DATES: October 3 - December 12, 2009

EVENTS:

Saturday, Oct. 3, 6-8pm
: Opening reception at 516 ARTS 

Saturday. Oct. 3, 2pm
: Panel Discussion with Guggenheim Fellows Michael P. Berman, David Taylor & Erika Blumenfeld 

Saturday, Oct. 24, 10am-1pm
: New Mexico Wilderness Alliance Conference on grasslands, in conjunction with LAND/ART at Bosque School, www.nmwild.org, 505-843-8696

WHERE: 516 ARTS, 516 Central Ave. SW, Downtown Albuquerque, open Tue - Sat, 12-5pm

MORE INFO: Suzanne Sbarge • t. 505-242-1445 • e. suzanne@516arts.orgwww.516arts.orgwww.landartnm.org
 

Grasslands

Potographic work by Michael P. Berman on the Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands

Separating Species

Group exhibition of photo-based work by:
David Taylor, Krista Elrick, Dana Fritz, Jo Whaley

516 ARTS announces a two-part exhibition curated by Mary Anne Redding, Curator of Photography at the Palace of the Governors/New Mexico History Museum. This project is the culminating exhibition in the six-month series of programs presented by 516 ARTS for LAND/ART, a collaboration exploring land-based art (www.landartnm.org). The exhibition catalog is published by Radius Books, and features essays by William DeBuys and Rebecca Solnit and Mary Anne Redding (http://radiusbooks.org).

Michael P. Berman’s current series of photographs, titled Grasslands, is about the endangered Chihuahuan Desert grasslands in New Mexico, Texas and the northern border of Mexico, where he has wandered into the desert without a compass to, in his words, "live deliberately." He believes that how you see the land comes down to what you value. "I believe art has a greater potential for meaning when it serves some purpose." This two-part exhibition sprung from the work of Michael Berman, a current Guggenheim Fellow, who is both esteemed in the contemporary art world and a longtime activist with several environmental organizations. Inspired by his Grasslands series, guest curator Mary Anne Redding has assembled a remarkable group of artists for the accompanying, concurrent exhibition Separating Species. All of the artists delve into land in diverse ways that illuminate our relationship to our fragile ecosystems, highlighting our interconnectedness with the environment and non-human species. Krista Elrick examines North American birds; Dana Fritz looks at plants and animals in engineered indoor landscape environments; Jo Whaley creates theatrical still life images of insects and humans; and, current Guggenheim Fellow David Taylor’s images of border monuments along the US/Mexico border explore the effect of border control on both humans and animals.
 
EXHIBITION PROGRAMS & RELATED LAND/ART PROGRAMS:

Saturday, Oct. 3, 6-8pm
: Opening reception at 516 ARTS Live music to be announced.

Saturday. Oct. 3, 2pm
: Panel Discussion with Guggenheim Fellows
Curator Mary Anne Redding will lead a panel discussion with current Guggenheim Fellows Michael P. Berman and David Taylor featured in the exhibitions at 516 ARTS, and Erika Blumenfeld, featured with a solo exhibition next door at Richard Levy Gallery (www.levygallery.com).
At 516 ARTS. Free admission. Info: 505-242-1445, www.landartnm.org

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 7pm
: Lannan Readings & Conversations with Rebecca Solnit Rebecca Solnit, the author of twelve books, is an activist who writes about landscape, cities and other geographies the environment, politics and visual culture.
At the Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco, Santa Fe
Tickets: $6 general/$3 senior/student, available at the Lensic, 505-988-1234, www.lensic.com
A portion of proceeds will be donated to 516 ARTS. Info: 505-986-8160, www.lannan.org

Saturday, Oct. 24, 10am-1pm
: New Mexico Wilderness Alliance Conference with Keynote Speaker Charles Bowden
The NMWA conference focuses on grasslands, in conjunction with LAND/ART, and features several LAND/ART artists including Michael Berman and renowned author Charles Bowden, keynote speaker, who is the the author of twelve books.
At Bosque School, 4000 Learning Rd. NW, Albuquerque. Info: www.nmwild.org, 505-843-8696

Saturday, Nov. 21, 8pm
: Conversation with David Abram: Discourse of the Birds. Special guest David Abram is a writer, cultural ecologist, philosopher, and director of the Alliance for Wild Ethics. He is author of The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-than-Human World.
At 516 ARTS. Free admission. Info: 505-242-1445, www.landartnm.org

 
For more information about LAND/ART, visit www.landartnm.org or call 505-242-1445.