When Home Won't Let You Stay: Migration through Contemporary Art | ICA/Boston
Summary
TLDRThe exhibition at the ICA explores the complex themes of human migration and its impact on society through contemporary art. It features works by artists like Reena Kallat, Richard Mosse, and Yinka Shonibare, who use various mediums to depict migration narratives, from personal stories to broader cultural influences. The exhibition serves as a thought-provoking platform for discussing the profound challenges and experiences associated with movement, borders, and identity.
Takeaways
- 🏛️ The ICA's exhibition focuses on pressing global issues, aligning with its history of addressing significant topics.
- 🎨 The exhibition is rooted in the belief that contemporary artists can tackle profound and challenging issues of our time.
- 🌐 Human movement is a historical narrative of civilization, driven by various reasons such as persecution, war, economic opportunities, and education.
- 🌳 The exhibition starts with Reena Kallat's 'Woven Chronicles', a large-scale installation symbolizing the movement of people and goods with electric cables.
- 🏘️ Artists in the exhibition explore themes of migration through different lenses, including borders, refugee camps, home spaces, and the sea.
- 👨🎨 Richard Mosse examines experiences at borders and migration routes, while Do Ho Suh delves into the concept of home.
- 🌊 Isaac Julien and Kader Attia focus on the sea's role in migration narratives.
- 🤝 The ICA collaborates with artists who are also activists, integrating their work into the community fabric.
- 🗣️ Anthony Romero's '...first and thought, then in action' is a community-driven project that began with meetings in East Boston, featuring a sculptural cart and performances.
- 📚 Yinka Shonibare's 'The American Library' is a monumental installation of 6,000 books, each covered in Dutch wax fabric and embossed with names of immigrants who influenced American culture.
- 🔍 The exhibition aims to be a starting point for deeper exploration and discussion on the complex topic of migration from various perspectives.
Q & A
What is the main theme of the exhibition discussed in the transcript?
-The main theme of the exhibition is the exploration of migration and the movement of people, highlighting the profound and challenging issues associated with it.
Why does the ICA hold exhibitions on pressing global issues?
-The ICA holds exhibitions on pressing global issues because of its long history and a profound belief in the role contemporary artists can play in addressing these issues.
What is the significance of the exhibition's focus on migration?
-The focus on migration is significant as it tells the story of human civilization, reflecting on why people move due to persecution, war, or in search of better opportunities.
Which artist's work begins the exhibition, and what does it represent?
-The exhibition begins with a large-scale installation by Mumbai artist Reena Kallat, which traces the movement of people and goods throughout the world.
What is 'Woven Chronicles' and what materials does it use?
-'Woven Chronicles' is a wall drawing made using electric cables, symbolizing the implications of such lines drawn across territories and their dual role as both conduits and barriers.
How does the exhibition explore the concept of migration?
-The exhibition explores migration through various artists' works that focus on different aspects such as borders, refugee camps, the space of the home, and the sea.
Which artists are mentioned in the script as focusing on migration narratives?
-Richard Mosse, Do Ho Suh, Isaac Julien, and Kader Attia are mentioned as focusing on migration narratives through their art.
What role do artists-activists play in the exhibition?
-Artists-activists like Tanya Bruguera and Michelle Ortiz play a role in the exhibition by integrating their work into the fabric of their communities, often addressing social issues.
What is Anthony Romero's contribution to the exhibition?
-Anthony Romero, an artist and activist, contributed a piece titled '...first and thought, then in action', which began with community meetings and listening sessions in East Boston.
What is the significance of Yinka Shonibare's 'The American Library' in the exhibition?
-Yinka Shonibare's 'The American Library' is a monumental installation consisting of 6,000 books covered in Dutch wax fabric, with the names of individuals who impacted American culture, highlighting the contributions of immigrants.
What is the intended outcome of the exhibition according to the script?
-The exhibition aims to serve as a signpost, encouraging deep engagement with the topic of migration from various perspectives and fostering complex discussions on current cultural issues.
Outlines
🌍 'Migration and Art' Exhibition at the ICA
The script introduces an exhibition at the ICA that focuses on the theme of migration, a subject of global significance. It emphasizes the ICA's commitment to showcasing contemporary art that addresses pressing issues. The exhibition explores the historical and contemporary reasons for human movement, including persecution, war, economic opportunities, and education. It features a variety of artists and their works that reflect on migration narratives, such as Reena Kallat's 'Woven Chronicles,' which uses electric cables to symbolize the dual nature of borders as both connectors and barriers. Other artists like Richard Mosse, Do Ho Suh, and Isaac Julien contribute by examining experiences along borders, the concept of home, and the sea's role in migration, respectively. The exhibition also includes community-engaged art by activists like Tanya Bruguera and Michelle Ortiz, and a commissioned piece by Anthony Romero that involves community input from East Boston. The exhibition concludes with Yinka Shonibare's 'The American Library,' an installation of books symbolizing the impact of immigrants on American culture. The script suggests that the exhibition is an invitation to delve into the complex topic of migration from multiple perspectives.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Contemporary Artists
💡Migration
💡Site-Specific Installation
💡Borders
💡Home
💡Activism
💡Community Engagement
💡Cultural Impact
💡Dutch Wax Fabric
💡Great Migration
💡Migratory Object
Highlights
ICA's history of exhibitions focuses on pressing global topics.
