QUEENS INTERNATIONAL 2004
7 November 2004 – 6 February 2005
QUEENS MUSEUM OF ART
718.592.9700
www.queensmuseum.org
Biennial Survey of Artists Living or Working in Queens Fills Museum with the Work of 51 Individuals and 3 Collaboratives Redefining the Artistic Landscape of Queens-and New York
QUEENS MUSEUM OF ART CAPTURES THE POWERFUL ARTISTIC ENERGY OF THE BOROUGH IN QUEENS INTERNATIONAL 2004
Queens has been celebrated as the nation’s most ethnically diverse county since the 2000 US Census revealed the unique makeup of its residents. In 2002, the Queens Museum of Art (QMA) presented the critically acclaimed exhibition Queens International to capture the wide spectrum of artistic visions that echo the multitude of communities existing in the borough. On the heels of that endeavor, the second installment of the QMA’s biennial project, Queens International 2004, on view November 7, 2004 – February 6, 2005, again bottles the artistic energy of the artists living or working in Queens.
Queens International 2004, organized by QMA Associate Curator Hitomi Iwasaki, celebrates the richness of the art born in the borough as well as the artists who create it. The work of 51 individuals and three artist collaboratives reveals an overall image of the ways in which the concepts of “international,” “multicultural,” and “global” are relevant today, addressing them from a local standpoint. Established and emerging artists working in a broad spectrum of traditional and unorthodox media represent a vital artistic community that is evolving on a daily basis. Five continents and countless cultures are represented, as are different generations – artists from 24 to 97 years old are featured. The winding paths that have led these artists to the widespread Queens locations in which they currently base their lives are almost as fascinating as their work. With newly transplanted “Rent Gypsies” from the other side of the city, those who have come from the other side of the world, and lifelong Queens natives, the complex, shifting artistic profile of the borough mirrors the everyday state of cosmopolitan Queens in the 21st century.
“The dislocation of people and relocation of cultures that exist within Queens feeds a burgeoning community of artists in the borough and, Queens International 2004 reflects how this constant state of flux acts as a powerful artistic catalyst,” said QMA Associate Curator Hitomi Iwasaki. “Whether it is Pierre Obando’s commentary on the omnipresent grip of global industry and media or Minshik Shin’s disheartening glimpse of the pursuit of the American dream, the artists of Queens truly embody the ongoing discourse of the inseparable nature of ‘global’ and ‘local.’”
Long before cultural diversity and multicultural thinking were catchphrases in sociological circles, they were realities in the neighborhoods of Queens. Socio-economic, cultural and generational spectra continue to widen in the borough and Queens International 2004 reflects that diversity, both literally, through the artists and subjects presented, and symbolically, through the vast array of artistic styles and media employed. The exhibition’s youngest artist, Agustin Chung, 24, is a Buenos Aries-born Korean artist living in Astoria, while the oldest, 97 year old Hideo Date, emigrated from Japan in 1923, survived incarceration in an internment camp, and more than 50 years ago, settled in Flushing, creating art continuously. Artists in Queens International 2004 hail from Korea, Japan, China, Spain, Israel, France, The Netherlands, Russia, Mexico, Argentina, Belize, Guyana, Canada and throughout the United States.
Similarly, artistic media and subjects range from Rosemarie Fiore’s Good-Time Mix Machine, a carnival ride armed with paint cans that has given the exhibition the largest painting ever shown in the museum, a 60 foot x 60 foot Spirograph creation, to Polina Porras’ 3 inch x 3 inch ink on paper work, the smallest in Queens International 2004. From large-scale realist paintings and intricately patterned oil on canvas designs, to different photographers’ glimpses of the countless faces of Queens, to sewn drawings, painted tapestries, and stitched drip paintings, to poignant video and film pieces, to installation work including an international calling center and a deconstructed and reconstructed sculptural/photographic environment, to stained glass panels made of Jolly Rancher candies, to performance work ranging from silent portrait sessions to the meeting of a birdseed-covered artist and a flock of doves, graphic design pieces, interactive sound installations, and models of street vendor carts, the artists in Queens International 2004 have stretched the boundaries of what can be used for expression.
“The first show we put on the books when I started two-and-a-half years ago was Queens International 2002, a biennial examination of the artistic complexity of Queens. We don’t have to look beyond our own borough to mount an international art exhibition, given our status as the most culturally diverse county in the United States,” said QMA Executive Director, Tom Finkelpearl. “Now, two years later, we are presenting an entirely new collection of art works that will create a snapshot of our cultural location through the eyes of curator, and Jackson Heights resident, Hitomi Iwasaki. The installation is clean but energetic, filling our entire building with the unique international spirit of Queens.”
