hudson Valley Tastemakers, commissioned by Minetta Brook to be a site specific, permanent installation on Bard’s campus, and is now maintained by CCS.

Public artworks on Bard’s campus… This is a memorial...

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:36:55 -0400

Public artworks on Bard’s campus…

This is a memorial site, just behind the Chapel of the Holy Innocents, entitled the Anna Margaret Jones Meditation Garden, dedicated to a Bard student who died, named Anna Jones. The project was co-ordinated by Paul Marianthall in 2001.

Notes on an Interview: Tom Wolf

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:36:00 -0400

Tom Wolf - Professor of Art History

“The newly renovated exhibition space in the Fisher Studio Arts Building permits an ambitious schedule of exhibitions, which are an integral component of the program. In addition to open student exhibitions, Senior Project shows, and Moderation exhibitions, student work on particular themes is exhibited at student-curated and faculty-curated shows. Exhibitions of work by outside artists, selected by independent curators, are also presented each year” – Bard Website

In addition to curating shows in the Fisher Studio Arts Building, Tom Wolf has organized various exhibitions and lecture series held on Bard campus. In March 2008, Wolf exhibited works done by New York City graffiti artist Nelson Keene Carse. The show took place in the Reem Kayden Science Building with the hope of integrating visual art into a non-traditional exhibition space.

(posted by Julia Paoli)

Notes on an Interview: Arthur Gibbons

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:58:00 -0400

The Artist in his Studio, c. 1629. Rembrandt van Rijn

Arthur Gibbons - Professor of Studio Arts; S. William Senfeld Artist in Residence; Director, Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts

“The Bard College Exhibition Center, a 16,000-square-foot gallery and studio space in the village of Red Hook, gives graduating seniors the opportunity to present their Senior Projects in a professional space dedicated solely to the exhibition of student work.” – Bard Website

Arthur Gibbons helped found UBS, or the Bard Exhibition College Exhibition Center. It is used for student shows in the Spring, large installation classes in the Fall, and about half the seniors of the studio arts program have studios in the space. Students have a lot of responsibility for the space.

According to Gibbons, students are both taken on trips through the school to see art work in the city, but they are also encouraged to use NYC as a resource. There is some interaction between CCS and the undergraduates, most notably a newly revived initiative called the Art Club aimed at being a collaboration between CCS students junior studio arts students.

There are also 15 practicing artists on faculty for the Studio Arts department, about half of whom live and work in the area.

post by natasha llorens

Bard Away

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:47:52 -0400

Bard College spreads far beyond Annandale-on-Hudson. Looking at contemporary art at Bard College means looking at the college as a whole, as an organization whose arms stretch beyond campus, to create an international scope of interrelated activities, some of which provide home for artistic creation and involvement.

Bard College is the initiator of programs such as The Bard Prison Initiative and the Sudan Open Archive and cooperates with a number of international universities and research institutes such as Central European University in Budapest, Smolny College in St. Petersburg and a newly initiated partnership with Al-Quds University in Jerusalem. Bard students are invited to study abroad in these institutions, and respectively, students from these institutions sometimes arrive to study at Bard. These progressive programs enhance the scope of the college, opening its borders beyond Annandale-on-Hudson for artistc, research, and personal exchanges.

Smolny College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the first liberal arts program in Russia. Located in St. Petersburg, Smolny College is a joint program between Bard College and Saint Petersburg State University initiated in 1997. Smolny is closely connected with the Human Rights Center at Bard. At the moment, 500 students are enrolled in the college, who upon graduation receive both diplomas – a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bard College and a Bachelor of Arts and Humanitarian Sciences from St. Petersburg State University.

Smolny College

As a liberal arts and sciences program, contemporary art is prevalent at Smolny College, and student clubs, for example, include Dance Performance Studio and the Sisinkin Film Club (for further information). Alumni of Smolny College go on to work in museums, art galleries, interior design firms, theatre studios, and other creative groups, places such as the hermitage, the Russian Museum, Digital Camera magazine, and art galleries across the world.

