Ashley Hunt‘s Fall 2012 School of Art class, The Problem of Social Practice, releases a publication of work created during the course at a reception Thursday (May 16) from 7-9 pm in A402. The compilation, Episodes of Shared Purpose, takes the form of a box with 17 objects and booklets inside.
From the release:
The “problem of social practice” is that all art-making is social practice: As human activity, art emerges from social life and takes place within it, deriving its meanings and value from the social relations and beliefs that surround it. Nonetheless, terms like “social practice” are common today, with the potential to marginalize works that pursue unconventional social engagement; while at the same time, such terms allow for things like this class to form. In this class, we will work to push our authorship, audience and subject matter toward the broader world of which art (as we typically understand it) is but one part. By laying a foundation for what we understand “the social” to mean, we will consider the actors, the contexts and effects of our work, providing a laboratory to work and challenge our projects. While looking to histories of collaboration and collectivity, performance and participation, and the roles of publics and communities within our work, we will ask: What is art able to do other than ‘be art’? To be successful, does it need to count as art — and according to whose definitions?
In addition to Hunt, co-authors include the following Program in Art and Program in Photography & Media students: Adriana Baltazar (MFA 14), Roslyn Cohen (MFA 13), Yaron Guerrero (MFA 14), Christopher Hahn (BFA 13), Natalie Hon (BFA 14), Nebras Hoveizavi (BFA 14), Emma Iocovozzi (BFA 13), Nick Johnston (MFA 14), Taylor Lovio (BFA 14), Heather M. O’Brien (MFA 13), Andres Payan (MFA 14), Ho Yan Pun Nicole (MFA 14), Vidisha Saini (MFA 13), Weng San Sit (MFA 14), Kevin Smith (14) and Katrin Winkler (MFA 13). The box itself was designed by Izaak Berenson (Art MFA 14).
The project also includes a contribution by the sound art collective Ultra-red, which was co-founded by current visiting faculty member Dont Rhine in 1994.
One copy of the publication will be on view in the CalArts library following the reception and will also be available at an event in conjunction with the 2013 School of Art Graduate Exhibition in Chinatown on June 15.