On Friday, September 26, 2008, the Arlington Arts Center held a discussion to supplement Picturing Politics 2008, an exhibit which explores the relationship between contemporary art and politics.
Director of Exhibitions Jeffry Cudlin moderates a panel that includes:
- Rex Weil, Curator of the Exhibit
Kriston Capps, arts writer for Sculpture Magazine, Art in America, Art Papers, and countless other publications–including his own influential arts blog, Grammarpolice. - Welmoed Laanstra, public art projects curator for Arlington. As an independent curator, Laanstra is known for the Found Sound and Street Scenes public art projects she organized in Washington, D.C.
- Josh Shannon, professor of contemporary art history and theory at the University of Maryland, College Park. His book, The Disappearance of Objects: New York Art and the Rise of the Postmodern City, 1960, will be published by Yale University Press in Spring, 2009.
Topics discussed: What’s the difference between political expression out in the world and inside the gallery environment? Is political speech in the gallery protected? Does it have teeth, or does it exist simply to be consumed or marginalized? How does contemporary art speak to pop culture and to the media–and vice-versa?