Current Exhibition

Convergence:
work by recent MFA graduates

through July 19, 2008

Ruth Bowler, Sedition >

Maryland Art Place is pleased to present Convergence, an exhibition presented in collaboration with recent MFA graduates from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Towson University, The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and the University of Maryland, College Park.

The ten artists represented in this exhibition work in a variety of media varying from installation-based interactive sculpture to video and performance to the more traditional disciplines of photography and drawing. Participating artists were selected on the overall strength of their work and their technical abilities and exemplify the most interesting and insightful work produced by recent MFA graduates within area institutions. MAP is pleased to bring this group of talented emerging artists together and to be able to offer this important exhibition opportunity annually.

Participating artists include: Christian Benefiel (University of Maryland, College Park), Lauren Boilini (Maryland Institute College of Art), Ruth Bowler (University of Maryland, Baltimore County), Andrew Buckland (Maryland Institute College of Art), Mahwish Chishty (University of Maryland, College Park), Penny Forester (Maryland Institute College of Art), Joshua Gillen (Towson University), Ellen Harper (Towson University), Aniko Makranczy (University of Maryland, College Park), and Justin Storms (Maryland Institute College of Art).

Learn more about Convergence

Upcoming: Hidden and Revealed

Peter Dubeau, curator

July 29 - September 6, 2008

Friday, August 8:
Gallery Talk: 6pm / Reception: 7pm

< Michelle La Perriere, Prayer

"During the creative process, how does an artist decide what to hide and what to reveal? What images ultimately lie on and beneath the surface and how do they interact, if at all, with one another? Hidden and Revealed features six artists who layer content and/or image in their work and examines how they use this additive and subtractive process with a wide range of media." - Peter Dubeau, curator

Participating artists include: Michael Iampieri, Dean Kessmann, Kevin Kepple, Michelle La Perriere, Randi Reiss-McCormack, and Hadieh Shafie.

Upcoming:
6th Annual Curators' Incubator

September 16 - October 25, 2008

Friday, September 26:
Gallery Talk: 6pm / Reception: 7pm

William Betts, Last Seen >

We are pleased to announce that three curators have been selected to participate in the 6th Annual Curators’ Incubator, an invaluable program designed to assist curators with little or no experience through the process of presenting an exhibition at MAP. From providing guidance on how to further develop their exhibition proposals, to helping to strengthen their curatorial writing in preparation for publication in a program catalogue, curators are mentored by MAP staff and members of its Program Advisory Committee (PAC) along the way.

In the fall, curators Zoma Wallace and T. Shareen Dash will present AFRIKATALYST, an exhibition of art and performance based on an art movement that is “heavily informed by scientific, historical, and sociological scholarship and is infused with cultural nuances of the Afrikan Diaspora.”

Curator Rebecca Weber will present Invisible Omniscience: Seeing and the Seen, an exhibition that addresses the ubiquitous use of surveillance in contemporary society and the issues that are raised regarding security and a person's civil liberties.

Q&A

with artist and educator Cindy Rehm

Interview by Emily Hunter

In Memoir, performance artist Cindy Rehm creates and then follows a set of instructions that stem from her personal experiences. Instructions such as “Destroy a prom dress” and “Kiss your pets” are performed by Rehm and documented with photographs that are posted to her blog. The instructions and documentation are accompanied by moving stories that give context to the actions, describing the importance of them in Rehm’s life. Rehm has opened the project up by inviting the public to also perform the actions and post their photos to the blog.

Rehm is an artist and educator who has lived and taught throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. You may learn more about Cindy Rehm and Memoir by visiting her blog: http://cindyrehm.blogspot.com

Memoir is so personal. Is it difficult to disclose such intimate information to the world? Or is it cathartic?

It is difficult and often embarrassing! When I first conceived of Memoir, I didn’t plan to include the blog component of the work. The project was to be a list of instructions and documentation of my performances. As I began the project I felt the need to speak honestly about my life, it seemed that the personal needed to be an apparent part of the work. I like using the blog, because it is a somewhat private and intimate form.

