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Unsolicited Proposal Program
The
two winning proposals for the 2009/10 season are:
First place with a score of 7.46
Sandra Skurvida (New York, NY)
RECONSTRUCTING ABSENCE: Art Spaces of New York
Unlike Rome, New York has never learned the art of growing old by playing on
all its pasts. Its present invents itself, from hour to hour, in the act of
throwing away its previous accomplishments and challenging the future. Michel
de Certeau There is a remark by Marcel Duchamp, which I like very much--he
states it as a goal: “To reach the impossibility of transferring from one like
image to another the memory imprint—we don't have to have tradition if we somehow
free ourselves from our memories.” Then, each thing that we see is new, as
though we have become tourists and we're living in countries that are very
exciting, because we don't know them. John Cage Objects are not exhibited in
a certain space; rather, the space itself becomes the major object of perception,
the true artwork. Boris Groys Living in New York, walking around the city,
and working and talking with artists, I am navigating among interconnected
pasts and presents of people, places, and events that make up our histories—the
ones that we find, get to know, and choose to continue. Marcel Duchamp's studio,
Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century, and Group Material—where are these
places, and what do they represent today, in the constantly shifting cultural
topography of the city? Visits to many notable addresses prove that their mystique
is only imaginary. To locate the sites of history in our current world is an
attempt to locate ourselves in it. The intent of this project is to chart the
imaginary territory that lies in the gap between fact and fiction, in order
to knowingly perform our own versions of history in the present. Selected art
sites of the post-war period have been researched and documented. This preliminary
selection has been presented to a number of artists who either responded to
one of the sites, or added their own to the map. Participating artists to date
include caraballo-farman, Kabir Carter, Eckhard Etzold, Andrea Geyer, Pablo
Helguera, Nancy Hwang, Pia Lindman, neurotransmitter (Angel Nevarez and Valerie
Tevere), Hatuey Ramos-Fermin, Xaviera Simmons, and Alex Villar. They will create
a temporary piece or an intervention either at the site or in relation to it,
viewable in the gallery space and/or at the site. Exhibition The artists' project
documentation, and in some cases, the appropriate parts of their projects will
be exhibited in the gallery space, which will serve as a project hub. The project
will also extend beyond the gallery space, with artists' installations at sites
citywide. A website will document the process, and research results will be
published as a guidebook. The audiences may start at the gallery and go on
their own “treasure hunts” along the charted routes. Travelers will be aided
by a map and a guidebook as well as a GPS navigation service accessible via
mobile phone, and will be able to post their own findings at or about the sites
on the web. Among the selected sites are Marcel Duchamp's studio at 210 W 14th
Street, 4th floor and his “secret” studio in the office building at 80 E 11th
Street, Rm 403; Buckminster Fuller's place on the roof of Starrett-Lehigh,
W 26th Street; Peggy Guggenheim's The Art of This Century, 1942-1947, 30 W
57th Street, 7th floor; Yoko Ono's Chambers Street loft, 112 Chambers Street,
top floor; George Maciunas' AG Gallery, 925 Madison Avenue; Fashion Moda gallery,
2803 Third Avenue, South Bronx; Group Material, 244 E 13th Street; and many
other places that left an absence on the New York art map.
Second place with a score of 7.23
Antony Hudek (London, England)
The Incidental Person
The “Incidental Person” was coined by the British artist John Latham (1921-2006)
to qualify the status of an artist involved in non-art contexts such as government
or large corporations. This exhibition seeks to expand on Latham's original
definition of the Incidental Person, to include those persons for whom all
aspects of life – political, social, esthetic, professional – are integrated
into a unified whole. The new Incidental Person can be an artist, but does
not need to be since for her or him meaningful production is not the exclusive
property of any one member of society: the Incidental Person can be anyone
as long as each of her or his actions partakes of a larger, unified life practice.
The exhibition argues that the Incidental Person stakes out a new position,
outside of the 20th-century triad Joseph Beuys-Marcel Duchamp-John Cage. Unlike
the latter, the Incidental Person does not seek to solve the “art-life” or
“mind-body” problems. Instead, she or he fails to see them as problems at all,
since for the Incidental Person art, life, mind, and body cannot be understood
in opposition to one another. But this does not mean that the Incidental Person
declares that anything can be art, as Duchamp suggested with the readymade.
