William Smith, Untitled, 2009, charcoal,
courtesy Schmidt Dean Gallery, PA
Joseph Smolinski, Air Lift, 2008. Courtesy artist and Mixed Greens, NYC
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Beam, Board, Breath: An Investigation of Trees
The Center, Ketchum
Jul 9–Sep 3, 2010
Trees are an essential part of our human experience. Not only do they provide oxygen for our lungs but their byproduct, wood, is critical for multiple commodities from paper to furniture. Trees are used for fuel and shelter by all sorts of species. They also offer shade and solace. They are ubiquitous, but each of us can locate a special tree that marks a moment, a place, a memory. As we become increasingly conscious of our relationship to nature and our physical environment, many contemporary artists have turned their attention to trees. Board, Beam, Breath brings together six artists who investigate different aspects of trees—silhouette and memory, the possibility of a looming environmental crisis, the relationship between trees, technology and an artificial “nature,” or the role of the tree as a symbol of endurance and growth.
This exhibition is part of a valleywide celebration of trees presented by the Sun Valley Center for the Arts in the summer of 2010 that will include visual arts exhibitions and outdoor installations in Ketchum and in Hailey.
Participating artists:
Paul Bergeron
Jason Middlebrook
William Smith
Joseph Smolinski
Jennifer Steinkamp
Mary Temple
Special Evening Gallery Tours
Thu, Jul 15 and Thu, Aug 19, 5:30pm, free
Enjoy a glass of wine while you tour Beam, Board, Breath with The Center’s curators and docents.
Free Exhibition Tours
Tue, Jul 27, 2pm and by arrangement
Trained docents offer new insight into the artwork on display in free tours of our exhibitions.
Gallery Walks
Fri, Aug 6 and Fri, Sep 3, 5–8pm, free
Join us for drinks and appetizers as you view Beam, Board, Breath.
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 Center Piece, installed in Ketchum, July 2010 |
Patrick Dougherty - An Installation on The Center Lot, Ketchum
July 2010 - January 2011
While Patrick Dougherty’s pieces have a similar feel and style, they are always built and designed in response to the particularities of the location where the work is to be placed. Sometimes he responds to architectural or physical elements that are already present—columns on the façade of a building or large trees on the property. In the case of the work that he built for The Center, the site was an open, flat lot, without any recognizable elements except the expectation that in the future the Sun Valley Center for the Arts would utilize the space for a new building. He latched on to the idea of a new arts facility and in choosing what to build, conceived of the three round rooms as three new gallery spaces that connect with one another, just as rooms in a museum are linked to one another. His title for the work, Center Piece, carries the metaphor further as art works are often referenced as “pieces”.
Additionally, Dougherty always uses local materials for his sculptures. Not only does it make sense to collect materials from the locale where the work is to be executed but Patrick also wants the process of building the piece and the final product to help people reconnect with their environment, asking folks to recognize and reconsider the plants that are around them every day. One of the things many folks have commented on with Center Piece is the sweet, woody smell that emanates from the cut willow. All the materials for this work were harvested from land just south of Bellevue. See Patrick Dougherty's website www.stickwork.net
Lecture by installation artist Patrick Dougherty
Wed, Jul 14, 5:30pm, free
The Center, Ketchum
Combining his carpentry skills with his love of nature, Patrick Dougherty began to learn primitive techniques of building and to experiment with tree saplings as construction material. Beginning about 1980 with small works fashioned in his backyard, he quickly moved from single pieces on conventional pedestals to monumental site-specific installations that require sticks by the truckload. To date he has built more than 200 such massive sculptures all over the world. His home base is his handmade log house in Chapel Hill, N.C., where he lives with his wife and son. He will be creating a site-specific installation on The Center’s lot across the street from the Ketchum post office on 2nd Avenue.
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Timber! An Open Exhibition
The Center, Hailey
Jul 1–Sep 10
Presented by Sun Valley Center for the Arts and the Hailey Arts Commission. Part of the City of Hailey’s “Month of Art”
In conjunction with the Sun Valley Center for the Arts’ Ketchum exhibition Beam, Board, Breath: An Investigation of Trees, the Sun Valley Center for the Arts and the Hailey Arts Commission present an open exhibition, Timber!, at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Hailey. Idaho photographers, illustrators, painters and printmakers will present their interpretations of the trees that inhabit our landscape, our community and our neighborhoods. The exhibition will also feature a temporary, outdoor installation incorporating the trees on The Center’s Hailey property.
Opening Celebration
Thu, Jul 1, 5:30–7pm
The Center, Hailey
Join us for drinks and appetizers to celebrate local artists and kick off the City of Hailey’s “Month of Art.”
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Jan Aronson, Water Series #11,
2008 |
Water
Sep 13-Nov 5
Life source, rejuvenator, destroyer, purifier. Water is vital to all life. Its abundance in parts of the world and scarcity in others is rapidly making it the world’s most important commodity.
For those of us who live in the American West water plays a role in every aspect of our economic and social life. Communities have long been settled near the source. Traditional industries from ranching to agriculture to mineral extraction are dependent on water. As the West shifts toward economies based on tourism, water and the places where it presents itself shape destinations. Recreational activities—boating, fishing, skiing, golf, hiking—all rely on water. Water in its winter form drives and shapes the foundation of our life in the Wood River Valley. Without snow our community would be quite different. Many contemporary artists are investigating their own feelings and ideas about water: some exploring its beauty, some its power, others its transformational qualities.
Visual Arts, Ketchum
Each artist has been selected to convey some sensation or idea that is universal about our relationship to this essential juice. Jan Aronson’s precise and considerate drawings of water speak to its rhythm, its visual patterns and its meditative qualities. Megan Murphy’s drawings are studies of water, place, and the West. Each piece is printed with a photograph of Silver Creek’s water and layered with transfer lettering. The text reflects on the environmental problems happening in the water. A list of the chemicals, golf courses, household water usage, and warming global temperatures are interwoven with the stories, history, and irony that Silver Creek represents. Kate Bright is a contemporary British artist whose paintings on water capture the wonder of this resource that holds many different forms from sparkling nodules of snow to sheets of liquid glass. Anne Neely’s colorful paintings focus on water as a powerful source above and below the earth’s surface. Her layered images speak to the flowing layers that move unseen underground in aquifers and lakes. She uses water to emphasize how natural systems define place. Dawn DeDeaux made her watermark and mold sculptures in response to the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina. DeDeaux’s sculptures are elegant but powerful reminders of water’s fury and a community’s loss. Basia Irland focuses on the ecology of water. For this exhibition, she has created an installation and a project, A Gathering of Seeds; Big Wood River, Idaho, in which valley residents are invited to make clay fish embedded with native riparian seeds that will be released into the Big Wood River at the end of the exhibition.
Teen Workshop on Water
Sat, Sep 11, 12-4pm
The Center. Ketchum
$10 pre-registration required
See description in Class section
Special Evening Exhibition Tours
Thu, Sep 23 and Thu, Oct 7, 5:30pm
Enjoy a glass of wine while you tour Water with The Center’s curators and gallery guides.
Free Exhibition Tour
Tue, Sep 28, 2pm and by arrangement
Trained gallery guides offer new insight into the artwork on display in free tours of our exhibitions.
Favor de llamar al Centro de las Artes para arreglar visitas guiadas en español.
Gallery Walk
Fri, Oct 8, 5-8pm
Join us for drinks and appetizers and make a clay fish to contribute to Basia Irland’s installation for Water.
Family Day: Water
Sat, Oct 23, 3-5pm
Free at The Center, Ketchum
Concert & Residency:
Sam Lardner & Barcelona
as part of the multidisciplinary project Water
Friday, October 29, 6:30pm
NexStage Theatre, Ketchum
See description under Performing Arts Series
Lecture: Maude Barlow
As a part of the multidisciplinary project Water
Thu, Nov 4, 6:30pm
Church of the Big Wood, Ketchum
See description under Lecture Series
Closing Ceremony: A Gathering of Seeds; Big Wood River, Idaho
Sat, Nov 6, 10am
The Center, Ketchum
Join us for a closing ceremony for Water. Artist Basia Irland will speak about her project and then guide participants as we release clay fish embedded with native riparian seeds into the Big Wood River. Made by Wood River Valley residents during the course of the exhibition, these fish will help restore plant life along the river’s banks. Irland will also release ice books, carved books containing text written with seeds, into the river as part of a celebration of the Big Wood River and its importance to our valley. Coffee, juice and pastries will be served.
Source/Resource: Ranching and Water in the West
The Center, Hailey
September 17 – November 12
Source/Resource pairs Ben Ditto’s photographs of water usage on 21st-century ranches in Utah and Nevada with photos drawn from the archives of the Idaho State Historical Society of 20th-century ranching and irrigation in Idaho. The exhibition explores the vital role water plays in sustaining ranching in the West and the way water has been managed as a resource over the last century.
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Cosmic: Artists Consider Astronomy
Nov 12, 2010 – Jan 7, 2011
For millennia, we have looked to the night skies seeking answers to questions about our origins and our futures. Astronomers use enormous telescopes, one even orbiting the Earth, to peer ever deeper into space. They literally look into the past as they attempt to explain the beginnings of our universe. Scientists broadcast signals into space as part of a search for life on other planets. Astrologers chart the paths of constellations in order to make predictions about our lives. In the past, the appearance of comets, eclipses and particular stars triggered anxiety, wonder, and religious interpretation. We look to the stars for a reflection of ourselves. This multidisciplinary project explores the human fascination with the cosmos and the way our relationship to the stars has shifted as we our knowledge of the universe has grown through visual arts, lectures and classes.
Visual Arts - Ketchum
A visual arts exhibition features work by artists who consider both the poetic and scientific aspects of the human relationship to astronomy.
Charles Lindsay will transform The Center’s Project Room through an installation that combines light panels, sound and sculpture in the creation of an alternate universe, both macrocosmic and microcosmic in scope. Lindsay has invented a carbon-based camera-less photographic technique that results in images that seem to be views both into distant galaxies and through the lens of an electron microscope. A sculptural component incorporating a fluorescent mineral collected in Greenland hints at our planet’s connection to the universe around it. Lindsay is motivated by questions about the origins of life and what it might look or sound like elsewhere in our galaxy.
Anna Von Mertens has made a series of quilts that chart the rotation of the stars at particular moments in history. She uses a computer program, Starry Night, to pinpoint the exact location of stars from a particular vantage point on a given date in the past, and then stitches these stars’ paths onto huge panels of hand dyed cotton. Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!, for example, traces the paths of stars at sunset on January 24, 1848, as seen from Sutter’s Mill, Coloma, California. Her work bridges the gap between the domestic and the high-tech, blending handicraft with historical research.
Like von Mertens, Matthew Cusick grounds his work in deep historical research. His paintings explore the intersections between history, capitalism, war and religion. Cusick often paints over layers of materials related to the ideas at the heart of his work: maps, textbooks, novels. A recent series of paintings, Constellations, charts the night skies on top of the collaged pages of illustrated bibles, their images of suffering and epic battles subtly visible under a layer of sumi ink.
Russell Crotty makes ink drawings of the night skies based on his own observations as an amateur astronomer. He often draws on globes, reversing our notion of plant and sky, creating small models of the universe contained in a sphere.
Painter Lee Mullican spent his career depicting, as he put it, “inner-space, outer-space. … I found a new planet and there were galaxies to explore.” Influenced by the ideas of Gordon Onslow Ford and Wolfgang Paalen, with whom he formed the Dynaton group in San Francisco in the 1950s, he created luminous and highly textured paintings that both literally depicted his interpretations of the cosmos, as in Space, 1951, and conveyed his interest in the spiritual and metaphysical possibilities inherent in the universe.