For me your work seems to reference Yoko Ono and the great female performance artists of the 1960s but also contemporary artists like Miranda July and Baltimore performer Rebecca Nagle. Do you think there is a resurgence of women working in performance?

I don’t know if there is a resurgence of women working in performance, but it does feel like performance has become part of many contemporary art practices. I love Yoko Ono! She is a true inspiration for my instruction works. I just found out that she is also doing a blog based instruction work called “100 Acorns”, where she will post 100 instructions.

When inviting the public to participate in Memoir, you are asking them to perform things from your own personal history. What do you hope will happen when others act out your instructions?

It is interesting to think about the idea of living another person’s experience, but that’s not really my intent with this project. I have written simple instructions inspired by my personal history. The instructions themselves are neutral and open, so that anyone can engage with them. The blog reveals the back-story, but I don’t intend that to influence the participants. I hope that participants will make their own choices. In the spirit of Fluxus, I want participants to simply enjoy the pleasures of daily ritual. Perhaps, they will also have their own memories in relation to the action.

Why do you choose to use your own body as your medium? Do you find that issues of power or vulnerability arise?

My work has always focused on the intersection between the emotional and the tactile. Performance is immediate; there is a rawness and honesty that may be lost in the translation to an object or image. I don’t think so much about power and control, but rather about a universal body. It is intense to watch another person enact a ritual. I have felt that power even watching students perform for the first time. With instruction works, the viewer can become the performer. They can experience the work first hand.

While the actions you choose to act out in Memoir are specific to your life, I am struck by how universal many of your stories are. How do you choose the actions involved in Memoir?

I chose moments that are significant in my life. They are the memories that have shaped me, the stories I’ve told to close friends over the years. There was a point where I felt apprehensive about performing a challenging instruction and some of my former students encouraged me to work through it. They reminded me that my pains and joys are not unique. That was reassuring for me personally and creatively— my students often teach me!

images (from top to bottom)

left column: Lucky; Unrequited

above: Failure

MAP Welcomes Summer Interns!

Jessica Schultz is a beatnik reincarnate residing in Carney, Maryland. She is currently a junior studying Graphic and Web Design at James Madison University. While interning at MAP, she hopes to gain a business perspective in a gallery setting as well as experience a behind-the-scenes look at Baltimore’s new and upcoming artists. She speaks German and is beginning to study Portuguese to aid her in São Paulo, where she is planning to move after graduation. She loves the color black and has a huge celebrity crush on Chef Duff from Charm City Cakes.

Natalie Stephens is from Sykesville, Maryland and will be a junior at the Rhode Island School of Design this upcoming fall. She is majoring in Illustration and hopes to one day live in France, where she will spend her time creating and selling her mixed-media masterpieces. Luckily, France is mostly devoid of snakes, so she can put her “irrational” fear to rest. With the exception of snakes, she loves all animals, specifically the Polar Bear, and is interested in helping organizations fight global warming and its effect on our Arctic friends. While at MAP, she looks forward to getting in contact with other local artists and is interested in experiencing the interaction between the artistic and professional world.

Jessica and Natalie practiced their interpersonal writing skills by writing about each other for this issue of ArtWorks. We think they did a great job and we are happy to have them as part of our MAP family.

MSAC Visual Artists' Registry

Are you an artist?  The Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) Visual Artists’ Registry is an important resource, available free of charge to artists in the Mid-Atlantic region. The Registry, which is housed and maintained by Maryland Art Place, includes profiles for over 2,800 artists in a searchable online database.
 
As a part of the MSAC Online Registry, your profile will be accessible to curators, galleries, patrons of the arts, artists, and the general public.

The Registry works to showcase and promote area artists, leading many artists to make important professional contacts in order to sell and/or exhibit their work.

Questions about the Registry may be directed to: registry@mdartplace.org  or 410-962-8565

Visit the MSAC Visual Artists' Online Registry