'Criminal' artistic intent: Exhibit investigates art and criminal justice in U.S.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Matt Itelson, (415) 338-1442, matti@sfsu.edu
SF State Fine Arts Gallery, Feb. 16 - March 15
'Criminal' artistic intent: Exhibit investigates art and criminal justice in U.S.
Angela Y. Davis to deliver keynote speech at accompanying March 1 symposium
SAN FRANCISCO, January 10, 2008 -- As prison populations swell and an institutionalized culture of fear spreads nationwide, so do the artistic responses. The Fine Arts Gallery at San Francisco State University confronts these issues head-on in its exhibition "Criminal: Art and Criminal Justice in America," on display from Feb. 16 to March 15. Angela Y. Davis, Ph.D., the internationally renowned scholar and activist, will deliver the keynote speech at "Prison/Culture: Art, Ideas and Dialogue," a March 1 symposium that accompanies the exhibition. Admission is free.
Sharon Bliss and Professor Mark Johnson of SF State's Fine Arts Gallery are curators of the exhibit.
"Most of us pretend that prison and its huge ethical issues don't impact us, but of course they do," said Johnson, Fine Arts Gallery director. "This project brings these issues to focus, with art facilitating the dialogue."
"This project illustrates incarceration as an increasingly common human and American experience and phenomenon," said Bliss, Fine Arts Gallery associate curator and manager. "It strives to increase understanding of the epidemic of imprisonment and the meanings for society -- socially, economically, politically and culturally."
In "Criminal," visually arresting works of painting, sculpture, photography, video, sound and installation by renowned artists from throughout the U.S. investigate aspects of criminal justice from both sides of the gates. Featured artists include Sandow Birk, Jonathan Borofsky, Boym Partners, Alex Donis, Kota Ezawa, Julie Green, Richard Kamler, Clarence Lin, Deborah Luster, William Pope.L, Rigo 23, Aaron Sandnes, Dread Scott and Jackie Sumell.
Green's "The Last Supper" is a series of 383 China plates, each depicting the last meals of prisoners condemned to death row. Luster's "One Big Self: Prisoners of Louisiana" is a series of sobering portraits of male and female prisoners printed on aluminum, with a message or quote from the subject on the back. Pope.L re-creates his "Setting the Table" multimedia installation that features portraits of the alleged 9/11 terrorists, each printed onto a slice of bologna and hung out to dry, as it were, from a clothesline. Rigo 23 will premiere "CRIMINAL/VICTIM," a work commissioned by the Howard Foundation that involves products and crafts made by California prisoners.
"Prison/Culture: Art, Ideas and Dialogue," to be held in Jack Adams Hall in SF State's Cesar Chavez Student Center, is produced in collaboration with Intersection for the Arts' Prison Project, a year-long series of events and programs exploring the California prison system. The symposium will feature panel discussions and workshops with some of the artists from "Criminal" and prominent scholars and activists in criminal justice, in addition to Angela Y. Davis. Davis' recent work has focused on the social problems associated with incarceration and the generalized criminalization of communities most affected by poverty and racial discrimination. She is professor of history of consciousness and feminist studies at University of California, Santa Cruz. She taught at SF State from 1979 to 1991.
Admission to the March 1 symposium is free, but advance reservations are required. To RSVP or for details, visit www.theintersection.org.
"Criminal" project supporters include the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and SF State's International Center for the Arts and Instructionally Related Activities Fund, Walter and Elise Haas Fund and the LEF Foundation. A full-color catalog from the exhibit will be published. "Prison/Culture: Art, Ideas and Dialogue" sponsors are the Fine Arts Gallery, Intersection for the Arts and SF State's programs in Criminal Justice, Project Rebound, The Poetry Center and Associated Students.
Location and Parking
The Fine Arts Gallery is located in the Fine Arts building on the SF State campus, 1600 Holloway Ave. (at 19th Ave.), San Francisco. Jack Adams Hall is located in the Cesar Chavez Student Center on the SF State campus. Public parking is available in Lot 20, accessed from Lake Merced Boulevard between Winston Drive and Font Boulevard. Parking is $1 per hour with a $5 daily maximum. Nearby street parking is readily available on weekends. For details, visit www.sfsu.edu/~parking.
Calendar Editors, Please Note:
"Criminal: Art and Criminal Justice in America"
Saturday, Feb. 16 - Saturday, March 15
This visually arresting exhibition explores aspects of criminal justice, including incarceration, the death penalty and prison labor. Featured artists include Sandow Birk, Jonathan Borofsky, Boym Partners, Alex Donis, Kota Ezawa, Julie Green, Richard Kamler, Clarence Lin, Deborah Luster, William Pope.L, Rigo 23, Aaron Sandnes, Dread Scott and Jackie Sumell, with works of painting, sculpture, photography, video, sound and installation. Curated by Sharon Bliss and Mark Johnson.
Fine Arts Gallery, Fine Arts building, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave. (at 19th Ave.), San Francisco
Admission: Free
Information: 415/338-6535, gallery.sfsu.edu
Gallery hours: Tuesdays - Saturdays, noon - 4 p.m.; Wednesdays, noon - 5 p.m.
Opening reception: Saturday, Feb. 16, 1 - 3 p.m.
"Prison/Culture: Art, Ideas and Dialogue"
Saturday, March 1, noon - 6 p.m.
Keynote speaker: Angela Y. Davis, Ph.D., professor of history of consciousness and feminist studies, University of California, Santa Cruz
Symposium presented by the SF State Fine Arts Gallery, Intersection for the Arts and SF State's programs in Criminal Justice, Project Rebound, The Poetry Center and Associated Students
Jack Adams Hall, Cesar Chavez Student Center, San Francisco State University, 1650 Holloway Ave. (at 19th Ave.), San Francisco
Admission: Free
RSVP: www.theintersection.org
Information: 415/338-6535, gallery.sfsu.edu, www.theintersection.org, www.sfsustudentcenter.com
IMAGES/INTERVIEWS: For images and to schedule interviews, contact Matt Itelson at 415/338-1442 or matti@sfsu.edu.
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Image: "Transylvania, Louisiana," by Deborah Luster, from the series "One Big Self: Prisoners of Louisiana." 5" x 4.5", silver emulsion on aluminum, 1999. (Image courtesy of Deborah Luster.)
