Lectures

Symposium: Nameless Science
Presented by Apex Art and the Cooper Union
December 12, 2008
Wollman Auditorium
10am - 5pm

The Cooper Union School of Art and apexart present a parallel symposium in conjunction with apexart exhibition Nameless Science at The Cooper Union concerning the significance of artistic research for art education.

The symposium involves a presentation of the Nameless Science research projects by the artists, followed by a discussion with critical referents from EARN (European Artistic Research Network) members Mick Wilson (Dublin), Gertrud Sandqvist (Malmo School of Art), Felicitas Thun (Vienna), Tamar Zinguer (The Cooper Union School of Architecture), and John Rajchman (Columbia University).

Opening statements by Saskia Bos, Dean of the Cooper Union School of Art and Henk Slager, curator of Nameless Science.

Keynote statements by Sarat Maharaj (Malmo School of Art), Grant Kester (University of California) and George Smith (Idsva, Portland).

For the symposium program schedule visit: http://www.apexart.org/events/slager_symposium.htm

Art and Politics As Usual

Fall 2008 Lectures and Exhibit

In the fall of 2008, Cooper Union School of Art presented Art and Politics as Usual, a one-time series of programming that explores the political power of the visual arts. Art and Politics as Usual was launched on October 21 with a public lecture by Berlin and Hamburg-based painter Daniel Richter who was invited as the 2008 Alex Katz Chair in Painting. This prestigious endowed chair, established by The Cooper Union School of Art alumnus and former trustee Alex Katz, was created in 2002 to bring distinguished international painters to participate in the academic program of the School of Art. Richter, known for deconstructing historical moments and depicting violence, instability, and apocalyptic energy through painting, gave a generous presentation and talk about his work.

The second event in this series was a public lecture by Thomas Hirschhorn, the 2008 Robert Gwathmey Chair in Art and Architecture held on October 24. Hirschhorn's talk, entitled Doing Art Politically: What Does This Mean? preceded a 20-hour weekend long critical workshop Energy: Yes! Quality: No! for a pre-registered group of Cooper Union students. Best known for his provocative installations constructed from tape, cardboard, foil, and images and texts culled from the mass media, Swiss-born artist Thomas Hirschhorn often works site-specifically, outside the gallery. The final event in the series was an exhibition entitled Stalin by Picasso or Portrait of Woman with Moustache by Norwegian artist Lene Berg.

Daniel Richter, Alex Katz Chair in Painting Lecture

Thomas Hirschhorn, Robert Gwathmey Chair in Art and Architecture Lecture

Prospect.1: A Biennial for New Orleans
May 15, 2008
The Great Hall

Saskia Bos, Dean of the School of Art, and Dan Cameron, Director and Chief Curator of Prospect.1 New Orleans, held a panel discussion on Prospect.1 New Orleans, a new biennial of international contemporary art, taking place November 1, 2008-January 18, 2009 in the Crescent City. The panel featured:
Dan Cameron as moderator and biennial artists Janine Antoni, Jacqueline Humphries (Adjunct Professor) Wangechi Mutu (A'97) and Nari Ward. Introduction by Saskia Bos. On November 1, 2008, Prospect.1 New Orleans opened to the public in museums, historic buildings, and found sites throughout New Orleans. Prospect.1 New Orleans has been conceived in the tradition of the great international biennials, and will showcase new artistic practices as well as an array of programs benefiting the local community. Over the course of its eleven-week run, Prospect.1 New Orleans is placed to draw international media attention, creative energy, and new economic activity to the city of New Orleans.
Prospect.1 New Orleans has been designed to help reinvigorate New Orleans following the human, civic, and economic devastation left by Katrina in 2005. The long-term primary goal of the biennial exhibition is to redefine the city as a cultural destination, where the visual arts are celebrated and can once again thrive. Prospect.1 New Orleans aspires to initiate a new category of cultural tourism for the city, on a scale normally seen during Mardi Gras and the city's celebrated Jazz-Fest.

