Carol Mickett/Robert Stackhouse

Robert Stackhouse, one of the South's foremost contemporary artists, is known for his large-scale architectural paintings and sculptures conveying evocative passageways and structures -- often dealing with themes of transition and journeys. His works, primarily architectural in nature, profoundly highlight the razor thin lines between physical structures and their ephemeral humanistic qualities. His works are included in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art, The Museum of Contemporary Art, The Walker Art Center, and The Art Institute of Chicago among many others.

Carol Mickett, who holds a Ph.D. in philosophy, is an award winning filmmaker, poet and writer. Her most recent work includes directing History Speaks, a video archive of the history of Kansas City and serving as producer/writer for Uniquely Kansas City, a five-part documentary for Kansas City Public Television.

Carol Mickett and Robert Stackhouse had their first collaboration in 1999 when she produced and directed the prize winning film, Robert Stackhouse: an Artist at Work. The project not only showed Mickett and Stackhouse how well they worked together, it also led to their marriage. The two have been collaborating ever since.

 

A Talk by Carol Mickett and Robert Stackhouse
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Lecture: 6:30 p.m., IUPUI Campus Center
Reception: 7:30 p.m., Herron School of Art and Design

Take Me To The River

I don't know why I love you like I do
After all these changes you put me through

Take me to the river
And wash me down
Won't you cleanse my soul
Put my feet on the ground

Just as, in the end, the art we make is about ourselves, this keynote address is about us as well.  It is about our process of making art as a collaborative team, and how we came to this place.  We don't think our story is unique, but one that, we hope, will resonate with other artist. About ten years ago, we were both, so to speak, standing on the bank of a river.  Robert had been riding a strong current but the same current year after year.  He was floating.  Carol had gotten out of her current and was moving from current to current, but without a strong, steady stroke.  At some point, our currents merged and shot us both off to the riverbank to catch our breaths. Here we stood.  We knew we had to re-enter the river, but neither of us knew how.  Together, in our collaboration, we found a way.  That is the subject of our address:  How do you re-enter the river?  How do you do this without drowning?  How do you find a new current without washing away your past experience.  How do you find, once again, the courage to swim with all your strength and yet respect the power of the river.   For us, this is a daily challenge:  take us to the river.

Alfredo Jaar

Born in Chile in 1956, Alfredo Jaar is internationally recognized for his provocative installations and public projects which investigate contemporary socioeconomic issues.  Trained as an architect and filmmaker, he incorporates photography, film, text, sculpture and design into works which have as a continuum the relationship between ethics and aesthetics.  Jaar’s public artworks in the United States include the 1987 A Logo for America, a commission for the Public Art Fund which appeared on the Spectacolor Lightboard in New York’s Times Square, and Rushes, installed in New York City’s Spring Street subway station, which invited commuters to consider the parallels between the material desires of affluent Manhattan and the realities of impoverished Brazil.  Since then, Jaar has made works drawn from first hand witness and research among other issues, toxic waste in Africa, Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong, the genocide in Rwanda, and contemporary Angola.   The most recent works involve critique and reflection on the limits of representation and imagery, seen most clearly in his 2002 presentation at Documenta XI, “The Lament of the Images”.  Jaar’s most recent solo museum show is Alfredo Jaar SCL, a twenty year survey at Telefonicam, Santiago, Chile.  Other recent museum solo exhibitions include Museo d’Arte Contemporaneo in Rome and a forthcoming exhibition at the Musée des Beaux Arts in Lausanne.   

It is Difficult: A Talk by Alfredo Jaar
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Deer Zink Pavilion, Indianapolis Museum of Art
Lecture: 6:30 p.m.
Reception: 7:30 p.m.

Alfredo Jaar, an internationally recognized artist, will present his most recent projects with a focus on public interventions. Jaar is best known for his provocative installations and public projects that investigate socioeconomic issues. Trained as an architect and filmmaker, he often incorporates photography, film, text, sculpture and design into his work. His public art works in the United States include the 1987 A Logo for America, a commission for the Public Art Fund which appeared on the Spectacolor Lightboard in New York’s Times Square, and Rushes, installed in New York City’s Spring Street subway station, which invited commuters to consider the parallels between the material desires of affluent Manhattan and the realities of impoverished Brazil.  Since then Jaar has made works drawn from first hand witness and research, such as toxic waste in Africa, Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong, the genocide in Rwanda and contemporary Angola. His most recent works involve critique and reflection on the limits of representation and imagery, seen most clearly in his 2002 presentation at Documenta XI, “The Lament of Images.” Jaar is one of eight inaugural artists who have been selected to create work for the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park. The Art & Nature Park, set to open in Autumn 2009, will feature temporary site-specific commissions that explore and respond to unique environments.

Dana Claxton

Dana Claxton is an interdisciplinary artist whose work includes film and video, installation, performance and photography. Her work is held in public collections, including the Vancouver Art Gallery, Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Art Bank of Canada. Her work has been screened internationally, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Walker Art Centre (Minneapolis). Her work has been screened at Sundance Festival and Microwave in Hong Kong.

She has taught at the Indigenous Media Arts Group and Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design in Vancouver and she was the 2003 Global Television Chair at the University of Regina in the School of Journalism where she taught Television and Radio broadcasting from the perspective of critical thinking and experimentation with sound and images. Dana was awarded the prestigious VIVA Award from the Doris and Jack Shadbolt Foundation and in 2007 became an Eiteljorg Fellow.

She is an active member in the arts community and has participated in panel discussions, juries, curatorial projects, advisory committees, mentoring youth and young artists. She is of Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux ancestry and her family reserve is Wood Mountain.

Placing the Real into the Imagined: Native American Art and You!
A Talk by Dana Claxton
Friday, October 17, 2008
Lecture: 6:00 p.m., IUPUI Campus Center
Reception: 7:00 p.m. at Eiteljorg Museum of Native American and Western Art

Claxton’s illustrated talk will address difficult knowledge, map histories and unpack cultural assumptions regarding what contemporary Native American art is.  She will present how her work has addressed Lakota Sioux history and contemporary life within her practice as an artist working in film, video, photography, performance and installation.