As a contribution to the statewide LAND/ART initiative, the University of New Mexico Art Museum presents two exhibits Friday, Aug. 28-Sunday, Dec. 20 and a film fest every Thursday in September. The public reception for the exhibits is on Friday, Sept. 25, 5-7 p.m.
“Dispersal/Return: Land Arts of the American West, 2000-2006” features the work of 18 artists from the Land Arts of the American West interdisciplinary field program in the Department of Art and Art History at UNM. Curated by Bill Gilbert, Lannan chair and director and founder of the land arts program, and Michele Penhall, curator, prints and photographs at the UNM Art Museum, the exhibition brings together former artist-participants from this innovative studio program who continue to work on land art based projects.
Artists include Julie Anand, Jeff Beekman, Nina Dubois, Jess Dunn, Blake Gibson, Jeanette Hart- Mann, Yoshimi Hayashi, Ryan Henel, Mark Hensel, Anna Keleher, Claire Long, John Loth, Erika Osborne, Gabe Romero, Geordie Shepherd, Brooke Steger, Jen Van Horn and Peter Voshefski.
“Bill Gilbert: Physiocartography, 2005-2006” is a solo exhibition featuring sites along Gilbert’s journeys. The digital prints and videos on view represent Gilbert’s investigations between the conceptual disjunction of abstract notions about the landscape and the physical experience of topography and climate.
The Land Art Film Fest will be screened in Keller Hall, Center for the Arts at 5:30 p.m. every Thursday in September. The schedule follows:
Sept. 3
“Smithson and Serra: Beyond Modernism.” Produced by the Open University in the United Kingdom, this film explores the challenging dialectic of site-specific works by Robert Smithson and Richard Serra through an examination of seminal works by both artists. (25 minutes.)
“James Turrell: Passageways.” In this overview produced by the Centre Pompidou in Paris, James Turrell discusses his research on natural light and presents his masterpiece Roden Crater, located in Northern Arizona, which he has worked on since 1972. (26 minutes.)
Sept. 10
“Robert Smithson: Spiral Jetty.” Robert Smithson reveals the evolution of this monumental work, arguably one of the most famous earthwork projects from 1970, which resurfaced in Utah’s Great Salt Lake in 2005 to new audiences and acclaim after being submerged for 30 years. (35 minutes.)
“Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Valley Curtain.” This Academy Award nominated film directed by David and Albert Maysles follows the construction of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s enormous (142,000 square feet of orange nylon) curtain suspended between two mountains in Rifle, Colo. (28 minutes.)
Sept. 17
“Ana Mendieta: Fuego de Tierra.” This video portrait weaves together interviews with Ana Mendieta and other artists and filmed records of her earthworks and performance pieces to render a vivid testament of her talent cut short in 1985 by her untimely death. (52 minutes.)
Sept. 24
“Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Surrounded Islands.” This hour-long documentary traces Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s seven-day installation in Biscayne Bay, Fla., where they and 400 volunteers wrapped 11 islands in pink polypropylene fabric. (57 minutes.)
For information, contact Angela Berkson, (505) 277-6773 or waxrtist@unm.edu. Visit Art Museum.