No Absolutes Contemporary Art from the Region

No Absolutes: Contemporary Art from the Region

No Absolutes is part of an ongoing series of regional exhibitions initiated by community meetings in 1996 to determine how the museum could meet its goal to serve and present contemporary regional art. For No Absolutes, three curators at the Museum – Marilyn Zeitlin, Heather Lineberry and John Spiak – brought their different perspectives to select artists who are producing strong and innovative work in the Southwest.

Some of the artists have never exhibited in the area; others have produced new and exciting work; and several are creating site specific pieces. The exhibition and the work in it reflect the contemporary Zeitgeist of questioning boundaries. The work ranges from painting to video installation, with many of the artists changing their media to suit the content of each piece. Many works address issues of ethnic identity or personal and political history. Viewed together the work raises questions about the idea of regionalism: What does “regional” mean? Isn’t everywhere a region? Is your work inevitably regional?

The artists will be involved in public programs as well as designing educational materials for school groups and museum visitors. The Museum’s staff is currently fundraising for a catalogue to accompany the exhibition with essays by the curators and images of the work.

The Artists
No Absolutes includes the work of Robert Adams (Phoenix), Connie Arismendi (Texas), Colin Cook (Southern California), Kim Cridler (Tempe), Luis Gutierrez (Texas), Jon Haddock (Tempe), Leslie Hill and Helen Paris (Tempe and London), Craig Smith (Phoenix), and Joe Willie Smith (Phoenix).

ASU Art Museum Presentation
Organized by Marilyn A. Zeitlin, Heather Sealy Lineberry and John D. Spiak, No Absolutes will be installed in the Top and Kresge Galleries of the Arizona State University Art Museum’s Nelson Fine Arts Center, with a project by Jon Haddock in the Experimental Gallery at Matthews Center.

Duration
No Absolutes (October 8, 2000 – January 7, 2001) is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm, Sunday from 1 pm to 5 pm.

Support
The exhibition is supported in part by Friends of the Arizona State University Art Museum.