Featuring Jane Benson, Stephen Collier, Diane Meyer, Graham Parker, Kanishka Raja, Nathan See, Dan Tague
Curated by Kimberly Lamm
Exhibition Dates: December 8, 2007 through January 19, 2008
Opening reception: Saturday, December 8, 4-6pm
Imaginary Arsenals addresses the subtle and subversive use of war imagery by artists. Less interested in explicit depictions of war, the exhibition explores the various ways political conflict insinuates itself into cultural imaginaries and manifests itself in artistic practice. The sculptural, video, graphic, and photographic work in this show reveals how the militarization of culture shapes and contours visual perceptions. It also highlights the multiple ways artists who have participated in Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s artist residency program have drawn from, played with, and deconstructed the image-repertoire of war in order to defamiliarize and resist its pervasiveness and ubiquity.
Imaginary Arsenals is part of Out of Site, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Artist Residency Marks a Decade Downtown, a series of guest curated exhibitions and special events in several locations downtown that explore the program’s past and present. Over the past 10 years, LMCC’s residency program, now called Workspace has provided free, temporary studio space in Lower Manhattan to over 250 emerging artists and writers in such locations as the Woolworth Building and the U.S. Custom House. Our mission to place artists in studios just blocks from Wall Street has changed what it means to “work” downtown. Invited curators explored the vast archive of the LMCC residency program and came up with four diverse exhibitions, combining artists from various years, locations and mediums.
Lead sponsorship provided by the American Express Company. Additional support provided by the Peter Norton Family Foundation, and the Cowles Charitable Trust.
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) is the leading voice for arts and culture in downtown New York City, producing cultural events and supporting the arts through grants, services, and advocacy. Find out more: www.lmcc.net.
This exhibit is sponsored, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and through the generous support of the following: The New York City Economic Development Corporation, The Greenwall Foundation, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and the members of the Artists Alliance Incorporated.