Smolny has a tradition of artistic and creative cooperation and exchange with groups or organizations in its surroundings. An interesting collaboration in the realm of contemporary art is the one with Chto delat (What Is To Be Done) group. The Chto delat platform unites artists, philosophers, social researchers, activists, and all those whose aim is the collaborative realization of a critical and independent research, publication and artistic, educational and activist projects. Joint projects between Chto delat and Smolny College in the past include lectures and artistic projects at the college. Several Chto delat members have also taught classes at Smolny.

Smolny College provides an academic environment for Chto delat members, as well as a link to an institution that renders Chto delat’s political activism to be represented in the context of academic research via the cooperation with the American institution, thus allowing the group to enjoy institutional support of their critical voice. Smolny also supports the production and production process of the Chto delat newspaper, a bilingual (Russian/English) newspaper, distributed for free, which address themes such as art, activism, philosophy, and cultural theory.

Wall Newspaper project, 2006-7

The focus is on the local Russian situation, which the newspaper tries to link to a broader international context. Contributors include artists, art theorists, philosophers, activists, and writers from Russia, Western Europe and the United States. Chto delat is taking part in the 11^th International Istanbul Biennale, September 12 – November 8, 2009.

Smolny College is but one example of the way in which Bard College initiatives presently affect and support contemporary art production by creating academic platforms around the world. We invite others to contribute to this blog with similar case studies and experiences.

Members of Chto delat include Olga Egorova/Tsaplya (artist, Petersburg), Artiom Magun (philosopher, Petersburg), Nikolai Oleinikov (artist, Moscow), Natalia Pershina/Glucklya (artist, Petersburg), Alexei Penzin (philosopher, Moscow), David Riff (art critic, Moscow), Alexander Skidan (poet, critic, Petersburg), Kirill Shuvalov (artist, Petersburg), Oxana Timofeeva (philosopher, Moscow), and Dmitry Vilensky (artist, Petersburg)

Image from Builders, 2004-5

Information taken from

www.chtodelat.org

www.smolny.org

www.bard.edu

This is the Parliament of Reality, a project by Olafur Eliasson,...

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:11:00 -0400

This is the Parliament of Reality, a project by Olafur Eliasson, commissioned by Bard College. This permanent installation is meant to be a communal place for education and discussion, public, yet within a protected environment. The piece was made open to the public on May 15, 2009, and is still undergoing transformations within its landscape and its role as an interactive site for students, staff and visitors.

[posted by Courtney Malick]

Beyond Bard

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:43:00 -0400

“Contemporary art at Bard” resides in part outside the limits of the campus. A critical component of the make-up of contemporary art here is the network that reaches beyond the school. Comprised of alums, donors, artists, visiting faculty and lecturers, and others with a vested interest in the school, this network is more than just a rich resource for current students. The network existing “beyond Bard” brings resources and insights from all over the world to the school, enriching contemporary art here.

While being affected by people who come to the school, we believe that Bard has an equal impact on those in its extended network. Part of our research on the beyond Bard community involves exploring how the school has had lasting influences on this group. Dan Byers graduated from the Center for Curatorial Studies in 2008. After spending one year as a curatorial fellow at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Dan took the position of Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh.

Dan, a member of the beyond Bard community, shares his thoughts below…

Q: Why did you initially select Bard? What about the CCS program, the school in general, and the arts community drew you there? What were you doing before your involvement with the school?

A: Before Bard I was Assistant to the Directors at the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philly (a contemporary art museum and residency program). I worked very closely with artists and our production staff to realize exhibitions based on new works invited artists made in collaboration with FWM. This was an incredible opportunity for discussions about process, collaboration, and the notion of medium in contemporary art. However, it lacked a sort of “self-conscious” curatorial program beyond a commitment to supporting artists and new ways of making making work (we also engaged curators, who were, in effect, curators in residence: Mark Nash, Ellen Lupton and Abbott Miller, and Christopher Eamon, while I was there). It was this lack of an institutional curatorial position that prompted me to apply to Bard (I also realized that if I wanted to continue working with artists, as a curator, at an institution, I’d have to get a masters). I’d also had my first exposure to curating contemporary art with Ian Berry at the Tang, as a Skidmore undergrad. He was in one of the first CCS classes, so it was always something that seemed viable and legitimate. Basically, I wanted to find a place where I could have in-depth discussions about contemporary art, work with faculty I admired, meet like minded students, and generally retreat - for a time - from the pace of an institutional job (though I always wanted to return to an institution). I also was interested in Bard’s greater academic, cultural, and artistic community. Really, it seemed the only viable option for a contemporary art-focused program (despite an interest in art history, I didn’t want to study contemporary art through that approach only, which is why I didn’t apply to a program like Williams). The country/city split also appealed to me.

