December 9, 2008 – March 1, 2009
Curated by Pitzer Art Galleries Director/Curator Ciara Ennis and Associate Professor of Media Studies Ming-Yuen S. Ma
Opening Reception: 9 December 2008, 7-9 pm
LACE & Pitzer Art Galleries present Narrowcast: Reframing Global Video 1986/2008 curated by Pitzer Art Galleries Director Ciara Ennis and Associate Professor of Media Studies Ming-Yuen S. Ma. The exhibition is part of Resolution 3, a collaboration between Pitzer College’s Media Studies program, Pitzer Art Galleries and LACE on the occasion of LACE’s thirtieth anniversary.
Narrowcast re-presents selected works from LACE’s seminal 1986 video exhibition Resolution: A Critique of Video Art and pairs them in compelling and unexpected ways with contemporary works, thus framing the medium’s brief history both formally and thematically. Resolution was one of the first exhibitions in the United States to embrace video as a serious art form and to discuss it in critical terms. Revisiting Resolution in relation to a number of exceptional contemporary video works demonstrates the influence that video art has had on artistic practice over the past two decades and testifies to the pivotal role and ubiquitous presence that the medium has in the contemporary global art world.
The ten selected artists in Narrowcast—five historical: Lyn Blumenthal, Juan Downey, Antonio Muntadas in collaboration withMarshall Reese, Michael Smith, Bill Viola and five contemporary: Natalie Bookchin, Mark Boulos, Regina José Galindo, Pablo Pijnappel, Artur Zmijewski—re-present Resolution in a way that emphasizes resonance and precedence rather than a comprehensive survey. And while the selected works, one from each artist, do not fit into neat categories, Curators Ennis and Ma have found historically significant connections that highlight the multi-layered and fragmented narratives inherent in both the archival and contemporary works.
Separated into five loose categories—embroidered narratives, autobiographical confessionals, restaging histories, documentary and reportage, trance and ritual—the works in Narrowcast reframe content as well as formal strategies that are as relevant in 1986 as it is now, thereby reflecting the range and inventiveness of the non-traditional narrative structures central to these artist’s works.
“With the benefit of more than twenty years hindsight Narrowcast revisits five pivotal works from LACE’s historic 1986 video exhibition, Resolution: A Critique of Video Art—one of the first exhibitions to fully embrace video as a mature art form—and gauges that work in relation to five exceptional contemporary efforts.” – Ciara Ennis, Narrowcast Co-curator and Pitzer Art Galleries Director from her exhibition essay, “RAPT.”
ABOUT PITZER ART GALLERIES?
Pitzer Art Galleries exists to provide visually arresting and memorable exhibitions that promote the value and understanding of contemporary art within a local, national and international context. The Galleries are comprised of two sites, the Nichols Gallery—committed to solo and group exhibitions by national and international artists both emerging and established—and the Lenzner Family Art Gallery—a space for risk and experimentation dedicated to emerging artists working in all media. Through curatorial creativity and visionary programming Pitzer Art Galleries seeks to provide context, support and a critical framework for artists and curators working today and by doing so inspire meaningful dialogue that fascinates, inspires and invigorates. For more information, visit Pitzer Art Galleries.??
ABOUT PITZER COLLEGE?
Pitzer College is a nationally top ranked undergraduate college of the liberal arts and sciences. A member of The Claremont Colleges, Pitzer offers a distinctive approach to a liberal education by linking intellectual inquiry with interdisciplinary studies, culturalimmersion, social responsibility and community involvement.
Narrowcast: Reframing Global Video 1986/2008 and Resolution 3 are made possible through the generous support of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the Getty Foundation, Intercollegiate Media Studies at The Claremont Colleges, Pitzer College (Pitzer Campus Galleries, Frederick J. Salathé Fund, Pitzer Summer Research Assistantship, Scripps Humanities Institute, and Side Street Projects. ??
Additional support for LACE and its programs comes from The James Irvine Foundation, Jockey Hollow Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Morris Family Foundation, Peter Norton Family Foundation, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. the Pasadena Art Alliance, Stone Brewing Co., and the members of LACE.
– See more at: http://www.welcometolace.org/exhibitions/view/narrowcast-reframing-global-video-19862008/#sthash.lnf69SZj.dpuf
