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
April 11, 2012–July 22, 2012
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
Race Riot, 1964
Lewis Wickes Hine
Lewis Wickes Hine
Bullet Space
portfolio cover, 1990–1991
Arthur S. Siegel
Sean O'Neil
Michael Sims; Lawrence Lithography Workshop; Archie Scott Gobber; Cecilia Bakker
Doers, 2004
André Edouard Devambez
La charge, 1902
Thomas Hart Benton
Michael Krueger
Hugo Kaagman
Alex Lukas; Leah Mackin
Bullet Space
endpaper, 1990–1991
Bullet Space; Anton van Dalen
title page, 1989
Bullet Space; Andrew Castrucci; Nadia Coën
epigraph, 1990–1991
Bullet Space
colophon, 1990–1991
Bullet Space
dedication, 1990–1991
Bullet Space
text, 1990–1991
Bullet Space; Paul Castrucci
Landscape, 1990–1991
Bullet Space; John A. Fekner
Bullet Space; Eric Drooker
Wake Up, Man, 1990–1991
Bullet Space; Stash Two
Subway Map, 1990
Bullet Space; Tom McGlynn; Emily Carter
I Love N.Y., 1990
Bullet Space; Day Gleeson; Dennis Thomas
Homelessness at Work, 1990–1991
Bullet Space; Nadia Coën
Bullet Space; Anton van Dalen
Bullet Space; Juan Sánchez
Bullet Space; Martin Wong
Bullet Space; Andrew Castrucci; Miguel Piñero
Bullet Space; Betzaida Concepción
By Betsy, 1990–1991
Bullet Space; Seth Tobocman
Umbrella House, 1990–1991
Bullet Space; Sabrina Jones
untitled, 1990–1991
Bullet Space; Sabrina Jones
untitled, 1990–1991
Bullet Space; Red David Rodriguez
Bullet Space; Marguerite van Cook; James Romberger
Bullet Space; Neighborhood News
Bullet Space; David Wojnarowicz
Democracy at Work, 1990–1991
Bullet Space; Lee Quiñones; Eduardo Hughes Galeano
Century of the Wind, 1990–1991
Bullet Space; John A. Fekner
N.Y. + D.K. Forever, 1990–1991
Bullet Space; Lady Pink
Bullet Space; Sebastian Schroder
Untitled, 1990–1991
Bullet Space; Missing Foundation
Bullet Space; Walter Sipser
Crutch, 1990–1991
Bullet Space; William Bruce Witsiepe
Hail Disaster, 1990–1991
Bullet Space; Tom McGlynn
Die Ha, 1990
Bullet Space; Will Sales
Bullet Space; Vincent William Gagliostro; Avram Finkelstein
Enjoy AZT (ACT UP), 1990–1991
Bullet Space; Andrew Castrucci
Fishook, 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