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‘Media Projects’ create fluid view of contemporary artwork

Oct. 17 – Dec. 14, Layton Gallery
Read the review on jsonline.com

Curated by renowned artist/Professor Jason S. Yi, Media Projects 2008 brings time-based works, photography and sculpture by leading international and national multi-media artists as part of Gallery Night October 17 at Wisconsin’s only independent college of art and design. The exhibition runs through December 14 in MIAD’s Frederick Layton Gallery, with an Artist Gallery Talk and Reception on Wednesday, October 22, 6-8 p.m.

“The genre of video/filmmaking that is often referred to as documentary has moved far beyond the linear narrative format we’re familiar with from films and television,” said Mark Lawson, Director of Galleries. “The three artists in this exhibition all create videos that could be labeled documentaries but they are less narrative, more open-ended and closer to the unscripted, unpredictable pattern of real-life experience.”

The participating artists were selected, said Yi, to “create a fluid view of contemporary artwork.” Widely exhibited, they are:

  • Bodil Furu (Oslo, Norway), whose work focuses on aspects of contemporary human life but avoids the conventions of traditional documentary. It is skillfully crafted yet representative of the awkwardness, informality and unpredictability inherent in the organic nature of humanity and culture we create around us. Furu has a degree in Fine Arts and a background in music and carpentry, and she has exhibited at such venues as the 10th International Istanbul Biennial and New York’s Museum of Modern Art. www.bodilfuru.com.
  • Adam Frelin (Albany, NY) produces fictional narratives that have all the trappings of a documentary. They often act as cautionary tales focusing primarily on humanity’s hubris and our often complex and difficult relationship with the natural world. Frelin is the recipient of several national and international awards and grants and has exhibited throughout the United States as well as in Europe and Japan. www.adamfrelin.com
  • Bethany Springer (Fayetteville, AK), a self-described resident of the “southern Midwest,” often focuses on the region’s disappearing sense of territory and place in the wake of changing sensibilities engendered by new communications and globalism. Springer says that she “attempts to examine how these larger phenomena affect regional identity and subsequently impact individual experience….” She is the recipient of several awards and grants and has exhibited throughout the United States. www.bethanyspringer.com

Frelin and Springer will participate in the gallery talk October 22.

The gallery is located in the college’s main academic building at 273 E. Erie St. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Admission is free.

  • Download the news release. (PDF)