Rather art itself becomes subsumed under a larger, all-inclusive category of
motions or things that bear the elusive imprint of Incidentality. And while
the Incidental Person shares Beuys' interest in pedagogy, she or he eschews
the self-mythologizing of the avant-garde: if you do not recognize the Incidental
Person walking past you in the street, this is probably because you have yet
to learn what makes their life-practice Incidental - and vice-versa. This exhibition
would bring together persons formerly known as “artists”, “writers”, “technicians”,
and “bureaucrats”, who imbue their everyday existence with Incidentality. In
particular, the exhibition would underscore aspects of the Incidental Person's
life-work that do not appear obviously “artistic”. The exhibition would thus
become a pedagogical forum to learn how to recognize and act out the potential
behind seemingly disparate gestures, regardless of their professional or aesthetic
tags. XX XX would design the exhibition's furniture. (If some pieces
turn out not to be functional, this does not mean they are necessarily sculpture.)
At apexart, XX XX would put some of the radical sociological teachings
of Albert Meister into practice, ideas laid out in Meister's book (which XX translated in 2008), "The So-Called Utopia of the Centre Beaubourg".
XX XX would re-stage her unsuccessful run for mayor of
Paris in 2008, using apexart as her campaign headquarters. (“Failure”, of course,
in no way affects the potency of an Incidental act.) XX XX with
XX XX would host and moderate the exhibition's online wiki portal, and
set up an e-learning center on the subject of Incidental models of organization.
XX XX would invest apexart with a fully-functional free lending library
of women's films selected from the catalogue of her distribution company Cinenova,
films that focus on the lives of Incidental Persons. International Festival
would organize a celebration to honour one or more Incidental Persons from
the past. XX XX would invite persons of his acquaintance to share their
Incidental experiences with apexart visitors. XX XX would be asked
to re-present his own Incidental work for the National Endowment for the Arts.
Social Practice MFA students from Portland State University with XX XX and XX XX would instigate projects involving apexart visitors and
passers-by. XX XX would premiere her long-term project entitled "I
Am An Archive", in which she revisits moments from her past as the partner
of a well-known artist, namely XX XX . 
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FAQs
Q: Can I send more than one proposal?
A: No, please send your best one, we will only accept one proposal
per person with no exceptions in an effort
to save wear on our jurors.
Q: When will the selected exhibitions be on
view at apexart?
A: The two exhibitions are currently scheduled to take place between
October 2010 and January 2011.
Q: Who can submit an exhibition proposal?
A: We welcome and encourage proposals from all interested individuals.
Q: Do I have to be a curator?
A: Previous curatorial experience is in no way required, and will
not factor into the selection process. We will provide complete administrative
support and assistance.
Q: Can I or should I submit images or cvs?
A: No, we do not accept images, catalogs, resumés, cv, or other
support materials. Only the 600-word submission will be considered.
Q: I am an artist, can I submit an exhibition
of my own work?
A: We do not accept proposals for one person shows and discourage
artists who are acting as curators from including their own work in
their proposal.
Q. Who juries the exhibition proposals?
A. The proposals are evaluated by twelve creative professionals who
have been associated with apexart, in a "blind" numerical
process with no discussion among them, and no input from apexart staff.
Every year the jury changes.
Q: Should my proposal include artist names and
descriptions of their work?
A: You may include artists names if you like. Most importantly, your
proposal should emphasize the concept of the show in your proposal.
Q: Do I need to contact and confirm artists
prior to submitting?
A: You do not need to contact artists prior to applying. We expect
that the list may change and encourage you to emphasize the concept
of the show in your proposal.
Q: I am an artist, can I still apply?
A: Yes, but the show proposed must be a group show.
Q: Can curatorial teams apply together?
A: Yes.
Q: How many submissions will be selected?
A: Two exhibitions will be selected.
Q: Can I submit a travelling exhibition?
A: No, we will not consider proposals for exhibitions that have been
previously exhibited elsewhere.
Q. What is the exhibition budget and what does
it cover?
A. For the selected proposal, apexart will provide a $5,000 budget
for travel (curator/artists), transportation of artwork, and general
expenses. We will also provide a $2,000 curatorial honorarium for
organization and brochure essay (approx. 1400 words). apexart's exhibition
space is modest at about 80 sq. m./900 sq. ft. The emphasis of your
proposal should be on the idea behind the show and organizers/curators
are encouraged to work within the size and budget limitations as part
of the creative challenge. Additional funds may be obtained by apexart
and the curator/organizer to assist with shipping art and artists'
travel, however the curator/organizer is under no obligation to raise
funds.
Q: I still have questions, who can I contact?
A: Send an email with your questions to info@apexart.org
and we will respond quickly. No calls please. |
