In this exhibition over fifty resources are presented by half local and half national artists, musicians, children, curators, archivists, as well as those from varying titles or titles in-between. These resources are displayed in a manner that encourages interaction within the exhibition space. FIFTY AT FIFTY FIFTY is an archive for collective research, collaboration, documentation and exchange. It is organized in an effort to archive past histories, current programming, and future endeavors for the gallery on both a digital and a physical scale.
How does a new institution set parameters for archiving and how do we build upon that in ways that go against and alongside archive histories? With archiving being a common curatorial and artistic practice on a national scale, what does it look like within a local framework and how do we react as an institution in a forward-thinking manner? FIFTY AT FIFTY FIFTY is an archive exhibition that seeks to do just that. It traditionally catalogues artist information, biographies, and images of works on our Digital Archive platform. It also seeks to create a space for the alternative; a space for varied artist resources, race and gender inclusion, humor and collaboration.
In keeping with traditional archiving systems 50/50 catalogues the work of all participating artists, lecturers, and billboard recipients. This catalogue is housed on our Digital Archive, available online to the public at www.5050kc.com. In addition, the gallery asks each of its participants to submit resources that informs their practice. These resources vary from YouTube videos, images of maps, theoretical essays and more. Half of these resources from past contributors are on display in the exhibition space of FIFTY AT FIFTY FIFTY, with the other half available on our Digital Archive. Cumulatively, these resources are intended to support local and national artistic research. We invite our audience to partake in reading, writing, and contributing to these resources.
This exhibition also includes the work of newly exhibited local and national artists including Alex Savage, Gabriella Maria Lacza, Iko Fish-Miller, Jeff Eaton, Jessica Borusky, NedRa Bonds, Sam Kligman, Shelby Keierleber, Ben DuVall, Chino Amobi, Devin Troy, Diamond Stingily, Modes Vu, Lynnette Miranda, Martine Syms, Paul Cowan, Stephanie Syjuco and Yuri Ogita. The works of these artists are selected to represent the current programming foundation of 50/50 and to suggest the future through both the works of children and artists that are at the forefront of contemporary thinking. The billboard of Ben DuVall considers a more immediate future, one that is post November 8th, 2016. DuVall states:
I started this poem while I was living in Indiana for a month recently, and thinking about how geography affects history and even the current political-historical moment. Especially now, as we find ourselves in the midst of an election cycle which seems prone to the horrific and xenophobic (need I mention the name of T***p), there is this proliferation of machines of suspicion—on one side, a scatter-shot suspicion of immigrants, Muslims, socialists, etc.—but on the other side, it’s scary to think that there is a population large enough to enable this kind of rhetoric to have a stage in mainstream political discourse. Whatever happens, how can we as sensitive and thinking people go back to post-election normalcy, knowing that a sizable portion of the population edges towards a form of fascism? I’m curious about how myself and others will react or resorb that element—it’s a genuinely terrifying thought to think how the past few months have exposed this dynamic which existed all along, though veiled in a kind of code.
Over that same period, I've been returning again to Joseph Beuy’s work, which functioned as a shamanic practice to reconcile the German people to what had happened in their country during WWII. That is the extreme example, which hopefully we never reach, but that role as a collective therapist is something that is becoming more and more necessary, and a space that I aim to occupy in my work. To me the phrase “New History” speaks of that kind of redemption.
Our goal as an institution is to think further than the lifespan of our temporary model. During the six weeks of this exhibition, we invite our audience to partake in new collaborative resources that will be featured each week. At the completion of this exhibition, all work from FIFTY AT FIFTY FIFTY available at varying capacities on our Digital Archive.
FEATURING ARTISTS:
Alex Savage
Andrew Ordonez
Annie Raab
Annie Woodfill
Ari Fish
Ben DuVall
Bruce High Quality Foundation University
Brett Ginsburg
Brook Hsu
Caitlin Horsmon
Chino Amobi
Cuss This (Modes Vu Publishing)
Devin Troy (Coloured Publishing)
Diamond Antoinette Stingily (Dominica Publishing)
Gabriella Maria Lacza
IKO Fish-Miller
Jeff Eaton
Jessica Borusky
Jose Faus
Julian Chams
Kameelah Janan Rasheed
Kristin Walsh
Lynnette Miranda
Lauren Anderson (Mixed Media Recordings)
Manorgao (Modes Vu Publishing)
Mariah Randell
Martine Syms (Dominica Publishing)
Martine Syms and Paul Cowan (Mixed Media Recordings)
NedRa Bonds
Patricia Bordallo Dibildox
Paul Cowan & Katie Kraft (Mixed Media Recordings)
Robert Chase Heishman and Michael Boles (Private Birthday Party)
Robert Howsare
Sam Kligman
Shelby Keierleber
Stephanie Syjuco
Yi Bi (Modes Vu Publishing)
Yuri Ogita (Coloured Publishing)
Special thanks to our Event Sponsor Union Horse Distilling Co.
