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Brown Foundation Gallery
The Spectacular of Vernacular
On View: July 30 – September 18, 2011
Opening Reception: Friday, July 29, 2011 | 7-10PM
In an era of virtual neighborhoods and fast-paced Internet communication, The Spectacular of Vernacular addresses the role of vernacular forms in the work of 27 artists who utilize craft, incorporate folklore, and revel in roadside kitsch to explore the role of culturally specific iconography in the increasingly global world of art. Originally employed as a linguistics term, vernacular is now broadly applied to categories of culture, standing in for “regional,” “folkloric,” or “homemade”—concepts that contemporary artists have investigated since the late 1950s as part of a deeper consideration of the relationship between art and everyday life. For the artists included in the exhibition, aspects of the vernacular—and often specifically American vernacular—provide a platform for narratives of home life, social ritual, and sense of place. Drawing inspiration from such sources as local architecture, amateur photographs, and state fair banners, their work runs the aesthetic spectrum from sleek to handcrafted, underscoring the diverse manifestations of the vernacular within our lived environment and its impact on artists working today.
MORE INFORMATION
Inspired by Mike Kelley’s observation that “the mass art of today is the folk art of tomorrow,” The Spectacular of Vernacular reflects an expanded view of the vernacular posited in Denise Scott Brown, Steven Izenour, and Robert Venturi’s Learning from Las Vegas (1972), one that embraces the spectacle of the street and the stylistic cacophony of the strip—the totems, billboards, and neon signs of roadside America. Thus amidst the visibly handcrafted works of Matthew Day Jackson and Dario Robleto are the dense and day-glow paintings of Lari Pittman, the glittering trophy heads of Marc Swanson, and the urban relics of Rachel Harrison. These works, and others in the exhibition, suggest a long road trip through the emblems and eyesores of street vernacular, replete with its tourist destinations and outmoded hotels. A strong showing of photographs informs the exhibition, including work by WPA-era photographer Walker Evans, as well as more recent work by William Eggleston, whose color-saturated images gravitate toward the tawdry palette of faded billboards and road signs. New to CAMH’s presentation of the exhibition is an additional work by Houston-based artist Robleto, The Minor Chords Are Ours (2010), and a 2001 sculpture by Louise Bourgeois, Regression.
Through strategic selections that capture varied practices, the exhibition reflects artists’ equal fascination with rustic as well as urban vernacular, lending the installation a visually diverse and dynamic character. In a culture in which art is increasingly globalized in its look and dissemination, The Spectacular of Vernacular considers work that can be heavily narrated, highly personal, and laboriously produced.
FEATURED ARTISTS
Marina Abramović, Siah Armajani, Louise Bourgeois, William Christenberry, Shannon Ebner, William Eggleston, Walker Evans, Rachel Harrison, Matthew Day Jackson, Jess, Butt Johnson, William E. Jones, Mike Kelley, Chris Larson, Kerry James Marshall, Ree Morton, Laura Owens, Jack Pierson, Lari Pittman, Faith Ringgold, Dario Robleto, Jim Shaw, Lorna Simpson, Aaron Spangler, Marc Swanson, Jeffery Vallance, and Kara Walker.
organizer
The Spectacular of Vernacular is organized by the Walker Art Center and is curated by Darsie Alexander, Walker Chief Curator.
PUBLICATION
A fully illustrated 112-page catalogue accompanies the exhibition and includes an essay by exhibition curator Darsie Alexander; a reprint of John Brinckerhoff Jackson’s “Vernacular” from his seminal 1984 reader on vernacular landscapes; and a reflection by artist and curator Andy Sturdevant on the evolution of roadside vernacular, and attendant histories of heartland America. This publication is distributed by D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, Inc. and is available in CAMH’s Museum Shop.
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sponsors
The Spectacular of Vernacular is organized by the Walker Art Center and is made possible by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Helen and Peter Warwick, and Margaret and Angus Wurtele. Additional support is provided by Accenture and Briggs and Morgan.
Exhibitions in the Brown Foundation Gallery at CAMH have been made possible by the patrons, benefactors and donors to the Museum's Major Exhibition Fund: Major Patron - Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, Fayez Sarofim, and Michael Zilkha. Patrons -Louise D. Jamail, Mr. and Mrs. I. H. Kempner III, Ms. Louisa Stude Sarofim, and Leigh and Reggie Smith. Benefactors - Baker Botts L.L.P. / Anne and David Kirkland, George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation, Jackson Hicks / Jackson and Company, Marley Lott, Poppi Massey, Beverly and Howard Robinson, Andrew Schirrmeister, Susan Vaughan Foundation, Inc., and Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Wilson. Donors -A Fare Extraordinaire, Anonymous, Anonymous, Bergner and Johnson Design, The Brown Foundation, Inc., Jereann Chaney, Susie and Sanford Criner, Elizabeth Howard Crowell, Sara Dodd-Spickelmier and Keith Spickelmier, Ruth Dreessen and Thomas Van Laan, Marita and J.B. Fairbanks, Jo and Jim Furr, Barbara and Michael Gamson, Brenda and William Goldberg / Bernstein Global Wealth Management, King & Spalding L.L.P., KPMG, LLP, Judy and Scott Nyquist, David I. Saperstein, Scurlock Foundation, and Karen and Harry Susman.
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