Artists in Queens International 2004
Toby Barnes, Isidro Blasco, Paul Branca, Brenda Campos, Hector Canonge, Michelle Cheikin, Agustin Chung, Coleman/Richards, Cair Crawford, Cui Fei, Hideo Date, Aissa Deebi, Mary Didoardo, Chris Dorland, Matt Ducklo, einLab (Elia Gurna and Benjamin Lam), Michael Estabrook, Michael Ferris, Jr., Rosemarie Fiore, Free Style Arts (John Kaiser, Aaron Redlin, Mark Seiltz, Greg Vande Hey), Tamara Gubernat, Elia Gurna, Earl Howard, Pascal Jalabert, Shin il Kim, Nicholas Knight, Manauvaskar Kublall, Margaret Lanzetta, Rena Leinberger, Kurt Lightner, Nava Lubelski, Rachel Mackow, China Marks, Gary Matson, Jo Mikals-Adachi, Christopher Miner, Katie Murray, Pierre Obando, John J. O’Connor, Clifford Owens, Eung-Ho Park, Ian Pedigo, Liz Phillips, Polina Porras, Ryan Reggiani, Troy Richards, Minshik Shin, Mike Peter Smith, Liselot van der Heijden, Tom Warren, Louise Weinberg, Rachel White, Haeri Yoo, and Zhang Huan.
SCHEDULED QUEENS INTERNATIONAL 2004 ARTIST PERFORMANCES
Three of the artists in Queens International 2004 are presenting their performance/interactive pieces throughout the run of the exhibition.
Clifford Owens is presenting Interventions: Queens Museum of Art, 2004 at the exhibition opening on November 7, 2004.
Tamara Gubernat will bring Discover the G to subway stations in Queens, distributing 1,000 postcards at each G train station during the evening rush
hours:
21st Street – November 8
Long Island City-Court Square – November 9
Queens Plaza – November 10
36th Street – November 11
Steinway Street – November 12
46th Street – November 15
Northern Blvd. – November 16
65th Street – November 17
Roosevelt Avenue-Jackson Heights – November 18
Elmhurst Avenue – November 19
Grand Avenue-Newtown – November 22
Woodhaven Boulevard – November 23
63rd Drive-Rego Park – November 24
67th Avenue – November 25
Forest Hills, 71st Avenue – November 26
And Elia Gurna will be at the QMA working on her silent interactive portrait project, This is My Window, on Sundays, November 14 and 21, December 5, 12, and 19, January 9, 16, 23 and 30, and February 6, from 12 – 5 pm.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING
The museum is offering a number of different ways to take the themes in Queens International 2004 beyond the galleries. (For more information on the programs below, please visit http:://www.queensmuseum.org or call 718.592.9700 x145)
Free Queens International 2004 Exhibition Tours – Saturdays and Sundays, 2 and 3 pm
QMA educators offer additional insight into the work and artists featured in Queens International 2004 with free weekend tours.
Film Through Another’s Eyes – Tuesdays, 2 pm, October 18 – December 20, 2004
This free series explores the immigrant experience in America through films that reflect the ethnic and cultural diversity of the country.
Departure Lounge: Words and Songs Between Worlds – Saturday, November 13, 3 pm
Join us for an event that redefines the Queens poet as someone whose work is more than just suffused by imagery of the 7 train and Queens Boulevard, but an amalgamation of cultures, with poetry by Tina Chang, Corie Feiner, Luis H. Francia, Nathalie Handal, Paolo Javier, and Bushra Rehman, and performances by Mahina Movement and Tama Waipara. The event is free with museum admission and will be followed by a wine and samosa reception.
The Art of Mind and Body, Past and Present – Sunday, November 20, 2 pm
Audience participation is encouraged in this interactive performance exploring the traditional practices of Tai Chi, Yoga and Falun Dafa in the context of both their original and contemporary roles.
Drop-in Workshops with Queens International 2004 Artists – Sundays, 1:30 – 4:30 pm
The museum’s drop-in workshops offer children ages 5-12 an exciting way to explore the museum. Using Queens International 2004 as a point of creative departure, each weekly event will center on the exhibition, and four special workshops will be led by featured artists: November 14 – Create faux stained-glass patterns using pieces of candy with artist
Troy Richards; December 5 – Participate in a video project exploring the theme of “home” with artists
Brenda Campos; January 9 – Join artist Cui Fei and use natural materials like twigs and leaves to created
art inspired by Chinese calligraphy; and February 6 – Free Style Arts turns the art workshop into an art installation using a giant
3D cube and colorful yarn.
CATALOGUE
In conjunction with Queens International 2004, the Queens Museum of Art has published a fully illustrated 32-page tabloid-format exhibition catalogue. The catalogue features essays by QMA Executive Director Tom Finkelpearl, Associate Curator Hitomi Iwasaki, renowned Queens poet Luis H. Francia, and artist Aissa Deebi, as well as catalogue entries and images on each artist in Queens International 2004. The catalogue is available at the QMA Bookstore and Shop.
FUNDING Queens International 2004 is made possible by The Lily Auchincloss Foundation, The Greenwall Foundation, American Center Foundation and the Cowles Charitable Trust.
The Queens Museum of Art was established in 1972 to provide a vital cultural center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park for the borough’s unique, international population. Today it is home to the Panorama of the City of New York, a 9,335 square foot scale model of the five boroughs, and features temporary exhibitions of modern and contemporary art that reflect the cultural diversity of Queens, as well as a collection of Tiffany glass from the Neustadt Museum of Tiffany Art. The Museum provides valuable educational outreach through a number of programs geared toward schoolchildren, teens, families, seniors and individuals with physical and mental disabilities. The Museum’s hours are: Wednesday – Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday: 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Admission to the Museum is by suggested donation: $5 for adults, $2.50 for seniors, students and children, and free for member and children under 5. For general visitor information, please visit the Museum’s website www.queensmuseum.org or call 718.592.9700.
