'This is Paul Halupka' Exhibition at Columbia College July 5, 2011

In today’s content-starved society of the “24 hour news cycle,” it is not unusual to see reality shows and headlines hyper-focused on “unexceptional” people—but what about an art exhibition? Re-creating this model within the context of the art world, This is Paul Halupka, is an exhibition of artworks about one person—a young man named Paul Halupka, a near stranger from the curator’s past. Though not legitimized by media or celebrity culture, Paul’s identity has been ushered into a spotlight and granted sym¬bolic value in the form of an art exhibition. By placing this process within an aesthetic dimension, the exhibition functions as a critique of the news media and entertainment industry.

Jessica Cochran, curator of exhibitions and programs in Book and Paper Arts, asked 13 emerging and mid-career artists to get to know Paul Halupka in order to create a portrait. Embracing a less directly representational type of portraiture, the artists’ projects reflect imaginative approaches to the depiction of Paul’s identity through painting, sculpture, video, photography and mixed media installation.

Some contributing artists include Michael X. Ryan, Alberto Aguilar, Regan Golden and Pamela Bannos. A full catalog has been published on the occasion of the exhibition, featuring texts by Jessica Cochran (exhibition curator), Karsten Lund (independent curator and critic) and Fred Sasaki (Associate Editor, Poetry). An extension of the show itself, the catalog, designed by Ryan Swanson, features graphic marginalia based on statistics culled from Paul Halupka’s virtual presence on Facebook, tumblr and Google searches.

This exhibition is presented by the Contemporary Arts Council.

Runs July 5 through Aug. 5
Opening Reception: 5–7 p.m., July 6
Gallery Panel Discussion: 6 p.m., Aug. 4
Gallery Hours: 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday-Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Thursday

Official Website: http://www.colum.edu/deps