Gordon Onslow Ford, a mentor to Mullican during their Dynaton period and a participant in Andre Breton’s surrealist group in Paris in the 1930s, spent much of his career painting the cosmos in a desire to link outer space to what he referred to as the “inner worlds.” Over the course of several decades he produced a series of paintings, Voyagers in Space, that gave an astronomical context to the human exploration of consciousness. Onslow Ford’s paintings, as well as Mullican’s, offer an artistic approach to the cosmic before the establishment of NASA and the beginnings of governmental space exploration programs.
Opening Celebration and Membership Party
The Center, Ketchum
Fri, Nov 12, 5:30-7pm
Join us for our annual membership party and the opening celebration for Cosmic. Artist Charlie Lindsay will speak about his work at 6pm.
Teen Workshop for Cosmic
Sat, Nov 13, 12-4pm
The Center, Hailey - $10 pre-registration required
See description under Classes.
Lecture: Neil deGrasse Tyson,
as a part of the multidisciplinary project Cosmic
Thu, Nov 17, 6:30pm
Church of the Big Wood, Ketchum
See description under Lecture Series.
Gallery Walks
Fri, Nov 26 and Fri, Dec 29, 5-8pm, free
Join us for drinks and appetizers as you view Cosmic. Artist Charlie Lindsay will attend the Dec 29 Gallery Walk and will speak about his work at 6pm.
Special Evening Gallery Tour
Thu, Dec 2, 5:30pm, free
Enjoy a glass of wine while you tour Cosmic with The Center’s curators and gallery guides.
Family Day for Cosmic
Sat, Dec 4, 3-5pm
Free at The Center, Hailey
See description under Classes.
Star Gazing with Chris Anderson
Thurs, Dec 9, 6-8pm
The Center, Hailey • $20 / $25
See description under Classes
Free Exhibition Tours
Tue, Dec 28, 2pm and by arrangement
Trained gallery guides offer insight into artwork on display in free tours of our exhibitions.
Favor de llamar al Centro de las Artes para arreglar visitas guiadas en español.
Visual Arts - Hailey
Astronomical: An Installation by Jennifer Wood
The Center, Hailey
Nov 19, 2010-Jan 14, 2011
Boise-based artist Jennifer Wood will transform The Center, Hailey through an installation focused on astronomy.
Opening Celebration
The Center, Hailey
Fri, Nov 19, 5:30-7pm
Join us for drinks and appetizers as we celebrate the opening of Jennifer Wood’s Astronomical! The artist will speak about her project at 6pm.
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2010
Helen Loggie, Mt. Rainier from Fairy Pool, 1942. Collection of Western Gallery, Western Washington Univ., Gift of Robert Frazier, 1991.2.05
Cat Clifford, Tug with Barge, 2006. Courtesy the artist and Howard House Contemporary Art, Seattle
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Northwest Artists Draw
May 7–July 3, 2010
Drawing has long been viewed as a secondary art form. In the past artists often limited their drawings to studies or sketches made in preparation for paintings. For painters, drawing was a kind of practice—a way to work out ideas and skills without committing paint to canvas. Recently, though, artists have begun to re-evaluate drawing as an artistic medium, making drawings that are unique artworks in and of themselves. This exhibition features drawings made by artists living and working in the Northwest, where a return to drawing seems to be particularly prevalent. Also included are works by Helen Loggie (1895–1976), for whom drawing was a vital artistic medium throughout her career. All the artists in the exhibition share an aesthetic common in the Northwest that is rooted in craft and in the importance of creating handmade objects. Most are in some way engaged with depicting the natural world. Many of us who live in the Northwest share a sense that nature has a significance in our daily lives it might not if we lived elsewhere. The drawings in this exhibition reflect that notion.
Participating artists:
Michael Brophy
Cat Clifford
Eben Goff
Helen Loggie
D. E. May
Special Evening Gallery Tours
Thu, May 20 and Thu, Jun 24, 5:30pm
The Center, Ketchum, Free
Enjoy a glass of wine while you tour Northwest Artists Draw with The Center’s curators and docents.
Gallery Walks
Sat, May 29 and Fri, Jul 2, 5–8pm
The Center, Ketchum, Free
Join us for drinks and appetizers as you view Northwest Artists Draw.
Free Exhibition Tours
Tue, Jun 15, 2pm and by arrangement
The Center, Ketchum
Trained docents offer new insight into the artwork on display in free tours of our exhibitions.
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Paul Shambroom, Level A HAZMAT suit, aluminized, 2004. Courtesy of the artist and Stephen Wirtz Gallery, San Francisco
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I Spy: Surveillance and Security
Feb 26-April 30, 2010
The U.S. government has formally been in the surveillance business for at least a century (the FBI was founded in 1908). September 11, 2001 changed the tone and nature of that business as the country’s long-held assumption of safety was threatened. The U.S. government now has unprecedented access into our private lives. Whether we are stopped at a red light, checking out a book at the library or talking on the phone, we know the government might be tracking us, either passively or actively. When we withdraw money from an ATM or shop for groceries, we are on camera. The flip side of surveillance, of course, is security. Surveillance cameras play an increasingly significant role in solving crimes. And since 2001 the government has told us that increased surveillance is necessary to guarantee our safety. Patriotism in the United States has long been linked to our nation’s strong civil liberties, but some of those liberties may be compromised to ensure our collective safety. Some believe that protection of those liberties should no longer be so fiercely held, arguing if you’re not doing anything
wrong, why do you care if the government is listening and watching? How has the increased governmental and corporate intrusion into our lives shaped our assumptions about what is private and what is public? How has it changed our behavior? What effect has the Internet had on our feelings about surveillance? Does the boom in social networking sites like Facebook signal that privacy is a thing of the past? Are we really more secure now than we were 10 years ago? This multidisciplinary project will explore these questions in an effort to get audiences talking and thinking about the role surveillance plays in their own lives and communities.
Participating Artists:
Deborah Aschheim
Trevor Paglen
Paul Shambroom
Hasan Elahi
LECTURES & CLASSES
Lecture by Frederick Lane II
Wed, Mar 10, 7pm
Lecture by John Lehman
Thu, Apr 1, 7pm
Family Day
Sat, Apr 24, 3–5pm
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Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, From the series An Indian from India, Traditional American Indian Mother and Child / Contemporary Indian American Mother and Step-Child, 2001. Courtesy of the artist and sepiaEYE, New York
Baseera Khan, No Shadow, No Fear, 2009. Courtesy of the artist and Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco, New York
Gauri Gill, Woman worker at Sunsweet prune packing factory, Yuba City, California, 2002. Courtesy of the artist and Bose Pacia, New York
Sutapa Biswas, Magnesium Bird, 2004, still from video. Courtesy of the artist
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Outside In: Indian Art Abroad
Fri, Dec 18 – Sat, Feb 20, 2010
In the past decade, India has occupied an increasingly important place in the American imagination. The boom in the Indian economy, its role as a global leader in technology, controversy surrounding U.S. outsourcing to India and the complex political relationship between India and Pakistan have all given the nation a prominent role in U.S. newspapers and newscasts. Simultaneously, India’s literature, films and visual arts have enjoyed ever-growing popularity among audiences around the world. This multidisciplinary project explores the arts of India through the lens of Indian artists, writers and filmmakers living and working outside India. The project focuses on
the intersection between Indian and Western traditions within the lives of the members of the South Asian diaspora—the cultural clashes as well as the syntheses that occur
when one moves between traditions and geographies. What does it mean to be Indian when living outside India?
Participating Artists:
Sutapa Biswas
Gauri Gill
Baseera Khan
Annu Palakunnathu Matthew
The exhibition also features a small exhibition organized by the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena exploring the role of the Hindu god Ganesha, the Remover of Obstacles, in contemporary Indian society. Artworks range from centuries-old sculptures to contemporary photographs and a video made at a festival honoring the god.
This exhibition has been generously sponsored by The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
Brown Bag Lunch on Meditation, Yoga & Ayurvedic Healing
Fri, Jan 8, 12-1
Teen Workshop - Henna Tattoos • Sat, Jan 9, 10-1
Ragamala Dance • Fri, Jan 15, 7:30pm
Indian Cooking with Gay Bawa Odmark • Sun, Jan 24
Bollywood Film Night • Thu, Jan 28
Family Day - Sari Tying, Dance, Folklore and printmaking! • Sat, Jan 30, 3–5pm
Salman Rushdie • Thu, Feb 11 - POSTPONED until September 10, 2010
Special Evening Artist Talk with Gay Bawa Odmark in Hailey • Thu, Mar 4, 5:30pm
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2009
Andre Yi, Nevadaville, 2006. Courtesy Andre Yi
Sebastiao Salgado, AThree Coal Miners - India, 1989, courtesy Yancey Richardson Gallery
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PROSPECTS: AN EXPLORATION OF MINING
October 9-December 11, 2009
This multidisciplinary project will examine mining's history as well as its controversial present through lectures, visual arts exhibitions and films.
Mining is an essential part of the story of the Wood River Valley. Beginning in the 1860s, prospectors arrived in the valley in search of silver, galena and gold. The towns of Bellevue, Hailey and Ketchum sprang up to serve an influx of immigrants who came from Ireland, Wales, Germany and China to work the mines. Although eventually replaced by the sheep industry and later tourism, the long-term impact of mining on the valley continues to resonate.
FILM: Red Gold
Wed, Oct 22, 7pm
Join us for a film on the effects of the Pebble Mine in Alaska.
CLASS / FIELD TRIP: Exploring the Mines of the Wood River Valley with Tom Blanchard
Sat, Oct 24
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Helen Lundeberg, Blue Planet, 1965. © Feitelson Arts Foundation, reproduced by permission of Louis Stern Fine Arts, West Hollywood
Mary Henry, A Kind of Blue, 2002, courtesy of Howard House Contemporary Art, Seattle
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MODERN PARALLELS:
The Paintings of Mary Henry and Helen Lundeberg
August 14-October 2, 2009
The Center, Ketchum
Click here to view a video on Plum TV as Courtney Gilbert, Curator of Visual Arts at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, takes us inside this new exhibition.
See photos of this show installed in the gallery space
Born in California within five years of each other, painters Mary Henry (1913-2009) and Helen Lundeberg (1908-1999) each had lengthy artistic careers. During the decades they were active as artists, their careers converged and diverged in striking ways. This exhibition will trace the trajectories of these two women from their early works to those made in the later decades of their lives.
Lecture
Mary Henry and Helen Lundeberg: Women Artists and Modernism in the United States
Thu, Sep 17, 7pm
Join us for two short lectures on different aspects of the exhibition. Kristin Poole, The Center’s Artistic Director, will give a talk on the history of women artists in 20th-century America, locating the work of Henry and Lundeberg within this broader context. Courtney Gilbert, The Center’s Curator of Visual Arts, will trace the history of geometric abstraction from Russian Constructivism in the 1920s to Op-Art in the 1960s.
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Jim Dow, The Bobbisox Drive In, ND 40, Tioga, ND, 2004
Brittany Powell, Mini Mart (detail), 2003
(Hill) Walker Evans, printed by Marston Hill Editions, Roadside Stand near Birmingham, 1936
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The Rural Vernacular
June 5–Aug 8
The Center, Ketchum
See the Plum video on The Rural Vernacular
“Rural” implies remote places, places where there is more land than people. “Vernacular” typically describes the commonplace or ordinary as it pertains to language, but the word can also mean related to a particular place. This exhibition is about the places that are usually overlooked or dismissed because they are in fact so ordinary. We present the work of artists who examine the life of Americans who live in the country, away from urban dominated culture. In presenting a body of work shot in the South during the Great Depression alongside more contemporary images, we explore what has and hasn’t changed about rural life in the United States.
Participating Artists:
Jim Dow
John Hill
Brittany Powell
This exhibition and related educational programs have been supported by Judith and Richard Smooke.