Q: What of Bard have you taken with you? What continues to inform and impact your work/practice today that you discovered during your time at Bard?

A: Relationships with faculty were very important. In particular, conversations, advice, and questions from Linda Norden, Michael Brenson, and Rhea Anastas have stayed with me. Tom’s attitude towards negotiating the seeming obstacles of projects was also important. I made some very close friends who are now colleagues who I go to for advice and conversation. Memories of the Hudson Valley - the estates along the river, the hard cider from the produce stand, drives by deer at night… all that is still with me. I was also exposed to a very specific notion of critically, which, for better or worse, is always in the back of my mind - some times more present than others. I also read and thought so much about contemporary art. I know so much more art history. I also know which parts of the art world I want to ignore, verses those I want to engage. Bard prepared me for my curatorial fellowship at the Walker, both intellectually, and in terms of knowledge about the systems of the art world. (On the other hand, the Walker helped me understand my Bard experience better, in relationship to institutional practice). Those contacts, discourses, and general knowledge base from CCS have also resonated with my work at the Carnegie. CCS presents an intellectual standard, which is only appropriate to varying degrees in different institutional contexts. But it was a program that I was able to get a lot out of (and also drove me crazy at times!).

Q: Have you utilized the Bard network since leaving the school?

A: Yes. In my experience, CCS alums are happy to meet and talk with only the CCS connection as entry. And Letitia is the best press release service around (not to mention kindest person around). Those who have gone through CCS know, and have generally been helpful with advice and things like that. Though I’m more dependent on my peers from the program than on those who graduated before me.

Q: Any websites that particularly light your fire?

A: Just the usual suspects. Honestly, I don’t use the internet for anything too cutting edge. I’d rather read a good magazine.

[posted by Karin Campbell]

Edible Sculpture Party 3

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:32:00 -0400

Edible Sculpture Party 3.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ediblesculpture

Hosted by:

Tim Davis

Visiting Assistant Professor of Photography, Bard College

Pictures shown:

Frank Benson, PEPTO BISMOL FOUNTAIN

ROBERT SMITHSON SPIRAL JETTY

Dan D’Oca and Amy A, CONTEMPORARY CITY FOR 3 MILLION, LE CORBUSIER, 1922

Richard Press and Philip Gefter, DAMIEN HIRST KEBAB

[posted by Nathan Lee]

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:02:32 -0400

[posted by Nathan Lee]

More photos to follow. [posted by Clark Solack]

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 11:11:00 -0400

Fetish?

Photo: Cass Bird

More photos to follow.

[posted by Clark Solack]

This is one of the phrases imprinted in the concrete...

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 08:20:00 -0400

This is one of the phrases imprinted in the concrete entrance/walkway leading to the CCS building and Hessel Museum, by Lawrence Weiner, entitled, Bard Enter, 2004. This project was initiated in 2004, but not completed until 2006, and was made possible largely in part by Executive Director Tom Eccles.

[posted by Courtney Malick]

This is a flag outside of CCS, made by Rachel Harrison, for her...

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:32:00 -0400

This is a flag outside of CCS, made by Rachel Harrison, for her current exhibition ‘Consider the Lobster’ at the CCS Galleries. The first flag on the flag pole was made by Frank Benson, and later another, by Peter Coffin, was bought by Tom Eccles. It was on the suggestion of Marcia Acita that Rachel Harrison was asked to create her own flag emblem for her show, though it is not considered a true work of art. When Harrison’s show is over, either the Benson or Coffin flag will be hung.

[posted by Courtney Malick]