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State Art Collection

Contemporary Conversations: Educational programs & other activities

(subject to change)

 

  • Opening reception for Part I
    Thursday, October 1
    7 – 9 p.m.

  • The Biennial Paradox
    Presented by Eleanor Heartney, curator
    Organized and sponsored by the S.C. Arts Commission and 701 Center for Contemporary Art
    Friday, October 16
    6 p.m.

    Over the last 20 years, globalism has reshaped the international art world, and one of the most important contributing factors has been the rise of the International biennial. Once confined to a few key locations (among them Venice and Kassel, Germany) such shows have emerged in recent years in art centers as diverse as Singapore, Beijing, Johannesburg, Havana, Dubai, Istanbul and Gwangju, Korea. They have become a means for artists outside the mainstream to become noticed and for curators, critics, collectors and dealers to expose themselves to a wide range of international art. But there is another side to biennials as well. They serve their host countries in a variety of ways -- promoting cultural tourism, bringing in international revenue, promoting various non-art agendas and at times countering the bad publicity generated by less felicitous social, economic and political problems.

    This talk will look at the biennial phenomenon and discuss the reasons for their proliferation, the nature of their influence on local and global art worlds, the differences between specific biennials, and their relative value in the ever more complex international art world.

  • Art Today - Tales of Plastic Surgery, Genetically Altered Rabbits, and Other Acts of Art
    (a discussion about contemporary art, followed by a book signing)
    Presented by Eleanor Heartney, curator
    Sponsored by 701 Center for Contemporary Art
    Monday, October 19
    6 p.m.

    Is there even a vague family resemblance between things currently accepted as art? How do we make sense of an art scene that encompasses Eduardo Kac’s genetically engineered rabbit, Mel Chin’s land reclamation project, Orlan’s plastic surgery experiments and Francis Alys’ walks and processions? This lecture, based on Art and Today, critic Eleanor Heartney’s recently published survey of contemporary art, examines the extreme pluralism of the contemporary art world and suggests how we might think about art in an era when all the old categories, definitions and organizational schema no longer seem to work.

    Book Signing – Art & Today by Eleanor Heartney
    Targeting the same audience as Phaidon's highly successful and long-selling Art Today by Edward Lucie-Smith, Art & Today surveys contemporary art from 1980 to today, discussing over 450 of the most important artists of the last 25 years. This emphasis on broad, thematic relationships defies the narrow, now-tired classifications of medium, period, genre, or geographic region so often regurgitated in contemporary art surveys of this ilk. Instead, Art & Today posits fresh, thought-provoking juxtapositions of artists from different regions, periods and mediums. For instance, in the chapter "Art and the Body," one might find performance discussed alongside figurative painting, sculpture and photography alongside video, and North American artists alongside Asian artists. Internationally renowned art critic and scholar, Eleanor Heartney is respected for her clear language and pragmatic approach to contemporary art. Her straightforward, engaging descriptions and explanations will appeal to both experts and newcomers alike.

  • Opening Reception for Part II
    Thursday, November 5
    6 – 9 p.m.

  • Behind the Scenes: The Making of the State Art Collection Panel Discussion
    Organized and sponsored by the S.C. Arts Commission and 701 Center for Contemporary Art
    Thursday, November 5
    6 – 7:30 p.m., followed by the opening reception

    The State Art Collection is a unique contemporary art collection in the state. While the collection is known intimately by many, it still remains a mystery to others. From its humble beginnings in 1967 with the purchase of seven works, to its current standing of 448 works, the State Art Collection is considered one of the most significant bodies of works by contemporary South Carolina artists. A panel comprised of former State Art Collection Acquisitions Committee members and former and current S.C. Arts Commission visual arts directors, will reveal unknown and little-known facts about one of the state’s cultural treasures.