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Chris Binion Red Barn and others 2007
Geoff Krueger Day Work 1996
Julie Moos Monsanto Series CJ & Craig 2001
Michael Gregory Parts of the World #28 2000
Tracy Linder Gloves 2006-07
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Farming in the 21st Century
The Center, Ketchum
Mar 27–May 23, 2009
See a video about the exhibition on Plum TV
Multidisciplinary project overview:
Over the last decade many American farmers have changed their major crop production in response to the demand for corn, the basis of ethanol fuel. Simultaneously, there is a worldwide shortage of rice and corn—basic foods that are the centerpiece of much of the world’s diet. In the West, bestselling books have been written about the importance of living and eating sustainably. All over the country organic growers, farmers’ markets, subscription and small acreage farms are seeing a huge upsurge in participation as families look for ways to eat food grown and shipped locally.
As the world becomes sensitive to the carbon footprint of each citizen, the nature of agriculture is shifting. Today there is a movement away from corporate agriculture to tables laden with seasonal goods planted, produced and harvested by regional purveyors. This multidisciplinary will focus on the changing nature of Farming in the 21st century.
Participating Artists: Michael Gregory, Geoff Krueger, Julie Moos
Classes, a film, panel discussions and a free Family Day activity complement the Farming in the 21st Century exhibition.
Film: King Corn with producer/actor Curt Ellis
Thursday, March 26, 7 pm
Class:
Grow Better Vegetables
Thursday, April 9, 5:30–7:30 pm
Panel Discussion:
Idaho Farming Today with local growers
Thursday, April 16, 7 pm
Trip: Hagerman Valley Greenhouse Tour presented by Idaho’s Bounty Co-op
Saturday, April 18, 1–7pm, $10
Teen Workshop:
Digital Photography with Dev Khalsa
Saturday, April 18, 10 am–4 pm
Family Day: Farming in the 21st Century
Saturday, May 2, 3–5 pm
Panel Discussion: Eating in the 21st Century presented by Community Rising
Thursday, May 21, 7 pm
Festival: Idaho's Bounty - Chef's Locavore Special
Six participating chefs worked with Idaho's Bounty food producers to create specials at their restaurants.
Closing Celebration for Farming in the 21st Century
Sat, May 23, 5:30–6:30pm
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Domestic LifeExhibition at The Center, Ketchum Fri, Jan 16 – Sat, Mar 21, 2009
The 1990s and early years of the 21st century saw an explosion of interest in the American home. Innumerable magazines, television programs and an ever-growing specialty retail industry sprang up to feed our desire to “nest”—to surround ourselves with beauty and comfort within the intimate yet isolated environment of our homes. The home became not only a refuge, but also a showplace of carefully crafted spaces designed to impress.
What is it about contemporary life that has driven this obsession with our domestic spaces? What is behind the desire to have kitchens equipped like restaurants and bathrooms outfitted like hotel suites? Is it an extension of rampant consumerism, fed by visions of the ideal portrayed in catalogs? Or an indicator of a deeper anxiety that leads us to seek comforts at home rather than venture out into a risky world? Perhaps this obsession stems from nostalgia for a time when life centered on the home instead of the pressing demands of jobs, school and extracurricular activities. How have the changing roles of women affected the home?
Jim Richard, Modern Circles, 2007 |
Julie Blackmon, Birds at Home, 2007 |
Lisa Solomon, Bed Drawing: A Bed in Green Grass, 2007 |
Martha Rosler, Runway, 1967-1972 |
María A. Lopez, Philadelphian House, 2004 |
Featured Artists:
Julie Blackmon
María A. López
Jim Richard
Martha Rosler
Lisa Solomon
Megan Wilson
LECTURES:
At Home with Gloria Steinem
Move Beyond “Green” in Your Home with Peggy Bates
Exploring Contemporary Feminism with Amy Richards
Getting Green Done with Auden Schendler
CLASSES
Family Day for Domestic Life
One Night Workshop Series for Domestic LifeIntroduction to Interior Design - Teen Workshop with Abbey Christensen
2008
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Dulce Pinzón, BERNABE MENDEZ from the State of Guerrero works as a professional window cleaner in New York. He sends 500 dollars a month, 2007. Photograph, courtesy of the artist.
Mark Newport, Argyleman, 2007. Courtesy the artist and Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle |
Superheroes & Secret Identities
Fri, Nov 7, 2008–Wed, Jan 7, 2009
See a video about this exhibition on PLUM
This multidisciplinary project explores our ongoing fascination with superheroes and secret identities. How do superheroes and secret identities help us express our fantasies? How do they help us combat our fears? If you could pick one super power, what would it be? Flight? Invisibility? Super speed or super strength? If you could design your online alter ego (known as an avatar), what qualities would it have?
America's obsession with the superhero dates to the late 1930s and early 1940s, when the comic book industry saw an explosion in readership and in new titles. In an era of uncertainty, comic books and superheroes offered readers an escape from the realities of the Great Depression and World War II, as well as the possibility of victory over evils of all kinds. The exhibition features a number of vintage comic books from this "Golden Age" of superheroes, dating from the 1940s to the 1960s. As recent Hollywood films illustrate, superheroes continue to fascinate in the 21st century and have inspired a number of contemporary artists. The exhibition features the work of three artists who approach the idea of the superhero from very different points of view.
Mark Newport knits superhero costumes to his own size. Hanging empty on the wall, these large disembodied costumes comment on traditional notions of masculine identity and our idealization of unattainable powers. He also photographs himself dressed in costume, prepared for disaster in mundane settings, and creates his own embroidered and illustrated comic book pages.
Dulce Pinzón photographs Mexican immigrants in popular U.S. and Mexican superhero costumes as they work at generally low-wage jobs. She captions each photo with a note about how much each worker sends home to his or her family each week, forcing us to reconsider our ideas of what a superhero really is. While super powers may be beyond our grasp in reality, the Internet has given all of us the chance to adopt alternate identities and extraordinary abilities in cyberspace.
Robbie Cooper has traveled the globe photographing computer gamers who spend hours each day in online worlds like Second Life and World of Warcraft. He pairs his photographs with images of these gamers' online avatars, offering provocative insight into the online world of fantasy role-play.
Comic Books
In the midst of the great depression, comic books offered readers an inexpensive form of entertainment and entrance into a world of fantasy. In 1938, a new kind of comic book emerged with the publication of Action Comics, no. 1, featuring Superman, a costumed hero with extraordinary powers and a mild-mannered everyday persona. An explosion in superhero comic books lasted through the 1940s. Superheroes took on not only super villains, but the Axis Powers of World War II – characters like Captain America fought Nazi soldiers in the pages of comic books while Allied soldiers battled them in Europe.
Events
Double Feature Superman and Superman II
Sat, Nov 8
See the original director's cut of the classic movies, starring Christopher Reeve, in one afternoon!
Lecture by author Michael Chabon
Tue, Dec 9 See lectures for more information on this author of The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Classes
Knitting Bee with Mark Newport
Thu, Nov 6
Teen Workshop: The Graphic Novel with Leslie Patricelli
Sat, Nov 15
Family Day with Leslie Patricelli
Sun, Nov 16
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Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Carter, Anna, and Daryl from The Garden of Delights, 1998, courtesy of the artist and Max Protetch Gallery, New York
Eugenics Tree, ca. 1925, Eugenics Record Office Records, American Philosophical Society
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Does DNA Define You?
August 22–October 31, 2008
See a video about this exhibition on PLUM
Is biology really destiny? Does our DNA contain clues not only to our hair color but also to our personality? The last half-century has seen an explosion in our knowledge of DNA, from its discovery in the 1950s to the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003. The more we learn about genetics, the more questions we have about the connection between our biology and our identity. Terms that once seemed the stuff of science fiction, like "designer babies" and "genetic engineering," have become part of our everyday language and have triggered a series of new ethical dilemmas regarding the degree to which we should be reconfiguring the fundamental building blocks of life.
This exhibition places these questions within a broad historic framework. Reproductions of historical artwork provide a glimpse into the relationship between biology and identity in earlier centuries. These include reproductions of 18th-century Mexican casta [caste] paintings. Typically made in series, casta paintings depict the theoretical results of racial intermixing in the Americas. The exhibition also features reproductions of photographs and diagrams from the American Eugenics Movement, which promised the improvement of the human race through selective reproduction or "the self direction of human evolution."
The relationship between identity and biology has been a source of creativity for contemporary artists as well. Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Dennis Ashbaugh and Jaq Chartier have all found artistic inspiration in the visual representation of DNA. Other artists, including Becky Howland and the artists who participated in Creative Time's DNAid: Deli Cups project, have made art that gently and humorously probes the complicated issues of genomics, cloning and reproductive biotechnology.
Whether engaged with Enlightenment era theories of race, the pseudoscience of eugenics or contemporary genetic research, each of these artists demonstrates the connections between art and science. Their work shows that the two are not the separate realms we imagine, but instead inform and edify each other.
Participating Artists:
Becky Howland
Dennis Ashbaugh
Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle
Jaq Chartier
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Becky Howland, Same Apartment, Different Tenant, 1999-2000, courtesy of the artist
Buenaventura José Guiol, De español e india nace mestiza, ca. 1770-80, private collection, courtesy of the National Hispanic Cultural Center
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Events related to DNA exhibition
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BORN INTO BROTHELS
With Director and Producer Ross Kauffman
Wed, September 10, 7pm
Winner of the 2005 Academy Award for Best Picture, Born into Brothels is a documentary about the children who live in the red light district of Calcutta, where their mothers work as prostitutes. Zana Briski, a New York-based photographer, gives each of the children a camera and teaches them to look at the world with new eyes. The film traces their lives and their attempts to escape this world through photography, in the process bringing up questions about to what extent the children's caste and their heritage locks them into a way of life.
Director, producer, cinematographer Ross Kaufman will be on hand after the movie to talk about the making of the film, update what has happened to the children and answer questions. Born into Brothels has received over 40 awards, including the National Board of Review Best Documentary 2004, and the 2004 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award.
Lecture
Casta Painting: Race, Class and Sex in 18th c. Mexico by Courtney Gilbert
Tuesday, Oct 2, 7pm
At The Center, Ketchum, 7pm
Free of charge
In the 18th century, artists in the Spanish colony of New Spain (now Mexico) created an entirely new genre of painting: casta [caste] painting. Depicting the results of racial mixing in the Americas, these paintings presented a man and a woman of different racial groups with their offspring, of a third racial category. The racial labels used in the paintings paralleled a complex caste system the Spanish Empire tried to implement in order to maintain control over its colonies. This slide lecture will explore the intersection of race, class, and sexual mores within these canvases, which were the product of both an empire beginning to lose its grip on the Americas and a colony beginning to see itself as a unique nation.
Courtney Gilbert, The Center's Curator of Visual Arts, earned a Ph.D. in modern and Latin American art at the University of Chicago.
Family Day
Sun, Oct 5, 3-5pm
The Center, Hailey
Free
Come with your kids to explore infinite combinations. Genetically engineer your own hybrid sculpture.
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African American Lives Documentary Films
Tuesdays, Oct 7 and 14, 6pm
The Center, Ketchum
Free of charge
This groundbreaking PBS documentary series created by Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., profiles some of the most accomplished African Americans of our time using genealogy and DNA to trace their roots down through American history and back to Africa. Through a combination of science and storytelling the quintessential questions of heritage and the importance of knowing our past are explored. |
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Lecture by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
WEB DuBois and the Encyclopedia Africana
Thur, Oct 16, 7pm
Church of the Big Wood, Ketchum
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University, as well as director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. He is an influential cultural critic and author who recently hosted the PBS documentary series African American Lives which uses genealogy and DNA to trace the roots of influential African Americans down through American history and back to Africa.
