Topics in Art

Modality: Remote-Blended (combination of synchronous and asynchronous work) The interdisciplinary genre of intervention in contemporary art weaponizes what art can do to structures of power in uncertain situations. In May '68 in Paris, the anti-fascist movements in Chile and Argentina of the 70s and 80s, or Occupy Wall Street in 2011, art interventions have incited, given form to, and helped sustain long-term rebellions. Moreover, within such massive historical events, and more rarely discussed, some of the most beautiful interventions originate in artists' personal and inherited memory. For instance, during the Idle No More movement among First Nations in Canada, Kwakwañkañ'wakw artist Chief Beau Dick journeyed to shame centers of Canadian power in Lalakenis I (2013) and Lalakenis II (2014). These actions developed from Dick's memory of an uncle's passing anecdote, which dreamed of rectifying a highly meaningful yet dormant traditional ceremony. Slightly earlier, in 2006, at the onset of the US occupation of Iraq and wide-spread anti-Arab racism, artist Michael Rakowitz re-opened his Iraqi grandfather's import-export business by installing a temporary storefront in Brooklyn. Doing so, he defiantly claimed a cultural history in an environment trying to destroy it, while simultaneously inviting New Yorkers to participate in the impossible task of making an exchange with an economy under siege. In this studio course, students will attempt to construct their own interventions by integrating familiar everyday acts (i.e. walking, praying, cooking) with contemporary media (i.e. installation, performance, video) which we will conceive through memory exercises and the exploration of what is politically urgent. We will ground this process in a sustained encounter with local struggles in Whatcom County, in order to energize studio time and contextualize the larger significance of our personal memories and artistic visions. So, in addition to learning from related contemporary artists and hands-on practices, we will listen to local activists and community organizers, visit (if possible) archives and sites. Students will learn how to take these kinds of direct encounters and form them into art interventions that contribute to a particular struggle for justice while implicating the role of their own histories, bodies, families, and cultures. Students regardless of skill or experience in fine art are welcome to register.