The Way Beyond Art: Wide White Space
CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, CA
January 20 – February 5, 2011
Curator: Jon Sueda
Statement: «Wide White Space investigates graphic design’s evolving relationship with the practice of exhibition making as it intersects with the visual arts and the work of both artists and curators. All of the designers chosen for inclusion in the show consciously construct a narrative around their work, position themselves as authors of autonomous creative projects, and maintain a conceptually rigorous, research-based and historical approach at the core of their practice.
Curated by Jon Sueda of the San Francisco design practice Stripe SF, and in collaboration with CCA’s Graphic Design and Graduate Design programs, this is the second in a series of Wattis Institute exhibitions that integrate the Wattis with CCA’s faculty and curriculum.
Wider White Space is an adjunct program of conversations with Bob Aufuldish, Rachel Berger, Eric Heiman, Wendy Ju, MacFadden & Thorpe, Emily McVarish, Michael Vanderbyl, and Martin Venezky as well as a rotating series of exhibitions curated by undergraduate and graduate students in design, presented in S1 and S2 over the course of the spring semester.»
Support and partnerships: «Wide White Space is supported in part by public funds from the Netherlands Cultural Services.
Founding support for CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts programs has been provided by Phyllis C. Wattis and Judy and Bill Timken. General support for the Wattis Institute provided by the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, Grants for the Arts / San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund, Ann Hatch and Paul Discoe, and the CCA Curator’s Forum.»
Participants: APFEL, Irma Boom, Laurenz Brunner and Julia Born, Sara De Bondt, Mevis and Van Deursen, Dexter Sinister, Experimental Jetset, Will Holder, Indexhibit, Zak Kyes, James Langdon, LUST, Niessen & de Vries, Practise, Project Projects, Yann Sérandour and Jérôme Saint-Loubert Bié, Stedelijk Museum, Sulki and Min, Mylinh Trieu Nguyen, Hansje van Halem, and the Walker Art Center.
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Following the exhibition, and extending the latter’s scope, Jon Sueda lead a class at CCA focusing on curating and exhibiting graphic design. An interview with Jon Sueda about the exhibition and the class is available at Fisk.
Another interesting interview with Sueda was made by Emmet Byrne at the Walker Art Center’s blog.
