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MFA in Studio Art Presents: "How Contemporary is Contemporary Art?"

April 27, 2015, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location University Hall - Room 1040
SponsorCollege of the Arts, Department of Art and Design, MFA ProgramCostFreeMore Informationhttp:/‌/‌www.montclair.edu/‌arts/‌art-and-design/‌academic-programs/‌graduate-programs/‌art-studio-mfa/‌Posted InCollege of the Arts
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Do old ideas of how art works fit in a world where fundamental ideas of self and public space are fast changing? How are artists from different parts of the world responding differently to these questions? What are the challenges of capturing the moment through an art show when the moment is characterized by diversity and disruption?

The "New Museum Triennial 2014: Surround Audience," co-curated by Lauren Cornell and artist Ryan Trecartin, presents some 51 artists from around the world, responding to "a time when culture has become more porous and encompassing and new considerations about art’s role and potential are surfacing," with a specific focus on artists operating in new ways through media and finding purchase in new kinds of spaces outside the old art world models.

Lauren Cornell is co-curator of the 2015 New Museum Triennial. From 2005-2012, she served as executive director of Rhizome and adjunct curator at the New Museum, where she has organized exhibitions including Walking Drifting Dragging, Free, and served as part of the curatorial team for the inaugural Triennial in 2009, with Massimiliano Gioni and Laura Hoptman. At the New Museum, Cornell has also produced performance and live events with dozens of artists including Xavier Cha, Jill Magid, Trevor Paglen, and, in 2010, she founded the annual conference Seven on Seven. From 2002-2004, she served as executive director of Ocularis, a former microcinema in Brooklyn. She is co-editor, with Ed Halter, of the forthcoming book Mass Effect: Art and the Internet in the 21st Century (MIT Press/ New Museum, 2015), and has contributed to publications including Frieze, Mousse, LTTR, North Drive Press and The Paris Review. Since 2013, she has been on the faculty at Bard Center for Curatorial Studies.

Ben Davis is an art critic living and working in New York City. He is currently National Art Critic for artnet News, and critic-in-residence at Montclair State University. He was formerly executive editor of Artinfo.com and one of the editors of The Elements of Architecture, the catalogue for the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale. His writings have appeared in Adbusters, The Brooklyn Rail, Frieze, New YorkSlate.com, The Village Voice, and many other venues. He is the author of 9.5 Theses on Art and Class (Haymarket, 2013), which was nominated for Best Work of Criticism by the International Association of Art Critics, and was mentioned as one of the art books of 2013 by Verso BooksFrieze.com, The Progressive, The Village Voice, and several other publications. Reviewing the book, The Stranger wrote, "We should hold town halls on this book.”

Event listing on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/377681062418610/