Bornagain Again
Rico Anderson - Mike Arvan - Chris Ballantyne - Leslie Brack - Alec Dartley - Oasa DuVerney - Anna Ehrsam - Engles -
Michael Holden - Josh Jordan - Rodney Leon -
Edouard Pierre Louis - Scott Mansfield - Angelbert Metoyer - Kim Mayhorn - Zoe Pettijohn - Phyllis Plattner - James Porter - Christopher Schade - Tony Shore - Suzy Spence
Curated by Eddy Steinhauer
on view: September 13 – October 12, 2008
Opening reception: Saturday, September 13, 6–8pm
An exhibition of political commentaries.
For this election year exhibition artist and curator Eddy Steinhauer has chosen 22 artists whose work engages with political issues. Not surprisingly the exhibitions points out that the issues in 2008 are still the same ones the country has grappled with since its founding in 1776, namely race, gender and equality.
The artist Kim Mayhorn incorporates all three in her work for the exhibition. Her interactive installation invites the viewer to step up to a lit platform as an act of purifying the individual from his or her own prejudices.
Other artists express their concerns with U.S. foreign policy. Mahyad Tousi shows a video documenting the announcement on Iranian television of a possible war with the United States.
Several artists address their concern with a kind of global surveillance that has become part of our daily lives. In My Space the artist Jorge Rojas has constructed a shanty that broadcasts live on blogtv.This interactive installation becomes an environment where the encounter between artists and the public takes on a new form: online in real time.
Tony Shores painting of a playground fight seen on black velvet is a staged reenactment of life in the inner city Baltimore where he runs an after school art program for underprivileged kids.
Angelbert Metoyer transformative painted wedding dress inspired by the after math of hurricane Katrina incorporates found objects, folklore, fantasy and faith.
Suzy Spence’s paper dolls critique the role celebrities and class play in on our political process from the issues that they champion to the fashion and styles that they embody.
The exhibition provides an outlet for these 22 artists to address their personal political leanings or frustrations and is diverse in opinions and medium.
The exhibition’s title, Bornagain Again, plays on the political cycle in general and in particular on the still unresolved separation of church and state.
Eddy Steinhauer was born in Port au Prince, Haiti and received an MFA from the Yale School of Art and Architecture in 1996. He has curated “Lightshow” at the Clocktower Art Space in Brooklyn, the Curators Showcase at NURTUREart in New York and the “Congressional Art Competition” in Montclair, NJ. His work has been shown in exhibitions at Exit Art, Rush Arts, Skoto Gallery, FiveMyles, New Museum and other venues in New York.
DIRECTIONS:
Take 2, 3, or 4 trains to Franklin Avenue. Walk two blocks against the traffic on Franklin. Walk ¾ block to 558 St. Johns Place. FiveMyles is within easy walking distance from the Brooklyn Museum.
acknowledgments:
The exhibition is in part supported by the Andy Warhol and Department Cultural Affairs of New York City.