Exhibition emphasizes the role of contemporary artists in addressing challenging issues.
Human movement is a story of civilization, driven by various reasons including persecution and pursuit of opportunities.
Reena Kallat's installation visualizes the global movement of people and goods.
Woven Chronicles is a wall drawing made from electric cables symbolizing both connection and barriers.
Artists explore migration narratives through various themes like borders, homes, and seas.
Richard Mosse examines experiences at borders and migration routes.
Do Ho Suh delves into the concept of home in the context of migration.
Isaac Julien and Kader Attia focus on the sea's role in migration stories.
Activist artists like Tanya Bruguera and Michelle Ortiz integrate their work into community fabric.
Anthony Romero's community-based project includes a sculptural cart and performances reflecting East Boston's perspectives.
The artist's personal experience with immigration informs the creation of a migratory object inspired by street culture.
Yinka Shonibare's The American Library installation features books honoring immigrants' impact on American culture.
The exhibition serves as a signpost for deeper exploration of migration through art.
The exhibition invites audiences to engage with complex questions surrounding migration and culture.
Transcripts
The ICA has a long history of doing exhibitions about the most pressing
topics that are happening in the world and this follows right in line with that history.
At the root of this exhibition is a really profound belief in the role
that contemporary artists can play in addressing some of the most profound and
challenging issues of the day.
People have always moved for a variety of different reasons.
It's the story of who we are and how we got here.
It's the story of human civilization.
People have moved because they've been persecuted,
because of war. They've also moved for better financial horizons or better education.
The exhibition begins with a large scale
site-specific installation by the Mumbai artist Reena Kallat.
It traces the movement of people and goods throughout the world.
Woven Chronicles essentially is a wall drawing
made using the electric cable. I mean, I often think about these lines as
something that you know when drawn across territory has huge implications
for people on either side and here it's sort of morphs into barb wires and fences
holding inherent contradictions of being both a conduit carrier
and a barrier the same time.
Many of the artists in the exhibition are thinking about those
sites and places that come up in migration narratives.
Richard Mosse is looking at experiences along borders
and along major migration routes and in refugee camps.
Do Ho Suh is exploring the space of the home.
Isaac Julien, Kader Attia are thinking about the sea.
We worked with a variety of different artists, including several artists
who are activists like Tanya Bruguera and Michelle Ortiz,
whose work really is often part of the fabric of their own communities.
We commissioned the artist and activist Anthony Romero to undertake
a piece that he titled ...first and thought, then in action. This project began with a
series of community meetings and listening sessions in East Boston.
At the ICA, he is going to have both a sculptural cart as well as a series of
performances and events that bring together many of those community
partners and individual perspectives from East Boston.
My experience in regards to questions of immigration and
the free movement of people, borders, all of these things
which i think about a lot in my work, really comes from having
been born and raised in the Bordelands in South Central Texas.
From the very beginning, I knew that I wanted to create an object that was migratory in some way.
So I was thinking about street culture, immigrant kind of entrepreneurial spirit,
street vendors, these kinds of things.
The exhibition ends with a monumental
installation by the artist Yinka Shonibare. It's called The American Library
and it's an incredible installation that is comprised of 6,000
books all of those books are covered in a Dutch wax fabric and embossed on the
spines of those volumes are the names of individuals who have had an impact on
American culture, either first generation or second generation immigrants or
descendants of people who move North in the Great Migration.
This exhibition is not the end all be all.
This exhibition doesn't attempt to tell
a history of migration but rather is a signpost. It's a way in which we, through
the lens of art, can delve deeply into the topic of migration from a variety of
different perspectives, and it's a way in which we can with our audiences engage
in a really complex set of questions that face us today as a culture.
浏览更多相关视频
Dennis Ward Sits down with Artist, Kent Monkman | APTN FaceToFace
How AI is Revolutionizing the World of Art | Henry Wang | TEDxYouth@ArbutusRidge
1947: Children of Partition - Five survivors tell their stories
SmART Talk: Modern Art vs Contemporary Art
Artist Interview—Kent Monkman: mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People) | Met Exhibitions
Functions of Art
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)