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Birdwatch
June 20-August 16, 2008 See a video on this exhibition on PLUMBirds hold a special place within our imagining of the animal kingdom. Their capacity for flight appeals to many artists' desires to create worlds of fantasy and possibility that free us from the confines of everyday life. Perhaps it is not surprising then that the contemporary art world has seen a recent explosion of bird imagery. Birdwatch locates this renewed focus on birds within a broader historical context, tracing the way our view of birds has changed over time. The prints of John James Audubon, America's most famous painter of birds, represent a time when birds' diversity and beauty inspired elaborate systems of cataloguing and classifying. For Morris Graves, birds were an important means of exploring the natural world and held metaphorical and spiritual meaning. More recently, artists like Jacqueline Bishop, Justin Gibbens, Misako Inaoka, Rigo 23 and Kathryn Spence have used bird imagery as a means for speaking out on environmental issues and as a platform for a larger discussion of humankind's relationship to nature. Like Audubon and others before them, these contemporary artists find inspiration in birds' beauty at the same time that they see them as harbingers of the long-term consequences of our efforts to manipulate and control nature. Related Events:Rebirth: After the Castle Rock Fire
with Brian Sturges & Debbie Edgers Sturges Tue, Jul 8, 10am–4pm $70 members/$120 non-members Registration deadline: Tue, Jun 24 Spend the day observing the animals and plants that have started to return to the burn zone after last summer's fire. We will stop along the trail to draw the images that we see. Participants will come away with a bird and plant list as well as several sketches. There will be some moderate hiking with frequent stops along the way for observation and drawing. Birdwatch: Works by Kirsten FurlongThe Center, Hailey July 3–August 22, 2008
 Idaho TriennialApril 18 – June 11, 2008 See a video on the Triennial on PLUMOrganized by the Boise Art Museum, the Idaho Triennial has been an artistic tradition in Idaho since 1935. Every 3 years a different juror selects work by artists from around the state for this anticipated exhibition. This year's juror, Amy Pence-Brown, is also the Boise Art Museum's Associate Curator. After initially reviewing each submitting artist's work through slides, Pence-Brown spent five weeks driving throughout the state, visiting 71 artists' studios. She eventually narrowed this group down to 25 artists who are represented in the exhibition. The Sun Valley Center for the Arts is delighted to be able to present work by each of these 25 artists in a scaled down version of the Idaho Triennial. The exhibition represents some of the most innovative and thoughtful art being made in Idaho right now. Working in a wide variety of media, from painting and photography to bamboo and robotics, the artists in the exhibition address a range of subject matter with both local and universal relevance. Among the participants are two painters based in the Wood River Valley , David deVillier and Theodore Waddell.
The Seditious StitchFeb 15 – Apr 9, 2008 See the exhibition video on PLUMAn exhibition of sculpture and flat works by contemporary artists whose work in fiber challenges our traditional assumptions about the medium and its use. Sheila Hicks, Stephen Sollins and Hildur Bjarnadóttir use yarn or thread to create their art. Working from the notion that fiber has long been associated with the decorative, the domestic, and the feminine, these artists consciously use the medium to challenge those associations while also questioning the assumptions of late modernist painting and sculpture. The fiber pieces made by Sheila Hicks are more linked to architecture and sculpture than to weaving. Using a small, portable, framed loom, she experiments with materials, ideas, colors and form. Thirty-six of Hicks's miniatures, created over a span of some fifty years, are presented in the exhibition. These works speak as much to the history of modernist painting and design as they do to any other tradition. Hildur Bjarnadóttir learned to knit, sew and crochet as a young girl in Iceland. Comfortable with a variety of stitchery techniques, Bjarnadóttir uses her tremendous skill to turn traditional needlework on its head-the doily and tablecloth become experiments in modernism when she colors the white doily black with graphite and carefully embroiders a stain onto a white field, mimicking Jackson Pollock's splatters or Helen Frankenthaler's poured paint. Stephen Sollins dismantles and then reforms found pieces of embroidery, addressing ideas of nostalgia as well as distinctions between high and low art, representation and abstraction and women's work and men's. Sollins takes out each cross-stitch from discarded pieces of needlework, carefully counting the number of stitches in each thread color. He then matches the color and re-stitches squares of color into the middle area of the fabric. Images of flowers and curlicue patterns and nostalgic sayings about the home become ghosts in the fabric as Sollins moves the dialogue from decorative to mathematics, from traditional to contemporary, from domestic to fine art. In the Project Room, KetchumAlso on view at The Center is an installation by Hailey artist Stefanie Dash Marvel, whose career in textiles has spanned thirty years. Her weavings, installations and drawings have been exhibited across the United States and are included in collections from Sun Valley to Paris. For further information on this artist, visit her website. ClassesWeaving Workshop with Stefanie MarvelFeb 21–22 Fiber Series of 3 Classes with Becka RahnApr 3–5 Teen Workshop JapanamaniaApr 4 Just Weave It Family DayApr 6
2007
TRABAJO MEXICANO/MEXICAN WORKDec 14, 2007 – Feb 9, 2008 Video on the Exhibition with music from Perla BatallaVideo of Cheech Marin's visit with PLUM talking about his Chicano art collection In the past few years, immigration, particularly the immigration of undocumented workers from Mexico and other parts of Latin America, has once again become a hotbutton issue in the United States. The current controversy over immigration reform in the U.S. government illustrates the complexities surrounding the topic. We have long used terms such as "illegal aliens" or "undocumented workers" (each carrying its own political implications) to describe many of those who emigrate here from Mexico, but now other phrases are entering the discussion. As discourse surrounding labor and immigration has exploded into the national consciousness and Congress struggles to pass a new immigration policy, increasingly charged terms such as amnesty, guest workers, border fence, and Minutemen have come to define the way we think about these topics. This multidisciplinary project attempts to broaden the dialogue surrounding Mexican immigration and labor. We live in a valley with a growing population of Mexican descent. As lawmakers battle over the issue of immigration on a national level, the Mexican and Mexican-American artists in this exhibition will offer us all the opportunity to consider these questions as they relate to our local context. VISUAL ARTSTrabajo Mexicano/Mexican WorkThe Center, Ketchum Fri, Dec 14, 2006 – Sat, Feb 9, 2007 This exhibition will examine issues of labor and immigration through the lens of artwork made by Mexican and Mexican- American artists and will abandon the limiting vocabulary that dominates national debate. Working in a variety of media, the artists in this exhibition explore labor and immigration from specific points of view and force us to approach these issues with a new set of questions. How has NAFTA changed the labor market within Mexico? What is it like to grow up in the United States in a Spanish speaking family? What are the cultural disconnects and syntheses that emerge out of the process of immigration? What does it mean to label a person "illegal" or an "alien"? What kinds of jobs are undocumented workers finding? Why are people willing to risk their lives to enter this country? Three of Raúl Guerrero's paintings from his Las Indias series will serve as a historical preface to the exhibition. Each painting traces the route of a Spanish conquistador onto the body of a nude woman he reproduces from a painting Diego Velázquez made as the Spanish Empire was beginning to crumble. Guerrero comments on the relationship between immigration, power and wealth and reminds us that the first immigrants to the Americas were Europeans. Enrique Chagoya tackles the clash of cultures that results from immigration with humor and candor in his prints and books. He borrows equally from pre- Columbian traditions and contemporary popular culture in the creation of wildly complex narrative images. Using vinyl and recycled border guard uniforms, Margarita Cabrera makes sculptures of household appliances, Hummers (made in Mexico) and backpacks for border-crossers that highlight the challenges that Mexican workers face on both sides of the border. Ana Teresa Fernández makes photorealist paintings based on her performances of impossible labors (mopping the ocean, for example, or sweeping the beach) on the U.S./Mexico border in Tijuana. Celia Alvarez Muñoz draws on her memories of growing up in El Paso, Texas, in mixed-media work and photographs that explore the complications of moving back and forth between Spanish-speaking and English-speaking worlds. Luz María Sánchez creates installations using sound recordings, found clothing and personal items that capture the ambience of the U.S.-Mexico border at the same time that they comment on the harsh realities that potential border crossers face. Julio César Morales explores the "informal economy" of street vendors in Mexican-American communities in the U.S. with his vinyl cut-outs applied to the gallery walls. Retablos: Reinterpreting a TraditionThe Center, Hailey Wed, Dec 19, 2006–Fri, Feb 15, 2007 Boise-based painter Alma Gomez takes a tradition with long roots in Latin America, the retablo, and makes it contemporary. Often painted on small pieces of metal or wood panel, retablos are images of saints and Virgins made to thank them for miraculous events. Some of these paintings, known as ex-votos, include narratives of the miracles themselves. Gomez's exquisite and intimate paintings depict saints who hold personal meaning for her. Her larger works blend portraits of the women in her family with images of the Virgin of Guadalupe and pre-Columbian goddesses in explorations of her own Mexican-American heritage. The exhibition also features historic retablo paintings dating from the 18th century to the 1930s. CLASSFamily Day: Trabajo Mexicano/Mexican WorkSun, Jan 13, 3–5pm at The Center, Hailey LECTURECheech Marin on Chicano ArtTues, Jan 29, 7pm nexStage Theatre, Ketchum $10 members/$15 nonmembers While he is best known as one half of the hilarious duo Cheech and Chong, Marin is now gaining recognition as the owner of one of the world's largest collections of Chicano Art. He will discuss the unique contribution Chicano artists have made to American culture and fine art in his lecture and slide presentation. PERFORMING ARTSPerla Batalla in concertSat, Dec 15, 7:30pm A Family Concert with José-Luis OrozcoFri, Feb 1, 6:30pm Join us as José-Luis Orozco, children's author, songwriter, performer, and recording artist takes us on a fun musical journey through Latin American history, language and culture. He sings traditional Latin American songs as well as original compositions in English and Spanish. The whole family is invited to join him in singing, dancing and acting out songs on stage. Mr. Orozco's appearance in Hailey is a unique opportunity to see an icon of family entertainment in an intimate setting at the Liberty Theatre.
