Thursday, May 6, 2010

We have as much time as it takes


We have as much time as it takes
CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts
Lower and Upper Galleries
May 6–July 31, 2010

We have as much time as it takes calls attention to the multiple conditions that determine artistic display in the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts. As an art gallery located within an educational institution, the Wattis Institute requires the steady production of tangible, professional results. Responding to this situation, We have as much time as it takes presents practices that expose, directly or symbolically, the often unquestioned and overlooked systems and economies related to such a situation. The show features 10 international artists and collectives working in a variety of media, including sculpture, installation, performance, and video. Many of the works are new, site-responsive commissions created especially for this exhibition.

We have as much time as it takes questions and highlights expectations of achievement, productivity, and established systems of management that make up the programs and academic mission of the Wattis Institute and CCA. The artworks converge and intersect in ways that confront exhibition-making's usual emphasis on visibility and timeliness, not to mention academic and institutional deadlines. The works embody circular processes, resist completion, welcome change, and refute demands for definable results and resolution. They challenge the conventional form of the art object and the traditional parameters of exhibitions.

The title comes from the 1957 film 12 Angry Men, a dramatic play that takes place entirely in a jury room where 12 men must agree on a verdict. At one point, juror number eight argues with his fellows for more time in order to adequately review the case. The exhibition's themes emphasize careful deliberation, cooperation, and consideration, and the title points out the complex processes behind the organization of an exhibition, especially given our added challenge of 12 curators needing to come to agreement. The title is indeed also a wry, tongue-in-cheek commentary on the finality of a graduate degree.

Lawrence Weiner's architectural intervention quite literally exposes the inner structure of the gallery while addressing issues of authorship and instruction. Nina Beier and Marie Lund, as well as Sandra Nakamura, expose the often-unquestioned systems underlying art, academic institutions, and their relative economies. Roman Ondák's work suggests a utopian no-time, a dream in which the calendar's demands are never met. Christine Wong Yap's shadowy statement satirically points to its own unobtainability. Jason Mena's constant movement and reorganization of common classroom objects refers to the human drive to create systems and questions the productivity of such behavior, thus resonating directly with the context of an educational space. David Horvitz's projects utilize existing systems of distribution and publication established by institutions and exhibitions. Zachary Royer Scholz engages with the detritus of the gallery and the materials of exhibition making to create temporary, conditional sculptures.

Two collectives will present newly commissioned pieces that engage directly with the venue. In an effort to define and call attention to the physical circumstances of CCA and the Wattis Institute, Tercerunquinto's work will involve changing existing spatial dynamics by manipulating the architectural elements of public and private spaces. Red76's central concern is to come to terms with the world and to redefine those terms—to imagine "what would happen if … ?"

We have as much time as it takes is curated by second-year students about to receive their master's degrees from CCA's Graduate Program in Curatorial Practice. The students are Jacqueline Clay, Nicole Cromartie, Courtney Dailey, Emily Gonzalez, Jacqueline Im, Kristin Korolowicz, Sharon Lerner, Katie Hood Morgan, Maria Elena Ortiz, Arden Sherman, Joanna Szupinska, and Josephine Zarkovich. The show has been developed with the support of Magali Arriola, adjunct professor; Julian Myers, assistant professor; and Claire Fitzsimmons, Wattis Institute deputy director. This is the first time that the program's thesis exhibition has been presented in the Wattis galleries, and its opening is timed to coincide with the openings of CCA's collegewide graduate thesis exhibitions. We hope in this way to deepen the relationship between our program, the Wattis's programming, and CCA's academic life, and to generate interdisciplinary discourses. Our status as students and curators-in-training within an educational institution and professional environment is underscored by the show's ambition to explore the possibilities, and the limitations, of its very specific setting.

Designed by Jon Sueda / Stripe, the exhibition catalog features interviews with each of the artists; a project by Matthew Rana, a student in the Graduate Program in Visual and Critical Studies; and texts by the local poet Jasper Bernes and the writers Erica Levin and Daniel Marcus. The publication is available as a downloadable PDF.

A dynamic series of public programs will take place over the exhibition's three-month duration, both inside and outside the gallery. On May 18 from 7–10 p.m. there will be a one-night-only screening of James Benning's 2005 film One Way Boogie Woogie / 27 Years Later accompanied by a reception and other events. There will also be workshops with participating artists Sandra Nakamura and Red76. Details to be announced soon.

Many thanks to the Getty Foundation for its support of Magali Arriola's participation in the Exhibition Project course.

Founding support for CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts programs has been provided by Phyllis C. Wattis and Judy and Bill Timken. Generous support provided by the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, Grants for the Arts / San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund, Ann Hatch and Paul Discoe, and the CCA Curator's Forum.

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