War Fair: Occupation Games for Citizens and Non-Combatants
Posted October 8, 2008 by colin_matthes in Justseeds & Member Projects
I am installing a show in Milwaukee called "War Fair: Occupation Games for Citizens and Non-Combatants" at the INOVA/Kenilworth gallery. The opening is from 6-9 pm this Friday (October 10th).
Posted below are a few images from the install, a statement about the project, and details about the opening. Also, you can check out more images from the install on my new flickr account.
Statement
"War Fair: Occupation Games for Citizens and Non-Combatants"
Over the past 16 years, I have worked with my father as an electrician at the county fair in my hometown of Jefferson, Wisconsin. My relationship to the fair and its motley assortment of demolition derbies, farm animals, carnival barkers, the God Mobile trailer, and cricket spitting contests is complicated, ranging from fondness to repulsion.
I am drawn to the chaos and the scrappy order of the fair-especially the signs and carnival games hand-crafted from common materials. But I am disturbed by the increasing military presence, with Army recruitment tents and displays of child-sized Hummer vehicles presented as lighthearted county fair entertainment.
My experiences at the fair have influenced me to create a carnival game and series of drawings that comment on war as spectacle and war as participatory game. War Fair transforms the viewer into a game player and asks, “How real does something have to become before you will not play (pay) anymore?”
Press Release
The Institute of Visual Arts (Inova) at the UWM Peck School of the Arts opens an exhibition of work by the seven artists who received Greater Milwaukee Foundation's Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowships for Individual Artists in 2007.
When: Friday, October 10, 2008; reception 6-9 pm; gallery talk at 6:30 pm
Where: Inova/Kenilworth, 2155 N. Prospect Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53202
Who: Gary John Gresl, Mark Klassen and Dan Ollman (Established Artists)
Annie Killelea, Faythe Levine, Colin Matthes and Kevin J. Miyazaki (Emerging Artists)
Inova will host an opening and reception to honor the Nohl Fellows on Friday, October 10, from 6-9 pm. Inova curator Nicholas Frank will give a gallery talk at 6:30 pm.
Ten additional events have been scheduled in conjunction with the Nohl exhibition, including artist talks and presentations, screenings, a game night and other events orchestrated by each of the seven participating artists. All of these events are free; while most are in the Inova/Kenilworth gallery, some events occur offsite.
An exhibition catalogue will be available for purchase in the gallery during the opening and throughout the exhibition.
Inova/Kenilworth will be open on Gallery Night and Day, October 17 and 18. Gallery hours are Wednesday & Friday-Sunday, noon to 5 pm and Thursday, noon-8 pm.
Click for complete information on the artists and their events.
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