Why Theory :: CalArts MFA Graduate Exhibition June 20, 2009

Why Theory
CalArts MFA Graduate Exhibition
June 20 - 27, 2009

Opening: Saturday, June 20, 7-10pm

Closing Party: Saturday, June 27, 7-10pm

Video Screening at REDCAT, Monday, June 29, 8pm

Spring Arts Tower
435 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Web site, http://www.springartstower.com

REDCAT
631 W. 2nd St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Web site, http://www.recat.org
http://www.CalArtsMFA2009.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Margaret Crane
CalArts Media Relations Manager
mcrane@calarts.edu

Student contact: Ian James
ianmcjames@gmail.com

California Institute of the Arts 2009 MFA Exhibition in

Downtown Los Angeles

Valencia, May 2009—Graduating MFA candidates from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) will hold their culminating exhibition, Why Theory (www.CalArtsMFA2009.com), at the Spring Arts Tower in downtown Los Angeles.

The exhibition runs from Saturday, June 20 through Sunday, June 28, 2009. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be an opening reception on Saturday, June 20 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Additionally, a screening of video work will take place at Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) on Monday, June 29 at 8 p.m. Admission to all events is free.

Since 1970, CalArts has educated artists in an environment founded on experimentation, critical reflection and the exploration of new forms and expression. Each year, graduating MFA students from the School of Art organize and present an exhibition of their work, taking the strategic initiative on how they wish to introduce themselves to a wider audience. This year’s exhibition will take place in the former Los Angeles headquarters of the Crocker Citizens National Bank, now the Spring Arts Tower.

Rita Gonzalez and Anat Ebgi will co-curate the show. Gonzalez is assistant curator of Contemporary Art at LACMA and co-curator of last year’s Phantom Sightings: Art after the Chicano Movement; Ebgi, a recent Master's graduate of the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, co-founded Chinatown-based gallery The Company.

“Although there is always a meta-history embedded somewhere within the studio practices of CalArts students, the exhibition does not aim to grossly oversimplify the ‘critique within’ as the defining characteristic of such a diversely producing group of artists,” said Gonzalez. “It does not question ‘why theory?’; rather, through the dynamics of the artists, emulates the simultaneous deconstruction and reconstruction of idea that takes place everywhere from the confines of a painted canvas to the body of performing artist.”

A student-organized publication, also titled Why Theory, will be released in tandem with the exhibition. The primarily text based catalog intends to capture formative conversations of the CalArts experience, and serves as an indexical resource with a life greater than a traditional record of the show. Each graduate student contributed a page of material, with content ranging from text-based drawings to email conversations and catalog specific works. The publication includes contributions from faculty members Ellen Birrell, Sande Cohen, Leslie Dick and Charles Gaines (in conversation), Anoka Faruqee, Michael Ned Holte, Ashley Hunt and Michelle Dizon (in conversation) and CalArts School of Art Dean, Thomas Lawson.

“Every year legions of MFA graduates enter the art world to pursue individual careers. But what does that mean today when the stakes are undoubtedly higher?” said Ebgi. “There is an urgency to re-imagine the role of the artist, as social/cultural witness or voice against complacency. These revolutionary impulses buzz about CalArts, along with a recognition of the opportunity to redefine the stakes by embracing inevitable change, equipped with a knowledge of history and trust in the present moment.”

The exhibiting artists represent three programs in the CalArts School of Art: Art, Photography and Media, and Integrated Media. Participants include Alison J Carr, Megan Cotts, Chanel Eddines, Dan Finsel, Robert Frashure, Alexa Gerrity, Alvaro Guillen, Monica Hicks, Ian James, Laura Kim, Calvin Lee, Nery Gabriel Lemus, Lakshmi Luthra, Meghann McCrory, Suzanne Mejean, Ignacio Perez Meruane, Lisa Miller, Joanne Mitchell, Christina Ondrus, Gala Porras-Kim, Ali Prosch, Maria Schriber, Elleni Sclavenitis, Brianna Sendziak, Matthew Siegle, Clarissa Tossin, April Totten, Biddy Tran, Ingrid von Sydow, Lorrie Waldie, Brica Wilcox, Michiko Yao and Nate Young.

The Spring Arts Tower is located at 453 South Spring Street, Los Angeles, 90013. For more information about the building, visit www.springartstower.com. The Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) is located at 631 West 2nd Street, Los Angles, 90012. For more information about REDCAT, visit www.redcat.org.

California Institute of the Arts is recognized internationally as a leading laboratory for the visual, performing, media and literary arts. Housing six schools—Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music, and Theater—CalArts educates professional artists in an intensive learning environment founded on art-making excellence, creative experimentation, cross-pollination among diverse artistic disciplines and a broad context of social and cultural understanding. CalArts also operates the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) in the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex in downtown Los Angeles.

Official Website: http://www.CalArtsMFA2009.com