26 June 2009 to 12 July 2009
Hours : Thurs–Mon, 12-6pm
Jack the Pelican Presents
487 Driggs Ave
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
New York, NY
New York
North America
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MY HEROES - curated by David Gibson June 26 - July 12, 2009 Opening: Friday, June 26, 7–9pm
Little kids have heroes. Or used to. Curator David Gibson does too. He's been visiting artists' studios for years. When he suggested doing a show of the artists he really believed in, not just because he really liked their work—although he does—but because for him they are exemplars of perseverance, well...
We thought, You mean, like you're supposed to sacrifice for art?
CURATOR'S STATEMENT These artists are my heroes because they attempt to make art (create vision, communicate with society, speak for a community) in a world that doesn’t need it, doesn’t ask for it, and only benefits from what they can give. Each of them grapples with the demands of their craft, their thematic agendas, and with how they feel their work will be received within the art world, knowing full well that the cards can easily be stacked against them. Yet they persevere. They strive, and sometimes they thrive. I have selected artists who come from vastly different generations, and whose work generally speaks to an edgy urban quality; to a sense of perverted idealism; to sensory overload and transient reflection; to innocence, intimacy, and its place within the building of community values; to abstractions that become landscapes and vice versa; to images of real people emerging from or becoming lost in the overwhelming vibrancy and squalor of the street; to effigies of forbearance; to caricatures of presence; to the intersection of humor, sexuality, and the poignant quality generated between them; and to the randomness of language as both found and made. These are some of the many possible perspectives which artists provide us with. If some of my statements about them seem abstruse, it’s because I feel that each of them restyles the concept of knowledge, and I am like a babe in the woods, learning at their feet.
