Cork Caucus Launches with Vito Acconci Lecture
Saturday, March 19, 6pm
Lewis Glucksman Gallery
University College Cork
www.corkcaucus.org
As part of Cork European Capital of Culture, 2005, the National Sculpture Factory is presenting Cork Caucus. Cork Caucus is an interdisciplinary and collaborative investigation of cultural, political and artistic issues, with a long-term view to developing the critical culture of Cork City. Cork Caucus will be officially launched with a lecture by acclaimed artist Vito Acconci, on Saturday, 19th March, 2005 at 6.30pm in the Lewis Glucksman Gallery, University College Cork, College Road, Cork, Ireland
The initial conceptual brief of Cork Caucus has been developed by the National Sculpture Factory and Van Abbe Museum Director, Charles Esche. The curatorial team for this project is Annie Fletcher, Charles Esche, The National Sculpture Factory and Art / not art (Fergal Gaynor and Dobz O’Brien)
Cork Caucus is predicated on the notion that art can function as discourse as well as providing for new discursive structures and relationships to emerge – across traditional social and political demarcations and between specific enclaves and discursive traditions. One of Caucus’ key initiating concepts is an exploration of Joseph Beuys’ vision of the Free International University, (in Ireland). It is also founded on the understanding that art and discourse are appropriate and significant agents for social, cultural and political critique and change. Through an extensive series of Lectures, Artists Talks, Seminars, Screenings, Discussions and Installations, Cork Caucus aims to engage the artists and audiences of Cork with a wide range of issues and means for considering them in the hope that the contemporary critical culture of Cork will be enhanced and more totally interconnected with networks beyond, in ways that remain viable into the future.
The Caucus series will develop over 2005, and culminate in a main presentation phase between June 20 and July 11. It will be officially launched in conjunction with the first major Caucus event, a Lecture by Vito Acconci, followed by a public conversation between Acconci and Jan Verwoert.
Acconci’s early work was fiction and poetry, his first artworks used performance, photos, film and video as instruments of self-analysis and person-to-person relationships. His audio and video installations of the mid-70′s turned an exhibition-space into a community meeting-place. His architectural games of the early 80′s made performative spaces for viewers, whose activity resulted in the construction and deconstruction of house prototypes. In 1988 he started Acconci Studio, a theoretical-design and building workshop. Acconci is recognised for his daring and revolutionary contribution to contemporary art, and more recently, architecture.
Over forty other major international artists, writers and thinkers will gather with Irish artists in Cork. Other key figures taking part in Caucus include artists Maria Eichhorn, Surasi Kusolwong, Bik Van der Pol, Shane Cullen, Phil Collins and Haegue Yang, curators Sarat Maharaj, Catherine David, Paul O’Neill and Marius Babias, artist groups such as WHW, finger, Art/not art and Kunci, and writers and philosophers Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Shep Steiner, Keri Jones and Giorgio Agamben.
For further information about Cork Caucus please visit the Caucus website on: www.corkcaucus.org
Information about Caucus can also be obtained from the National Sculpture Factory, Albert Road, Cork Tel: 021 431 4353 www.nationalsculpturefactory.com
The National Sculpture Factory is generously supported by the Arts Council, FAS and Cork City Council.
Cork Caucus is an official ‘Cork 2005 European Capital of Culture’ project and is also supported by the Arts Council’s Projects award.
