Andrea Bowers
28 Jun - 27 Aug 2006
ANDREA BOWERS
Nothing is Neutral
Opening reception: Wednesday June 28, 6-9 pm
Exhibition dates: June 28-August 27, 2006
Gallery hours: noon to 6 pm or curtain, closed Mondays
Admission to the gallery is always free
The work of Andrea Bowers explores recent histories of art and politics, amplifying questions of democracy and social engagement. For some fifteen years, Bowers has explored individual expression within society at large, including sports and rock fans as well as political activists. Her work offers a uniquely feminist critique, eliding dogma for dissent and exploding simple notions of radicality.
Bowers’ one-person exhibition at REDCAT features the Los Angeles premiere of her installation Letters to the Army of Three Displayed (2005) which includes a video in which actors read letters written to the Army of Three--three activist women who crusaded for legal abortions and women’s health rights from 1964 to 1973, ostensibly founding the pro-choice movement in the United States. By focusing on the pleas of everyday people, the work questions the notion of activism itself, and offers an elegant meditation on democracy.
The exhibition also features the U.S. premiere of Eulogies to One and Another (2006) a series of paper “monuments,” to Marla Ruzicka and Faiz Ali Salim, two civilians who traveled through Afghanistan and Iraq since 2002 researching civilian deaths and founding the organization Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC) to secure compensation from the U.S. government for families affected by the ongoing conflict. In this series, Bowers documents their efforts through news media obituaries found on the internet as a way to examine the privilege of the powerful and the value placed on individual lives.
Nothing is Neutral is accompanied by a 160-page color catalogue with writings by Connie Butler, Chief Curator of Drawings, Museum of Modern Art, New York; Mary Leclère, Associate Director, Core Residency Program, The Glassell School of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and a conversation between the artist and REDCAT director and curator Eungie Joo.
The exhibition and catalogue Nothing is Neutral: Andrea Bowers are made possible by the generous support of Charlotte and Bill Ford. Additional support provided by Eve Steele and Peter Gelles; Dallas Price-Van Breda; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; Kate Ganz; R-23; Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects; Sara Meltzer Gallery; Galerie Praz-Delavallade, and Mehdi Chouaki.
Related Programs:
* Wednesday, July 5, 8:30pm: Still Radical: Feminist Video from the 70s organized by Nancy Buchanan with a post-screening conversation by Susan Mogul and Andrea Bowers
* Sunday, August 20, 3pm: Necessary Positions: A Conversation about Feminist Art Then and Now organized by Suzanne Lacy
Please visit www.redcat.org for program information and a list of participants.
Visit www.redcat.org or call +1.213.237.2800 for more information
© Andrea Bowers
Eulogies to One and Another 2006
Installation view, Galerie Praz-Delavallade, Paris
Courtesy Galerie Praz-Delavallade and the artist
Nothing is Neutral
Opening reception: Wednesday June 28, 6-9 pm
Exhibition dates: June 28-August 27, 2006
Gallery hours: noon to 6 pm or curtain, closed Mondays
Admission to the gallery is always free
The work of Andrea Bowers explores recent histories of art and politics, amplifying questions of democracy and social engagement. For some fifteen years, Bowers has explored individual expression within society at large, including sports and rock fans as well as political activists. Her work offers a uniquely feminist critique, eliding dogma for dissent and exploding simple notions of radicality.
Bowers’ one-person exhibition at REDCAT features the Los Angeles premiere of her installation Letters to the Army of Three Displayed (2005) which includes a video in which actors read letters written to the Army of Three--three activist women who crusaded for legal abortions and women’s health rights from 1964 to 1973, ostensibly founding the pro-choice movement in the United States. By focusing on the pleas of everyday people, the work questions the notion of activism itself, and offers an elegant meditation on democracy.
The exhibition also features the U.S. premiere of Eulogies to One and Another (2006) a series of paper “monuments,” to Marla Ruzicka and Faiz Ali Salim, two civilians who traveled through Afghanistan and Iraq since 2002 researching civilian deaths and founding the organization Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC) to secure compensation from the U.S. government for families affected by the ongoing conflict. In this series, Bowers documents their efforts through news media obituaries found on the internet as a way to examine the privilege of the powerful and the value placed on individual lives.
Nothing is Neutral is accompanied by a 160-page color catalogue with writings by Connie Butler, Chief Curator of Drawings, Museum of Modern Art, New York; Mary Leclère, Associate Director, Core Residency Program, The Glassell School of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and a conversation between the artist and REDCAT director and curator Eungie Joo.
The exhibition and catalogue Nothing is Neutral: Andrea Bowers are made possible by the generous support of Charlotte and Bill Ford. Additional support provided by Eve Steele and Peter Gelles; Dallas Price-Van Breda; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; Kate Ganz; R-23; Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects; Sara Meltzer Gallery; Galerie Praz-Delavallade, and Mehdi Chouaki.
Related Programs:
* Wednesday, July 5, 8:30pm: Still Radical: Feminist Video from the 70s organized by Nancy Buchanan with a post-screening conversation by Susan Mogul and Andrea Bowers
* Sunday, August 20, 3pm: Necessary Positions: A Conversation about Feminist Art Then and Now organized by Suzanne Lacy
Please visit www.redcat.org for program information and a list of participants.
Visit www.redcat.org or call +1.213.237.2800 for more information
© Andrea Bowers
Eulogies to One and Another 2006
Installation view, Galerie Praz-Delavallade, Paris
Courtesy Galerie Praz-Delavallade and the artist