For more information about Prospect. 1 New Orleans please visit www.prospectneworleans.org

Fictions of Public Spheres
skulptur projekte münster 07
March 29, 2007
The Great Hall

skulptur projekte münster 07 together with The Cooper Union held a panel discussion Fictions of Public Spheres with Dennis Adams (artist, professor at The Cooper Union), Hans Haacke (artist, New York), Kasper König (curator skulptur projekte münster 07, Director Museum Ludwig, Cologne) and Rochelle Steiner (Director Public Art Fund, New York) at The Great Hall of The Cooper Union on March 29th, 2007. Saskia Bos, curator and Dean of the School of Art at The Cooper Union, was moderator of the discussion.

All panelists with their very personal views on public art, staged a lively discussion on questions such as changes in the role of the city, changes to the character of the urban environment and its citizens, and the changing approaches of artists working in the public sphere.

Location Location Location! Is Provincial A Bad Word?
A Hot Button! Panel presented by the New Museum
January 10, 2007
The Great Hall

Panelists Saskia Bos, Dean, The School of Art at The Cooper Union; Roger Buergel, Artistic Director, Documenta 12; Teddy Cruz, architect and recipient of the Sterling Memorial Prize; Julie Mehretu, artist and MacArthur Fellow, and Nicolai Ouroussoff, Architecture Critic, The New York Times as they discuss the rise in importance of regional culture in the wake of global culture. Location, Location, Location will be moderated by Richard Flood, Chief Curator, New Museum.

Location, Location, Location! Is Provincial a Bad Word? is the second in a series of Hot Button! panels organized by the New Museum in association with the School of Art at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Hot Button! represents the first programmatic initiative of the New Museums recently appointed curatorial team: Richard Flood, Chief Curator; Laura Hoptman, Senior Curator; and Massimiliano Gioni, Curator. The three panels Passion: For Love or Money?; Location, Location, Location: Is Provincial a Bad Word?; and The IT Factor: What Makes Something Hot? are presented in anticipation of the re-opening of the New Museum at 235 Bowery in late 2007, and represent the spirit of an institution dedicated to new art and new ideas, and ready to embrace debate. Hot Button! panels aim to engage a broad audience interested in contemporary culture by featuring leading figures in contemporary art, architecture, cuisine, design and fashion in frank conversation with each other.

Alex Katz Chair in Painting Fall 2006
October 23, 2006
The Great Hall

In the Fall of 2006, internationally renowned painter Marlene Dumas spoke in Cooper Union's Great Hall, marking her first public forum in the United States. Dumas, the Alex Katz Chair in Painting at The Cooper Union School of Art for Fall 2006, was invited by Saskia Bos, dean of the School of Art, to talk about her evolution as an artist. Throughout her career, Dumas has gone beyond convention and is well known for creating artwork with a sense of foreboding. Themes such as death, violence, sexuality and love frequently manifest themselves in her work.

"Biennial As School" Symposium
April 28, 2006
Hewitt Building

The School of Art organized a Symposium "Biennial As School" to discuss some of the reasons that motivated curators of the Manifesta 6, European Biennial of Contemporary Art, to propose an Art School for the Biennial in Nicosia, Cyprus. The symposium featured a panel discussion including Liam Gillick, Boris Groys Nikolaus Hirsch, Walid Raad (Art Faculty), Martha Rosler, Jalal Toufic and Anton Vidokle. The panel was introduced by dean of the School of Art, Saskia Bos.

The symposium discussed Manifesta 6, which was planned to take the form of a temporary art school, the Manifesta 6 School, comprised of three departments revolving around diverse cultural issues and debates, and each proposing a different structural model for art education. The proposed Manifesta 6 School was a postgraduate, trans-disciplinary program for approximately 90 participants from many parts of the world intended to last about 12-weeks. Inspired by such historical examples as Black Mountain College and the Bauhaus, the School would have been a meeting ground for cultural producers in the region and beyond, and a platform for discussion and production. The symposium was co-organized by Manifesta 6 director Anton Vidokle and Professor Walid Raad.

On June 1st, 2006 the Mayor of Nicosia, Cyprus, effectively terminated the contracts to organize Manifesta 6, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art in Nicosia. Below are links to the Manifesta 6 website and unitednationsplaza, a project started by Anton Vidokle following the cancellation to Manifesta 6.

http://www.manifesta.org/manifesta6/index.htm

http://www.unitednationsplaza.org/