Prepared: Strategies for Activists (William T. Kemper Foundation International Artist-in-Residence Chen Shaoxiong)

Exhibition

Exhibition Overview

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Prepared: Strategies for Activists (William T. Kemper Foundation International Artist-in-Residence Chen Shaoxiong)
Kris Ercums, curator
Central Court, Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

The result of Beijing-based artist Chen Shaoxiong’s month-long residency in March 2012, Prepared: Strategies for Activists, is a dynamic multi-media installation that delves into the complexities of contemporary social activism, drawing on the perspectives of a diverse cast of contributors, including scholars, students, artists, and activists.

In light of recent political movements around the world in 2011—from the Arab Spring to Occupy Wall Street—Chen conceived his project as an attempt to better understand the "anatomy of a protest." A primary aim of the project is to foster a better understanding of the broader historical and cultural iterations of demonstration strategies and tactics deployed around the world.

During the course of Chen's residency, the Museum became a "training camp for activists"—a site for sustained inquiry into protest strategies and activist discourse. With its grassroots approach to exhibition-making, Prepared: Strategies for Activists attempts to embody the organic, dynamic processes of the protest in action.

A substantial part of the exhibition comprises artwork dealing with demonstration tactics. The exhibition also features protest artifacts that trace the turbulent history of social activism in the 20th century, including banners, posters, and other ephemera that range from local 1980s anti-nuclear activism to more recent events by Occupy Wall Street. Drawn from the Spencer’s permanent collection, a timeline charts different historical iterations of protests and includes documentary photography and works on paper by artists Bullet Space, Andre Devambez, Lesbia Vent Dumois, Archie Scott Gobber, Guerrilla Girls, Lewis Wickes Hine, Hugo Kaagman, Michael Krueger, Alex Lukas, Josh MacPhee, Lee Neary, Sean O'Neil, Marion Palfi, Alexander Rodchenko, Arthur S. Siegel, Andy Warhol, and Dan Wynn.

This project and exhibition are supported by the William T. Kemper Foundation. The Spencer’s international residency series has also been supported by the Freeman Foundation and the Center for East Asian Studies, the University of Kansas.

Exhibition images

Works of art

Andy Warhol, Wadsworth Atheneum
1964
Lewis Wickes Hine
circa 1910
Bullet Space
1990–1991
Arthur S. Siegel
1939
Sean O'Neil
2004
Michael Sims, Lawrence Lithography Workshop, Archie Scott Gobber, Cecilia Bakker
2004
André Edouard Devambez
1902
Thomas Hart Benton
1951
Michael Krueger
2004
Hugo Kaagman
1980–1981
Alex Lukas, Leah Mackin
2011
Bullet Space
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Anton van Dalen
1989
Bullet Space, Andrew Castrucci, Nadia Coën
1990–1991
Bullet Space
1990–1991
Bullet Space
1990–1991
Bullet Space
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Paul Castrucci
1990–1991
Bullet Space, John A. Fekner
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Eric Drooker
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Stash Two
1990
Bullet Space, Tom McGlynn, Emily Carter
1990
Bullet Space, Day Gleeson, Dennis Thomas
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Nadia Coën
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Anton van Dalen
1990
Bullet Space, Juan Sánchez
1990
Bullet Space, Martin Wong
1990
Bullet Space, Andrew Castrucci, Miguel Piñero
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Betzaida Concepción
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Seth Tobocman
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Sabrina Jones
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Sabrina Jones
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Red David Rodriguez
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Marguerite van Cook, James Romberger
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Neighborhood News
1990–1991
Bullet Space, David Wojnarowicz
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Lee Quiñones, Eduardo Hughes Galeano
1990–1991
Bullet Space, John A. Fekner
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Lady Pink
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Sebastian Schroder
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Missing Foundation
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Walter Sipser
1990–1991
Bullet Space, William Bruce Witsiepe
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Tom McGlynn
1990
Bullet Space, Will Sales
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Vincent William Gagliostro, Avram Finkelstein
1990–1991
Bullet Space, Andrew Castrucci
1990–1991

Events

February 29, 2012
Activity
12:00–1:00PM
Gallery 317 Central Court
March 2, 2012
Activity
9:00–11:00AM
March 7, 2012
Workshop
5:30–7:30PM
Gallery 317 Central Court
March 8, 2012
Workshop
4:30–7:30PM
March 9, 2012
Activity
12:00–12:30PM
Gallery 317 Central Court
March 14, 2012
Workshop
5:30–7:30PM
Gallery 317 Central Court
March 15, 2012
Talk
12:00–1:00PM
Gallery 317 Central Court
March 16, 2012
Activity
12:00–12:30PM
Gallery 317 Central Court
March 28, 2012
Workshop
5:30–7:30PM
Gallery 317 Central Court
March 30, 2012
Activity
12:00–12:30PM
Gallery 317 Central Court
April 2, 2012
Talk
2:00–4:00PM
Gallery 317 Central Court
April 5, 2012
Social
5:30–7:30PM
Gallery 317 Central Court
April 11, 2012
Social
5:30–7:30PM
317 Central Court, Multiple Galleries
April 11, 2012
Talk
5:30–6:00PM
July 12, 2012
Screening
5:45–6:45PM
309 Auditorium