Lines in the Earth: Maps, Power and the ImaginationFri, Oct 5–Fri, Dec 7, 2007 The Center, Ketchum A surprising number of contemporary artists are making work that incorporates maps or cartography. Many use mapping to explore social, cultural and political geographies. Some use maps to rearrange the world; others use them to explore the way that maps reinforce political power. Still others use maps to create their own fictional worlds. This exhibition asks viewers to consider the ways artists have used maps as the basis for questioning the very order they impose. Jane Hammond makes delicate artworks that pair startlingly lifelike three-dimensional butterflies with maps of countries in South America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. She uses the butterflies to comment on precarious social and political situations as well as the possibility of flight and escape. Joyce Kozloff considers the relationship between maps and power in her work. Her Boys' Art series uses military maps as the background for hand-drawn and collaged embellishments, some taken from her son's childhood drawings of wars. Viewers are invited to enter Targets, a 9 x 9 foot wooden globe, where Kozloff has reproduced government agency maps of parts of the world that have been U.S. military "targets." Dan Mills offers an amusing set of proposals for U.S. acquisition of new territories in his US Future States series. In these drawings and paintings, Mills provides darkly humorous commentary on the role of maps in geopolitical strategy. Matthew Picton reverses the paradox that maps are two-dimensional representations of the world. He translates city road maps into delicate, painted Duralar sculptures that he pairs with layered transparency sheets that depict these same streets at different historical moments. Conceptual artist Santiago Sierra's performances investigate issues of race, class and politics. The video Position Exchange for Two Distinct, 30 Metre Volumes of Earth records a 2005 project in which Sierra arranged for two bulldozers to excavate holes of precisely the same size on either side of the South Korea/North Korea border, exchange the earth, and then fill the holes. Lordy Rodriguez makes meticulous ink drawings that use the visual language of topographical maps. He gives them vaguely geographical titles (Salt Flat Desert Valley or Barchan Dunes) but their lack of text and deeply abstract quality frustrate our desire to use them as maps. Nick Lamia also makes maps based on worlds that exist only in his mind. The intimate scale of his ink drawings (most are 7 x 6 inches) creates the sense that we are viewing new worlds either through a microscope or telescope. Lamia sees his maps as a metaphor for our desire to chart the unknown. Lines in the Earth: Journals by Bruce KremerFri, Oct 19–Fri, Dec 14, 2007 The Center, Hailey Open Wed–Fri, noon–5pm Opening Celebration Fri, Oct 19, 5:30–7pm Artist Bruce Kremer has spent years keeping journals of his daily life. He fills the pages of his journals with drawings, collaged images and notes to create visually dynamic records of his days. A Wood River Valley resident and world traveler, Kremer often includes fragments of maps (or sometimes draws his own maps) in his journals. Marked with handwritten notations, Kremer's journals are records of personal travels and memories at the same time that they are historical documents. Community Mapping ProjectHow can we use maps to learn more about our community? Artist and mapmaker Lize Mogel makes site-specific maps and inserts them into public places. Past projects resulted in maps posted on city bus shelters or painted into street intersections. She visited the Wood River Valley in September 2007 and worked with student and adult volunteers to produce Migration Map, which offers surprising insights into both human and animal migration patterns within the valley. Look for the Migration Map to show up in unexpected places around the valley and stop by The Center to learn more! LECTUREMiddle Easts: Mapping the Political Geography of a Troubled Region with Rob SatloffMon, Oct 15, 7pm As an expert and active player in Mideast policy, Dr. Satloff is uniquely qualified to discuss the ways in which the division and distribution of land have affected the people and nations of the Middle East. CLASSESTango Classes with Jenna Rohrbacher and Joe LeonardoFri- Sun, Oct 12-14 Family Day-MappingSun, Oct 21, 3–5pm at The Center, Ketchum, Free Teen Workshop-MappingSat, Nov 3, 2-4:30pm at The Center, Hailey, Free PERFORMING ARTSEnsemble Galilei and Neal Conan
First Person: Stories from the Edge of the WorldFri, Nov 16, 7:30pm at Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood, Ketchum
What We Keep: An Exhibition on Books and MemoryFri, Aug 3–Fri, Sep 28, 2007 Artist walk-through with Michele Oka Doner at 6pmIn this exhibition, three artists explore issues of memory, history and knowledge. Their works, which range from beautifully rendered paintings to library-like installations, prompt questions about how, why and what material we choose to keep as individuals, families and cultures. Combined, these artists offer questions about the continuity of human knowledge, the arbitrary nature of recordkeeping and the vulnerability of memory. We create words and texts, and then libraries and storehouses to hold items that may be cataloged but rarely referenced. What is this human impulse to record, collect and store? What do these items reveal about cultural values and our own humanity? Xiaoze Xie's luminous canvases tell a tale of neglect and decay. The meticulously painted images of newspapers and historic records found in libraries in his homeland, China, refer to the relationship between history and time-how time erodes and alters our memories of what has happened. Painted in extreme close-up or from odd angles, the images may at first appear to be landscapes or abstractions. Michele Oka Doner's piece explores the tension between past and current knowledge. Her installation is thick with historic materials on the flora and fauna of Florida, but palm fronds, skeletons, shells and stones are carefully placed among the books, which gives a sense that to disturb any of it is to disrupt the whole. The work leaves us wondering whether it is a natural history display or a reference desk. Do these worn books retain knowledge that is relevant? Accessible? Nina Katchadourian also rummages through libraries for inspiration for her Sorted Books series. In rearranging the bindings of books, she creates a new narrative that is unique but built on the foundation of already published and collected tomes. EXHIBITION AT THE CENTER, HaileySilver Lining:
Pass Mine Artists' BooksWed, Aug 8–Fri, Oct 13, 2007 Produced by the Idaho Center for the Book at Boise State University, Silver Lining: Pass Mine Artists' Books includes 10 handmade volumes inspired by historical materials from the Pass Mine, about 12 miles west of Hailey. The exhibition also features oil portraits of the Pass Mine owners, documents and artifacts from the mine and photographs of the mine and surrounding area. Part of the Pass Group lode mining claims (16 claims over approximately 200 acres in operation from 1879 to the 1930s), the Pass Mine shut down in 1899 following the death of Horace K. Thurber. A historical account asserts that his wife, Nancy, blamed the property for her husband's death and therefore decided to close the mine, which had produced lead, silver and zinc (galena). In 1994, the Pass Mining Company donated its land holdings and related historical materials to Boise State University, which sold the property in 2001. Each year from 2000 through 2006, graduate Book Arts students at BSU were asked to produce a bookwork incorporating Pass Mine materials. This exhibition contains a selection of those artists' books. Events related to the exhibition:Reading by Gregg OlsenThu, Sep 27, 7pm At The Center, Hailey Free of charge Gregg Olsen will discuss his book, The Deep Dark, which explores the human toll of Idaho 's worst disaster. On May 2, 1972, fire broke out in the Sunshine Mine in Kellogg, Idaho, killing 91. Olsen's book on this historical event is required reading for all Boise State University incoming freshmen. Cowboy Poetry Event-A Sense of PlaceTue, Sep 11, 7pm NexStage Theatre, Ketchum $10 members/$15 non-members World renowned cowboy poets Wally McRae and Paul Zarzyski will read their latest work and discuss how sense of place has affected their poetry and perspective. While here, the poets will be working closely with Silver Creek Alternative School students.
Profit & Loss
May 26 - July 27, 2007 The early years of the twenty-first century have seen some of the greatest corporate scandals in history, with thousands of workers out of jobs and savings and a growing divide between rich and poor in one of the most developed nations on Earth. Consumption of Western goods has proliferated throughout the world. The media direct us to buy, buy, buy, and we increasingly define "the good life" by the amount of stuff that we own. At the same time, a few corporate philanthropists have dedicated fortunes to solving problems such as the crisis in health care, poverty and global warming. This project seeks to promote civic dialogue about the issues of greed, excess, consumerism, corporate responsibility and the distribution of wealth. Visual arts exhibitions, film screenings and discussions with authors and philanthropists will look at current corporate practices and explore philanthropic and scholarly propositions for countering the effects of greed. FILM SCRENINGS Profit & Loss
Enron-The Smartest Guys in the Room (2004)Thu, Jun 7, 7pm Center Gallery, Ketchum Based on the best-selling book, this film is a multidimensional study of one of the biggest business scandals in American history, in which top executives from the seventh largest company in the country walked away with over one billion dollars while stockholders and employees were left with nothing. The film features corporate audio and visuals that reveal the colossal personal excesses of the Enron hierarchy. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)Thu, Jun 14, 7pm Hailey Classroom Willy Wonka announces that five lucky people will be given a tour of his factory and shown the secrets of candy making, after which one will win a lifetime supply of Wonka chocolate. Nobody wants the prize more than young Charlie, but his family is so poor that buying even one bar of chocolate is a treat. But Charlie, along with four odious other children, gets the chance of a lifetime to tour the factory. Along the way, mild disasters befall each of the children in turn as the audience (and Charlie) learn some not so subtle lessons about greed, gluttony and selfishness. This Oscar nominated version of Roald Dahl's story stars Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. LECTURES & DISCUSSIONS RELATED TO THE EXHIBITIONBarbara Ehrenreich
On Not Getting By in AmericaWed, Jun 20, 7pm $15 members/$20 nonmembers NexStage Theatre, Ketchum After listening to the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised a better life to anyone who worked, Ehrenreich wanted to find out how someone lives on $6 or $7 per hour. Ehrenreich documented her experiences working for minimum wage in her book Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America (2001), which spent months on the New York Times bestseller list and is now available in paperback. A reporter for the New York Times, Harper's and the Progressive, Ehrenreich is a contributing writer to Time magazine and has published 13 books. Giving in the 21st Century
Panel Discussion on PhilanthropyMon, Jul 9, 7pm Center Gallery, Ketchum As we move into the 21st century philanthropy is changing and has become a topic for public debate. Prosperity has resulted in a proliferation of foundations and the creation of new ways of giving. Microfinance and venture philanthropy have given birth to web-based organizations that make it possible for a school teacher in Oregon to provide stretchers to a hospital in Nepal or an artist in Wisconsin to provide a business loan to a shoemaker in Ecuador. Some of the nation's most successful entrepreneurs have taken their experience to the nonprofit sector, revolutionizing the philanthropic model. This panel of pioneers, including Matt Flannery of kiva.org, Rand Runco of Ten Friends, and Carol Lewis of Philanthropy Northwest, will offer insight into the new world of giving. Profit & Loss has been generously supported by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the Jeri L. Waxenberg Foundation and the Mitchell Wolfson Senior Foundation. This program has also been supported in part by a grant from the Idaho Humanities Council, a state-based program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. At THE CENTER, HAILEY -Down in the Valley: Recent Paintings by Aaron PearsonFri, Jun 1–Fri, Aug 3 Opening Reception Fri, Jun 1, 5:30–7pm Gallery hours in Hailey: Wednesdays through Fridays, 12-5 - open First Thursdays in summer until 7pm Artist Aaron Pearson depicts subject matter associated with traditional genres of painting: landscapes and figures. The paintings he creates, however, are anything but traditional images of places or people. Instead, they are layered abstractions that explore memory and its fallibility. Pearson is interested in the way memory filters images, allowing them to shift and to take on new shapes within the outlines of our minds. Pearson's small figurative paintings draw on the long tradition of religious icon painting-images of saints and Virgins. His faceless figures, which he creates through thin layers of paint, refer not to specific people, but to what he calls the "silhouetted ghosts of my present." His often much-larger landscape paintings are rooted in the landscapes of Idaho, where he spent his childhood. Like his figures, they don't represent specific views of places, but impressions of those places layered through time and memory. Born in California, Aaron Pearson grew up in the Wood River Valley. He currently lives and works in San Diego.
