November 14 – 15 Videos Participating Artists

On November 14 and 15, 2014, a free public symposium on the exhibition State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now took place at Crystal Bridges. This enriching program included artists’ talks, panel discussions, and lectures, designed to deepen our understanding of works featured in the exhibition and spark in-depth discussions on the topic of artists responding to their immediate surroundings.

Check back for videos and more information on the days’ happenings.

Participating
State of the Art Artists

Symposium Videos

Opening Remarks: Chad Aligood

Chad Alligood co-curated State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now. Beyond State of the Art, Alligood’s ongoing work at Crystal Bridges focuses on the collection, presentation, and scholarship of modern and contemporary American art, with an emphasis on the postwar period.

Alligood is a Perry, Georgia native who earned his bachelor’s degree in History of Art and Architecture from Harvard University, his master’s degree in Art History from the University of Georgia, and has completed his PhD coursework at City University of New York (CUNY).

Alligood came to Crystal Bridges from Cranbrook Art Museum where he served as the Jeanne and Ralph Graham Collections Fellow.

Keynote Lecture: Matthew Moore on Lifecycles

Learn about State of the Art artist Matthew Moore’s passionate, grassroots effort to address environmental and economic sustainability issues through art. Moore is the most recent of four generations to farm his family’s land outside of Phoenix, Arizona. Within five years, however, Moore’s family farm will be transformed into suburbia. The impending loss of the land has inspired Moore to take an active role in educating the public about issues of sustainability and urban sprawl in his work. His project lifecycles uses time-lapse video to educate consumers about the produce they purchase by showing the growing process in the field. These videos are installed in the produce sections of two Bentonville Walmart stores through November 1.

Panel Discussion: People and the Community

Finding ways to engage the viewer is part of the artistic process. Many artists do not consider their work complete until it is activated by the viewer. In this panel discussion, hear about discoveries made by several artists who create participatory art, including Andy DuCett, creator of the playful, interactive Mom Booth; Waite White, who reanimates condemned houses with paintings inspired by the people who lived in them; and Kedgar Volta, who examines the interaction of apartment dwellers with his video installation, False Belief that the Control Resides in Me.

Artists

Andy DuCett, Watie White, Kedgar Volta

Moderator: Sara Segerlin, Senior Museum Educator of Public Programs

Panel Discussion: Science in Artistic Form

With the dangers currently facing our planet’s natural ecosystems, many artists are examining the connections between humanity and the natural world through the lens of science. This panel discussion includes State of the Art artists who mix scientific study with artistic form—featuring Dornith Doherty’s seed bank study of biodiversity; Flora C. Mace’s three-dimensional botanical specimens; Monica Aissa Martinez’s holistic and spiritual study of human anatomy; Isabella Kirkland’s homage to species recently revealed to science; and Susan Goethel Campbell’s merging of nature and consumerism.

Artists

Dornith Doherty, Flora C. Mace, Monica Aissa Martinez, Isabella Kirkland, Susan Goethel Campbell

Moderator: Alissa Walls, University of Arkansas Professor

Panel Discussion: The Home as Artist Residency

Many of the artists featured in State of the Art are rediscovering artistic relationships with their home life. This panel discussion includes Lenka Clayton, who founded her own “Artistic Residency in Motherhood”; Alberto Aguilar, whose video art installation features his children’s living room balloon game; and Kristen Cliffel, whose ceramic sculpture offers commentary on the joys and challenges of family life.

Artists

Alberto Aguilar, Lenka Clayton, Kristen Cliffel

Moderator: Jeanne Vockroth, Associate Museum Educator of Public Programs

Keynote Lecture: Works Progress on Community Engagement

Colin Kloecker and Shanai Matteson, who work collaboratively under the moniker Works Progress, will talk about their Water Bar project for State of the Art and how they engage an expansive network of artists, designers, organizers, and other creative professionals to realize imaginative public art and design projects rooted in place and purpose.

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