September 6–October 6, 2014
Opening: Saturday, September 6, 11am–1pm
DC Commission for the Arts & Humanities, a 5 x 5 Project
400 I Street
Washington D.C.
Curated by Lance Fung
Fung Collaboratives is pleased to present Nonuments, a group exhibition, curated by Lance Fung. A 1.5-acre vacant lot in the heart of the SW neighborhood of Washington, DC will be transformed into a new park with five temporary art installations. The exhibition features newly commissioned artwork created by seminal earth artist Peter Hutchinson. Other participating artists are Eliza Naranjo Morse, Nora Naranjo Morse, Cameron Hockenson, Jonathan Fung, and Jennifer Wen Ma.
“Our nation’s capital is renowned for its grand monuments honoring the history and achievements of great Americans. But behind the federal face of official Washington, there is a real city with distinctive neighborhoods filled with passionate citizens living their lives. I envision Nonuments—a temporary sculpture park featuring ‘monuments’ devoted not to the great but to ordinary people, to the ideals of democracy, and to the common struggles of humanity.”
Monuments by definition are meant to be everlasting, but over time their meanings can change and become irrelevant. The goal is to produce permanent monuments by creating temporary public artworks—nonuments. Each nonument tackles timely, relevant, and emotionally engaging concerns. The themes range from environmental concerns, the fight against human trafficking, the positive and negative challenges of development, immigration issues, and the human will to survive. By giving form to these issues, stimulating discussion, and possibly inspiring action, these temporary monuments will leave an ongoing, living legacy beyond the lifespan of any bronze statue. Whether a nonument raises awareness, issues a cry for help, or activates social change, its aim is engagement and dialogue, bringing together diverse groups of people.
Fung Collaboratives invited Washington Project for the Arts to partner with them on three initiatives involving local artists. One project resulted in a citywide school competition in which budding artists designed their own nonuments. The Hirshhorn ARTLAB+ was one of the main leaders in the educational and community outreach program. Leading a participatory performance event, artist Michael Koliner created sculptural furniture for the park. The fabrication process involved 120 local volunteers to create the furniture through Koliner’s “mud dance.” And on September 6, performance artists Eames Armstrong, Graham Boyle, Cesar Maxit, and Zosia Sztykowski will conduct two performance sequences about the US incarceration quota and the notion of safe spaces.
Vesela Sretenović, senior curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Phillips Collection, will moderate a discussion on Nonuments with Lance Fung and the participating artists on September 6, 6–7:30pm.
An 80-page color catalogue will be produced for Nonuments, which will be available in the new year through www.fungcollaboratives.org. The publication will feature essays by curator Lance Fung and Twylene Moyer, managing editor of Sculpture magazine, artists’ project statements, proposal renderings, and photographs of the realized artworks and park.
This project has been funded by the DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities with additional support from Fung Collaboratives.