Off the Page
A multidisciplinary project on children's illustrationFri, Mar 23–Fri, May 18, 2007 Paintings and working sketches by Chris Raschka, R. Gregory Christie and Peter Sís, many from well-known stories, will be on display at The Center gallery in Ketchum. In addition, R. Gregory Christie will create an original mural at The Center as part of the exhibition. R. Gregory Christie received the Coretta Scott King Award for his very first illustrated book, The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children. His illustrations have been described as fantastic, poignant, emotional, and dramatic. His acrylic paintings are a compelling blend of realism and distortion. Without too much detail, he creates a world in each page. Often, Christie creates figures with huge and detailed heads, while the bodies are simple, limp attachments- immediately signaling to the reader that it is the internal world of his characters that is most important. Chris Raschka went from working on a crocodile farm in India to working in a home for handicapped children in St. Croix before beginning his career as an illustrator. In the years since, he has won both the New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book for Children and the Caldecott Award more than once. Publishers Weekly calls him "one of the most original illustrators at work today." His illustrations deal with subjects as wide ranging as jazz musician Thelonius Monk, table manners and the origin of a sardine. With a witty combination of masterful painting and whimsical imagery, he has written and illustrated more than 30 books and built a loyal following. MacArthur Fellows are selected for the "originality and creativity of their work and the potential to do more." Peter Sís received the award for his picture books for children, an incredible honor. His intricately drawn stories are elegant, detailed, and compelling to adults as well as children. Born in the Czech Republic, Sís came to the United States in 1984, and by 1986 he had won the Caldecott Award and established himself as a leading artist in the field of children's illustration. With more than 20 books published and numerous awards, he is internationally known for his distinct and elegant style. EXHIBITION AT THE CENTER, HAILEYWed, Mar 28–Fri, May 18 Leslie Patricelli 's small-scale images are big on color, with layers of acrylic paint that make her babies, binkies, and elephants pop off the page. Her board books for toddlers have earned her an admiring audience due to her charming imagery and familiar topics. Her books include Yummy YUCKY, BIG Little, and Quiet LOUD, and she is at work on her seventh and eighth books for Candlewick Press. In addition to exhibiting her work in Hailey, Patricelli will spend a week in the Wood River Valley teaching classes for families, teens and adults. STAGE THE PAGEAs part of Off the Page, Off Center Stage theater company will present Stage the Page, an exciting, interactive afternoon of creative writing, performance, improvisation and music. A valley-wide competition was held among Wood River Middle School students to find an original short story. Off Center Stage has chosen a story written by Dakota Barnes and from it, they've generated a theatrical version of this story and adapted it to the stage using sets, lights, costumes, a cast of 5 and the imaginations of all the children who attend. Don't miss this exciting opportunity to see how a story makes it from the page to the stage! The play will have its premiere on April 5, then on April 14 & 28, the play will be staged for the audience and then it will be followed by an interactive theater project for everyone called "Story on the Spot". "Story On The Spot" will give children a chance to experience the thrill of creating a story through verbal expression. With the gallery exhibition as a backdrop, children will act out a completely new story building on their collective imaginations. As the story is created, it will be recorded, printed and ready for each child to take home as a reminder of the creativity in all of us. Thu, Apr 5, 5:30–6:30pm Premiere of Stage the Page Suns, Apr 14 & 28, 3-4 Full Stage the Page event Part One, staged short story Part Two, Story on the Spot ARTIST VISIT & TALKR. Gregory Christie Thu, Mar 22, 7pm, Center Gallery, Ketchum As part of Off the Page, exhibiting artist R. Gregory Christie will travel to Sun Valley to create a one of a kind mural in The Center gallery. On Thu, Mar 22, visitors will have the unique opportunity to see the mural in process and hear from a world-renowned illustrator. Christie will speak about the process of illustrating a story, the relationship between image and text and the reason that he paints such big hands and skinny necks. CLASSESBecome an Illustrator with Lisa WhitworthMon–Fri, Mar 26–30, 9am–noon Spring break art class for ages 7–10 Project: Wood River Mural 2007 with Matt ConnorMon–Fri, Mar 26–30, 2–5pm Spring break art class for ages 11–16 Make a Book with Leslie PatricelliSat, Apr 21, 2–6pm Free teen workshop Free Family Day with Leslie PatricelliSun, Apr 22, 3–5pm A is for Apple with Leslie PatricelliMon & Tue, Apr 23 & 24, 9am–3pm Adult & teen class
Darfur / DarfurMarch 14-19, 2007 These events are being presented by Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Wood River Jewish Community, and Global Grassroots. Darfur/Darfur: Photography ExhibitionWednesday, March 14 - Monday, March 19 The Center Gallery, Fifth St. & Washington St., Ketchum This traveling exhibition of digitally projected photographs provides a profound visual glimpse into this rich, multicultural region while exposing viewers to the horrors of the ongoing humanitarian crisis. The exhibition includes photographs taken in Darfur by former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle and photojournalists Lynsey Addario, Mark Brecke, Helene Caux, Ron Haviv, Paolo Pellegrin, Ryan Spencer Reed and Michael Safdie. The exhibition was the vision of Leslie Thomas, the curator. Opening Reception and special performanceThursday, March 15, 5:00 - 6:30 pm During the opening, actress Bahni Turpin will perform a monologue written by playwright Winter Miller that portrays a Darfurian mother speaking to her child. An American Witness to Genocide in Darfur
Lecture/Slideshow by former U.S. Marine Captain Brian SteidleThursday, March 15, 7:00 pm NexStage Theatre, Main St., Ketchum Former Marine Captain Brian Steidle was one of only three Americans to serve as a military observer for the African Union in Darfur, Sudan. He will share his exclusive photographs from areas no journalist has been able to access and offer a riveting look at what he experienced on the frontlines: being fired upon and taken hostage, seeing villages of up to 20,000 burned to ashes, witnessing widespread and systematic atrocities and hearing heart-wrenching testimony from villagers. Literary Event with Brian Steidle and Gretchen Steidle WallaceFriday, March 16, 4:00 pm Community Library, Fourth St. & Spruce St., Ketchum Free of Charge Brian Steidle and Gretchen Steidle Wallace will be reading from their recently published book, The Devil Came on Horseback: Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur, published by PublicAffairs followed by a book signing. The Devil Came on Horseback: Documentary Film ScreeningSaturday, March 17, 5:00 pm NexStage Theatre, Main St., Ketchum This will be the first private screening of this amazing film since its debut at Sundance Film Festival in January. A documentary about Brian Steidle's experience in Darfur, The Devil Came on Horseback, produced by Break Thru Films in association with Global Grassroots and Three Generations, will have its first private showing in Sun Valley before launching a nationwide tour. The film exposes the violence and tragedy of the genocide in Darfur as seen through the eyes of a lone American witness. You can view a trailer of the film by visiting www.globalgrassroots.org and clicking on The Devil Came on Horseback box. The directors of the film, Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern will be in attendance in addition to Brian Steidle and Gretchen Steidle Wallace. The film screening is a benefit for Global Grassroots, a non-profit organization which offers social entrepreneurship training and seed funding for women's ideas for social change. Contributions from this screening will go to Global Grassroots both to support its work with genocide survivors in Africa, as well as for advocacy and outreach associated with the documentary film to raise awareness of the Darfur crisis. Gala Reception to Benefit Global GrassrootsSaturday, March 17, 7:00 pm Gail Severn Gallery, First Ave. & Fourth St., Ketchum A fundraising event to benefit Global Grassroots. Please visit their website for more information. Come meet Gretchen Steidle Wallace, founder of Global Grassroots, as well as Brian Steidle, the filmmakers, and a special speaker. We wish to thank the program sponsors of Darfur : A Call for Compassion: Mr. Edgar Bronfman, Kiril Sokoloff, Alan and Wendy Pesky, Richard and Judith Smooke, and Larry and Rebekah Helzel.
SUBVERSIVE MOVESA multifaceted visual arts project, Subversive Moves consists of an exhibition in Ketchum curated by local resident and former Los Angeles gallery owner Jeanne Meyers, an installation in Hailey by Seattle-based artist Matt Sellars and the Contemporary Arts Forum, a series of lectures by cutting-edge collectors and curators. EXHIBITION AT THE CENTER, KETCHUMSubversive Moves Fri, Jan 12–Fri, Mar 9, 2007 Opening celebration Fri, Jan 12, 5–7pm Artists' Walk-through, 6pm Docent tours every Tues at 2pm Should all art hang quietly on the wall? Can art be good and still be fun(ny)? How do you know if what you are looking at is art? The three artists in this exhibition answer such questions in surprising ways. They want their art to move you and you to move their art. Their work is complete only when the viewer participates in and activates the work by moving through/with/into it. Dominique Blain's maze, Something/Nothing, is a floating room that beckons the viewer to enter without knowing what awaits within. Blain's work asks questions such as: How do we participate in the world? How do we react when what we see defies expectation? Blain has made several public art pieces in Montreal, where she lives and works. She exhibits widely in North America and Europe. Paul Kos's piece, Memory Survives Silenced Tongues, transforms the viewer into the clapper in a bell. Based in San Francisco, Kos was recently the subject of a major retrospective, Everything Matters, at the Berkeley Art Museum and at the Grey Art Gallery at New York University. Camille Utterback's Untitled 6, from her "External Measures" series, plays (and encourages play) with a wall, a camera and a body. In the process she transforms the wall into a playground, a painting and a hybrid of the two. Her work engages participants in a dynamic process of kinesthetic discovery. Utterback lives in San Francisco and exhibits internationally. For Gallery Walks: The Center, It's the First Place to Be!Fri, Feb 16 & Fri, Mar 9, 5:30–6:30pm Join us for wine and hors d'oeuvres Open for Gallery Walk until 8pm CONCURRENT EXHIBITION AT THE CENTER, HAILEYCommon Soil: An installation by Matt SellarsFri, Jan 19–Fri, Mar 16 The Center, Hailey is open Wed-Fri, 12-5. Based in Seattle, sculptor Matt Sellars grew up in Spokane and in Idaho, where he watched barns and silos disintegrate as rural life began to change and small family farming declined. Common Soil consists of several small sculptures of these kinds of buildings as well as a large barn that hangs from the ceiling of the gallery. With many of its slats removed, the barn invites viewers to step inside and view the world through the gaps in its walls and to consider whether the structure is partially finished or in the process of decay. CONTEMPORARY ART FORUMA series of lectures on contemporary artJan 26, Feb 22, Mar 1 & Mar 8 Community Library, Ketchum-Free Why is so much of today's art so difficult to "get"? What's the point of making a work of art that's only temporary? Why is the scale so often monumental? Why do so many artists make work that you have to interact with? Designed to explore and explain contemporary art to the curious, this forum will offer an insider's look at the contemporary art scene. Three internationally respected curators and a voracious collector of cutting-edge contemporary art will provide perspective and experience, as well as some answers. Ruth Bloom
Collecting Contemporary Art: A Current History of CuriositiesFri, Jan 26, 7pm, Community Library, Ketchum This discussion is for the interested and curious novice, though even art world sophisticates are sure to learn a thing or two. Bloom will talk about finding your way into and through the most exciting, rich period of artmaking in world history. After a brief glimpse of art history and a discussion of the various movements of the past forty years, she'll speak about collecting, including how to approach dealers, how to look at art, which magazines to read, when and what and how to buy, and how to live with your purchases. She'll focus on the machinations of the art world players, where to fit in, and most of all, how to enjoy it! Ruth Bloom has been a public school teacher, arts educator and arts advocate for over 30 years. She is a collector and a former gallery owner who has helped develop major collections for corporations and private collectors. Regine Basha
Beyond the White Cube: Curating Outside the MuseumThu, Feb 22, 7pm, Community Library, Ketchum This presentation will outline some alternative ways of presenting contemporary artwork and producing site-specific projects with artists outside the traditional museum and gallery setting. The discussion will highlight experimental ideas and practices circulating in the curatorial field from the mid '90s until today. Regine Basha is an independent curator living and working in Austin, Texas. Her most recent exhibition is Cantata for Twelve Choirs and Several Salamanders: Daniel Bozhkov Recent Work at Arthouse at the Jones Center, Austin. Her essays on art have appeared in numerous exhibition catalogs and art journals. Mary Jane Jacob
An Everyday ArtThu, Mar 1, 7pm, Community Library, Ketchum While some people live with art at home, artists have also used the home as a location for artmaking in recent decades. Mary Jane Jacob will discuss home-based projects she has undertaken with artists. From works set in private domestic interiors to those in public view on city streets, this talk will look at projects that confront issues of home ownership and land redevelopment and seek to have a humanistic, ecological and artistic impact on the urban and rural scene. During her decades-long career, Mary Jane Jacobs has created more than 50 exhibitions and commissioned over 100 artists' projects. In the 1980s, as chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Jacob staged some of the first U.S. retrospectives of important American and European artists. She is currently Professor and Chair of Sculpture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Dan Cameron
Falling Forward: Risk and Responsibility in Presenting New ArtThu, Mar 8, 7pm, Community Library, Ketchum Rarely limiting themselves to a single medium, contemporary artists make and define art in multiple ways in order to challenge our understanding of our place in the world. Using innovative technologies, artists have blurred the boundaries between painting, sculpture, performance and installation, producing art that is both provocative and an agent for social change. As a result, some contemporary art is difficult not only to understand but even to approach. Cameron will address the problem of visual literacy and the challenges of looking at contemporary art, with special emphasis on presenting contemporary art to museum audiences. Dan Cameron has been professionally active as a curator and critic since 1980. An exhibition he curated in 1986, Art & Its Double, is today considered a high point in exhibitions of new American art in Europe. As Senior Curator at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City, he guided the museum to a program of new art that was global in scope. He is one of the most widely published art critics in the world and serves on the graduate teaching faculty of Columbia University, New York University and the School of Visual Arts.
2006Whose Nature? What's Nature?Oct 27, 2006 – Jan 5, 2007 Each of the photographers in this exhibition actively challenges traditional perceptions of landscape. Some make pictures of actual places; others create their own landscapes. David Maisel's and Emmet Gowin's aerial images are at first glance formal abstractions-that is, studies of line and color-but with closer viewing, they speak to man's manipulation and marking of the land. Anthony Hernandez's images of the Los Angeles River are startling illustrations of urbanites' interface with nature. Edward Burtynsky's gorgeous shots of industrial landscapes confront our notions of the sublime and the beautiful while simultaneously drawing attention to our insatiable appetite as consumers. Kim Keever and Noriko Furunishi create their own landscapes, posing the question of to whom the land belongs. In the Project Room, Kim Abeles combines sculpture, video and digital imagery to create an installation inspired by the issues surrounding the Sun Valley landscape. Using the metaphor of a child's nursery, Abeles explores the ways we indoctrinate our children into specific relationships with and approaches to nature. Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company World Premiere PerformanceSat, Nov 11, 7:30 pm Community Campus Auditorium, Hailey Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company fuses the power of theater and dance with its vivid and demanding style performed by prodigiously talented dancers. Stunning technical skill and complex artistry are the hallmarks of this maverick dance company. This evening's program will include the world premiere of a multimedia environmental piece commissioned by the Sun Valley Center for the Arts specifically for Whose Nature? What's Nature? Local dancers will join company members for this very special occasion. Support for the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company residency and performance is made possible in part through the Charles J. and Henrietta McDonald Winton Fund, the Idaho Commission on the Arts and the Western States Arts Federation and the National Endowment for the Arts. READINGS & LECTURESReading and Discussion with Terry Tempest WilliamsThu, Nov 16, 7pm Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood Free for members and Blaine County teachers / $10 non-members Terry Tempest Williams is a passionate advocate for public lands and a fierce voice for freedom of speech. She is best known for her book Refuge, in which she chronicles the rise of the Great Salt Lake along with her mother's diagnosis with cancer. She was named by Utne Reader as one of its "Utne 100 Visionaries," and Newsweek called her a "person most likely to have a social and political impact on the American West." She has testified twice before Congress regarding environmental links with cancer and is a strong proponent for America's wilderness. She is not only an extraordinary writer but also a crucial voice for social change and ecological consciousness. Garbage Land with Elizabeth RoyteThu, Nov 30, 7pm - Free at The Center, Ketchum Elizabeth Royte's meticulously researched and sometimes hilarious memoir, Garbage Land, follows the path of trash after it leaves our homes (and thoughts). Royte braids her experiences of interacting with sanitation workers, kayaking around a landfill and trying to navigate her way through the reality of recycling with the scientific facts about the production and treatment of trash in this compelling and sometimes disgusting story of a growing portion of the American landscape. Royte has written for the New York Times, Harper's, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Outside, and Smithsonian, as well as other national publications and several anthologies. From the Sublime to the Industrial: The Evolution of the Photographic LandscapeSlide lecture by Joel Snyder Thu, Dec 7, 7pm - Free at The Center, Ketchum This slide lecture will survey shifts in the way we conceive of and represent the landscape through the medium of photography, from 19th-century notions of the picturesque and the sublime to the documentary tradition in the 20 th century to the contemporary industrial and manipulated landscapes presented in Whose Nature? What's Nature? A renowned photography expert, Joel Snyder is Professor of Art History at the University of Chicago. He has written and lectured extensively on the history of photography and film and is co-editor of the journal Critical Inquiry.
ALBUM: Shifting Native Stories
A multidisciplinary ProjectAug 4–Oct 20, 2006 What does it means to be a Native American artist immersed in tradition yet also part of a larger artistic community? Through visual arts exhibitions, a musical performance, and readings by national and regional authors, this project will consider the interwoven issues of assimilation, identity, influence and innovation. Participating artists: Anne Appleby Marie Watt This exhibition is generously sponsored by the Paul G. Allen Charitable Foundation and Jeri L. Waxenberg. Murals in the Round, Lecture by Natalie LinnThu, Oct 5, 7pm Baskets of the Pacific Northwest were made during the renaissance of basket making between about 1860 and 1930. This lecture and slide show will focus on the history, knowledge and beauty of this American Indian art form with a close look at the Aleut and Tlingit works included in Album . Natalie Linn has written and lectured extensively on Native baskets and has served as a consultant to institutions and individuals for more than 30 years. Her expertise has earned her stints on Antiques Roadshow and clients including the Chicago Art Institute and the Field Museum of Natural History. Artist's Talk with Marie WattWed, Oct 18, 7pm Marie Watt's ability to subtly merge contemporary art practices with personal and political history is attracting national attention. Her private art making often spills out into the work she does on a community scale, in which she brings together disparate people, with different histories, to produce art together. EXHIBITION AT THE CENTER, HAILEYKeet H'it, Killer Whale HouseAug 9–Oct 27 Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Hailey Boise State University photography professor Larry McNeil presents a series of multimedia images that explore his own family's experience as Native citizens. With wit and humor, McNeil combines family memorabilia, photographs and his own artwork in narrative sheets that collectively reveal the complications of place, identity and heritage. Artist's Talk with Larry McNeilThu, Oct 25, 7pm The Center, Hailey McNeil, a member of the Tlingit and Nisga'a Nations, will talk about the evolution and craft of his work and how his Native identity has shaped his aesthetic. AUTHOR VISITSLouise ErdrichWed, Oct 11, 7pm NexStage Theater, Ketchum $10 non-members/free for members Louise Erdrich is one of the most gifted, prolific and challenging contemporary Native American novelists. Born in 1954, she grew up mostly in Wahpeton, North Dakota . Her fiction reflects aspects of her mixed heritage: German through her father, and French and Ojibwe through her mother. She is the author of the best-selling novels Love Medicine, The Beet Queen, Tracks and The Bingo Palace, as well as two collections of poetry, Jacklight and Baptism of Desire, and many other distinguished works of fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. She lives in Minnesota with her children, who help her run a small independent bookstore called BirchBark Books. Native Voices Panel: Writing as SurvivalWed, Oct 13, 7pm Community Library, Ketchum Louise Erdrich and Joy Harjo will talk about "Writing as Survival." Each of the writers will do a public reading and address the issue of contemporary storytelling. They will also work with area schoolchildren through The Center's after school program. PERFORMANCEPura FeSat, Sept 16, 7pm Liberty Theater, Hailey Founding member of the internationally renowned Native women's a capella trio, Ulali, Pura Fe is recognized for bringing contemporary Native voices to the forefront of mainstream music. A member of the Tuscarora Nation, she has performed with such musical luminaries as Neil Young, the Indigo Girls, Jackson Brown and Bonnie Raitt,. With her soulful voice and acoustic lap steel guitar, Pura Fe resurrects and elegantly restates the indigenous beginnings of the blues. CLASSESA Children's Northwest Indian Experience: Button Blankets with Sarah LyleSat, Aug 5, 2–5pm Ages 6–9 $35 members/$60 non-members Registration deadline: Fri, July 21 This workshop introduces children to life in a Northwest Coast Indian village. Students will explore customs of Alaskan natives through stories and by locating Alaska and the Northwest Coast on a map. Kids will design and create a "button blanket," a ceremonial robe used by the Northwest Indians during potlatches and other significant times, and attach a crest of an animal that's important to them. Contemporary ClothTeen Workshop with Marie Watt Thu, Oct 19, 10am–1pm, Hailey Contemporary artist Marie Watt, whose work will be featured in The Center's exhibition, Album: Shifting Native Stories, will work with teens to create a group project exploring textiles, storytelling and collaboration. Cedar Basket Makingwith Lisa Telford Fri & Sat, Oct 13 & 14, 10am–4pm $135 members/$185 non-members Supply fee: $40 Registration deadline: Thu, Sept 28 Lisa Telford is a Haida weaver originally from Ketchikan, Alaska, who has received numerous awards for her contemporary and traditional cedar baskets and garments. In this workshop, she will show students how to make a basket out of red cedar bark using plaiting, two and three strand twining and a two strand out ending. No experience is necessary-the instructor will adjust the project to your level, whether beginner or advanced. Family DaySun, Oct 15, 3-5pm This special family day will feature Haida weaver Lisa Telford. Lisa will demonstrate basket weaving and teach a simple weave using yarn and Dixie cups that families can use to create a strawberry or cockle shell design.
The Chair, ReconsideredJune 14–July 29, 2006 The Center Gallery, Ketchum – Free As a design object, the chair offers nearly endless possibilities for artists to experiment with material, structure, form, and functionality. This exhibition features work by artists who are more concerned with the idea of a chair than with crafting a piece of furniture. What makes a chair a chair? What happens if you break a chair down into its components-legs, seat and back-and rearrange them into a new sculptural form? The artists in this exhibition encourage us to reconsider this everyday object and to shift our assumptions about use, ritual and design. Jean Blackburn frequently takes apart household objects and rebuilds them with different configurations as objects to be seen, but not used. Courtney Smith cuts apart Brazilian antiques and reassembles them into blocks that have no fixed order, emphasizing European design precedents as well as bringing attention to the wood's color and grain. B. Wurtz has also disassembled a chair and "re-presents" it as both a painting and a piece of sculpture. Allan Wexler has made a 30-year career out of blurring the boundaries between art, architecture and design, constantly exploring how common objects can be experienced in new ways. Challis based furniture maker Don King examines the anthropomorphic characteristics of chairs in his "dysfunctional series." And the video installations of Richard Bloes address the interface between technology and art, sculpture and function, perspective and scale.
The Chair in PublicJune 28 – July 28, 2006 Opening celebration: Fri, June 30, 5:30 – 7pm The Center Gallery, Hailey An exhibition of proposed outdoor seating projects by local artists, architects, and citizens that complements The Chair, Reconsidered exhibition in Ketchum. Gallery hours in Hailey are noon to 6pm Wed – Fri. Family DaySun, July 30, 3 – 5pm Center classroom, Ketchum Come and explore the concept of a chair. Enjoy the exhibition, see how the artists have used the chair as inspiration for their work and create your own chair inspired artwork. Families will make a perspective drawing of a chair to collage into an environment you create.
THE ART OF TIBETMar 31–May 29, 2006 Nestled in the mountains of the Himalayas and presently under Chinese occupation, Tibet is one of the most idealized and romanticized areas in the world. The Sun Valley Center for the Arts' upcoming multidisciplinary project, The Art of Tibet, asks why the beauty of this remote landscape, the spirit of its people and the mystery of its religion have captured the hearts, minds and imaginations of individuals worldwide. The project includes an exhibition of historic Tibetan art alongside thematically related work by three contemporary artists, scholarly discussions by two leading Tibetan art and culture experts and a residency by Tibetan monks who will lecture, perform and create a sand mandala at The Center, Ketchum. "The goal of our unique multidisciplinary projects is to examine an idea in depth, and Tibet is the kind of incredibly rich topic that lends itself well to this approach," says Kristin Poole, The Center's Artistic Director. "You can grapple with the question of the West's fascination with Tibet, as Orville Schell will, or discuss Tibetan art and culture from an artistic and religious point of view, as Robert Thurman will. The musical performance of the Drepung Loseling monks is extraordinary, and we expect their sand mandala to pull the community together much the same way that the Dalai Lama's visit did last year." Poole notes that The Center developed its Tibet project before the Dalai Lama decided to visit the Wood River Valley, but added speakers as a result of the community's enthusiastic response to the Dalai Lama's visit. All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. VISUAL ARTS EXHIBITIONSAt The Center, Ketchum Mar 31–May 29 Tibetan art is one of the last great artistic traditions to become known in the West. Most of the artwork in this exhibition is inspired by Buddhism, a religion based on the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni, who was born about 2,500 years ago in what is now Nepal . Buddhism was officially introduced into Tibet in the seventh century after it had already expanded to include many schools of teaching. The objects exhibited in the gallery-all dating from the nineteenth century or earlier-include small figurative works in bronze, silver and bone; ceremonial and everyday objects; a group of beautifully patterned saddle blankets; and thankas (cloth paintings) and mandalas (circular paintings used as aids in meditation). Ten of the objects on display are on loan from the Pacific Asia Museum but were once in the collection of part-time Sun Valley resident Nancy King, a mountain climber and explorer who fell in love with Tibetan culture and collected art on her travels. After she died, her husband donated the collection to the Pacific Asia Museum . Ketchum-based Davies Reid Gallery is also lending a number of objects to the exhibition. The work of three contemporary artists will be exhibited alongside these historic artifacts. Linda Connor's luminous photographs contemplate the poetry and mystery of sacred sites in Tibet and India . Kirsten Bahrs Janssen's piece Connecting You and Me, and Everything consists of a gold line of spools that will pulse when participants pull a thread from one end of the sculpture. Arlene Shechet's installation, Thin Air, is inspired by the form and meaning of the stupa-a Buddhist shrine that traditionally houses relics or commemorates a holy person or event. Balanced crystal forms are blown by mouth, with each piece retaining an imprint of the breath. At The Center, Hailey - The Art of Tibet: Through Local EyesApr 9–June 2 A juried exhibition of local photographers' images of Tibet complements the work on display in Ketchum. The exhibition will be held in The Center's Hailey location at 314 Second Ave. S. After an opening reception Sun, Apr 9 from 2 to 4pm, regular gallery hours will be Wed–Fri, noon to 6pm. LECTURES AND RELATED EVENTSVirtual Tibet, a Lecture by Orville SchellMon, Apr 3, 7pm Community Library, Ketchum Orville Schell is the dean of the School of Journalism at UC-Berkeley as well as one of the country's most thoughtful observers of China. Schell has served on the board of Human Rights Watch, has been a frequent contributor for everything from 60 Minutes to Frontline and has published fourteen books. His book Virtual Tibet tracks the West's fascination with and visions of Tibet from Shangri-La to Brad Pitt. The Gift of the Tibetans, with Robert ThurmanThu, Apr 6, 7pm Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church, Sun Valley Free for members/ $10 non-members MEMBERS, please reserve your tickets in ADVANCE! Robert A. F. Thurman is not only a scholar but also the most visible and lucid advocate for Tibetan Buddhism in America. Ordained by the Dalai Lama as the West's first Buddhist monk in 1965, Thurman is a prolific author and the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University. As the co-founder and president of Tibet House, Thurman has worked closely with His Holiness the Dalai Lama to make Tibetan Buddhism accessible to Americans and to educate the West about Tibet's political struggles. Although members are admitted free, they will need to stop by or call The Center beforehand to reserve a ticket. Tibet: Cry of the Snow LionThu, Apr 20, 6pm Community Library, 415 Spruce Ave. N., Ketchum Ten years in the making, Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion was filmed during nine journeys throughout Tibet, India and Nepal. The film chronicles Tibet's recent past through riveting personal stories, interviews and undercover and archival images. Sponsored by the College of Southern Idaho. Art of Tibet Family DaySun, Apr 23, 3–5pm The Center, Ketchum Families will tour the show, talk about the art and create their own Tibet inspired projects. EVENTS WITH THE DREPUNG LOSELING MONKSSand Mandala CreationThe Center, Ketchum Fri, May 26 - Sun, May 28 Of all the artistic traditions of tantric Buddhism, that of painting with colored sands ranks as one of the most exquisite. Tibetan monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery will create a sand mandala depicting Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion. Special events in connection with the sand mandala include an Opening Ceremony Fri, May 26, 12:15 pm; construction of a community sand mandala Sat, May 27, 12–3pm and Sun 12–3pm; open late for Gallery Walk Sat, May 27 till 8pm; and Closing Ceremony Mon, May 29, 3 pm. Sacred Music Sacred Dance performanceThu, May 25, 7pm Limelight Room, Sun Valley Inn VIP tickets $50 / Members $15 / non-members $20 / children 12 and under free Robed in magnificent costumes and playing traditional Tibetan instruments, the Drepung Loseling monks perform ancient temple music and dances for world healing. Guided Meditation at Community Prayer WheelFri, May 26, 5:30–6:30pm Sawtooth Botanical Garden, Ketchum Lecture: Opening the Heart: Arousing the Mind of Universal Kindness Sun, May 28, 2pm Limelight Room, Sun Valley Inn Held in conjunction with the Sun Valley Mountain Wellness Festival. Acknowledgments The Center is grateful to Robert and Paula King, The Pacific Asia Museum, the Amarillo Museum of Art and Davies Reid Gallery for the generous loan of historic Tibetan art and artifacts. We are honored to have the participation and partnership of many organizations in this project. We are grateful to the Community Library, Sawtooth Botanical Garden, CSI and the Sun Valley Mountain Wellness Festival for hosting and or sponsoring associated events.
Biodiversity: Order, Consumption & ManJan 27-Mar 25, 2006 Conflicts between humanity and nature run throughout time. This multidisciplinary project explores natural history and ecology with an emphasis on man's influence upon the world's ever-dwindling biological diversity. In the Gallery The incredibly detailed and researched species paintings by Isabella Kirkland, the dramatic and often unsettling photographs of natural history museums by Richard Barnes and the politically satirical, Audubon inspired paintings and prints of Walton Ford each explore how science, ecology and politics can inform art making and how art can contribute to both political and scientific dialogs. This thought provoking project brings together for the first time all six of Isabella Kirkland's TAXA paintings. The highly detailed series is the result of years of research and study at natural history museums around the world. Almost every plant and animal is measured, photographed, drawn and observed first hand, either live or from preserved materials. Resembling Flemish memento mori paintings, they depict nearly 400 species whose existence has been compromised in some way through man's influence. Each animal or plant has been subjected to political, commercial or biological forces ranging from trade, re-settlement and dams, to deforestation, trophy hunting, and the introduction of non-native species. Richard Barnes' Animal Logic series touches on the relationships we have with nature and history and the ways we collect and catalogue it. His highly detailed photographs of animal skeletons and taxidermy taken after hours at natural history museums in France and the United States are shot in color and are often large scale. By examining and documenting these subjects within the confines of replicated natural sites, Barnes poses questions about the relationship between natural environments and those created by man. Walton Ford's paintings and prints appear to be large-scale descendents of the eighteenth and nineteenth-century tradition of natural history painting and engraving. However, his life sized birds and animals often serve as metaphorical stand-ins for different cultures in allegorical narratives. Social and political commentary is cloaked in the guise of natural history. Ford's meticulous paintings satirize the history of colonialism and the continuing impact of political oppression on today's social and environmental landscape. Extinction, cultural misconnections, world politics, natural history, and the grotesque are all repeating elements in Ford's work. Lectures and Related EventsLocal Biodiversity with Trish KlahrThu, Feb 9, 7pm The Center, Ketchum Klahr has been the Director of Science for The Nature Conservancy of Idaho since 1995. In this capacity, she is responsible for providing scientific leadership and support for the conservation programs of the Idaho Chapter. She oversees the identification of new priority conservation areas where the Conservancy can focus efforts at protecting native plants, animals and natural communities. Trish will discuss issues of biodiversity and conservation specific to our region. An evening with artist Isabella KirklandThu, Feb 16, 7pm The Center, Ketchum Isabella Kirkland will speak about her paintings and how they came about, by way of the 17 th C. Dutch still-life tradition, current biodiversity research, and her explorations in material longevity. Her current cycle of work, TAXA, explores how this old art form can simultaneously document, educate, and advocate. After studying and painting nearly 400 species of plants and animals in the last 6 years, Kirkland portrays individual creatures' stories of amazing adaptations to life. Some highlight man's attempt to control nature, while others show the heroic efforts of individuals in trying to save a bird or plant. Most of the stories behind the species in the pictures illustrate the profound complexity of life. The Future of Life with Pulitzer Prize winner Dr. Edward O. WilsonThu, Feb 23, 7pm Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood, Ketchum $10 members/$15 non-members Dr. Wilson is one of America's most prominent scientists and the author of two Pulitzer Prize winning books, On Human Nature and The Ants, as well as other groundbreaking books such as Naturalist, Sociobiology and Consilience. A professor of biology at Harvard from 1955 until 1997, Wilson has received many of the world's leading prizes in science and conservation. His work in sociobiology forms the foundation of current evolutionary psychology study. His research on insect societies has informed the work of contemporary complexity theorists who are examining complex natural systems. In his most recent book, The Future of Life, Wilson focuses on the state of the natural environment, analyzing the threat to our biosphere and offering a set of recommendations for the protection of life on Earth. It's the First Place to Be!Begin your gallery walk at the Center Gallery Fri, Feb 17, wine tasting 5:30 – 6:30 Open 'til 8pm Painter Isabella Kirkland will be in attendance and give a casual talk about her work at 6:15pm.Fri, Mar 10 Artists in the SchoolsIsabella Kirkland will visit local art and science students and share how she became intimately involved with cataloging compromised species. Kirkland, who was once the only female taxidermist in New York, has traveled around the world to study the exotic and lost species she paints. She will share slides of her work and stories of her adventures.
Beam, Board, Breath: An Investigation of Trees
The Center, Ketchum
Jul 9–Sep 3
Trees are an essential part of our human experience. Not only do they provide oxygen for our lungs but their byproduct, wood, is critical for multiple commodities from paper to furniture. Trees are used for fuel and shelter by all sorts of species. They also offer shade and solace. They are ubiquitous, but each of us can locate a special tree that marks a moment, a place, a memory. As we become increasingly conscious of our relationship to nature and our physical environment, many contemporary artists have turned their attention to trees. Board, Beam, Breath brings together six artists who investigate different aspects of trees—silhouette and memory, the possibility of a looming environmental crisis, the relationship between trees, technology and an artificial “nature,” or the role of the tree as a symbol of endurance and growth.
This exhibition is part of a valleywide celebration of trees presented by the Sun Valley Center for the Arts in the summer of 2010 that will include visual arts exhibitions and outdoor installations in Ketchum and in Hailey.
Participating artists:
Paul Bergeron
Jason Middlebrook
William Smith
Joseph Smolkinski
Jennifer Steinkamp
Mary Temple
Special Evening Gallery Tours
Thu, Jul 15 and Thu, Aug 19, 5:30pm, free
Enjoy a glass of wine while you tour Beam, Board, Breath with The Center’s curators and docents.
Free Exhibition Tours
Tue, Jul 27, 2pm and by arrangement
Trained docents offer new insight into the artwork on display in free tours of our exhibitions.
Gallery Walks
Fri, Aug 6 and Fri, Sep 3, 5–8pm, free
Join us for drinks and appetizers as you view Beam, Board, Breath.
Patrick Dougherty
An Installation on the Center Lot, Ketchum
July–October
Lecture by installation artist Patrick Dougherty
Wed, Jul 14, 5:30pm, free
The Center, Ketchum
Combining his carpentry skills with his love of nature, Patrick Dougherty began to learn primitive techniques of building and to experiment with tree saplings as construction material. Beginning about 1980 with small works fashioned in his backyard, he quickly moved from single pieces on conventional pedestals to monumental site-specific installations that require sticks by the truckload. To date he has built more than 200 such massive sculptures all over the world. His home base is his handmade log house in Chapel Hill, N.C., where he lives with his wife and son. He will be creating a site-specific installation on The Center’s lot across the street from the Ketchum post office on 2nd Avenue.
Timber! An Open Exhibition
The Center, Hailey
Jul 1–Sep 10
Presented by Sun Valley Center for the Arts
and the Hailey Arts Commission
Part of the City of Hailey’s “Month of Art”
In conjunction with the Sun Valley Center for the Arts’ Ketchum exhibition Beam, Board, Breath: An Investigation of Trees, the Sun Valley Center for the Arts and the Hailey Arts Commission present an open exhibition, Timber!, at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Hailey. Idaho photographers, illustrators, painters and printmakers will present their interpretations of the trees that inhabit our landscape, our community and our neighborhoods. The exhibition will also feature a temporary, outdoor installation incorporating the trees on The Center’s Hailey property.
Opening Celebration
Thu, Jul 1, 5:30–7pm
The Center, Hailey
Join us for drinks and appetizers to celebrate local artists and kick off the City of Hailey’s “Month of Art.”
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