Bureau for Open Culture

Artists under consideration: [Robert Buck, Mary Jo Bole, Gregory Crewdson, Dan Graham, Candida Höfer, Laura Lisbon, Gordon Matta-Clark, Eva Meyer and Eran Schaerf, T.J. Norris with Scott Wayne Indiana, Sarah Schönfeld, Suzanne Silver, Thomas Struth, Christian Tomaszewski, Jane & Louise Wilson]>>>

Curated by James Voorhies

Of Other Spaces explores how the origins and functions of spaces shape human behavior. It considers the ways in which places become charged with socio-cultural authority to act in service and in suppression of our activity. Taking Michel Foucault’s 1967 essay ["Of Other Spaces"]>>> as a basis for this examination, the exhibition considers how distinct sites--or heterotopia as Foucault calls them--control action, activate memory, provide insight and stimulate imagination in places founded and operated under the influence of deeply engrained socio-cultural circumstances.

Considering the impact that cultural authority has on spatial frameworks, Of Other Spaces features a selection of works of art and installations that examines the power manifested in the histories, objects, former and current occupants, events, and bygone days associated with different kinds of spaces. In these spaces, or heterotopias, linger tangible and intangible signs of control in our society.

In conjuction with this exhibition the Bureau for Open Culture presents [Dewey Decimal Days]>>>, a 5-day celebration of libraries and books.

Publication will accompany exhibition.

Jane & Louise Wilson, Erewhon (Chisholm Ward), 2004
c-print on aluminum in plexi box
71 x 71 inches
courtesy of the artists and 303 Gallery, New York
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Candida Höfer, Narodni knihovna Praha V, 2004
c-print
72 x 88 inches
courtesy of the artist and Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco
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Gordon Matta-Clark, Conical Intersect,1975
16 mm film on video, color, silent, 18:40 minutes
courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New York
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Laura Lisbon, Structural Corner Set-up, 2005
Kramer Paint Factory, back room, canvas on canvas on paper
courtesy of the artist
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T.J. Norris with Scott Wayne Indiana, M_US__EUM, 2007
neon
10 x 40 inches
courtesy of the artists and New American Art Union [NAAU], Portland, Oregon
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Mary Jo Bole, History of Penal Institution Sanitation, 2008
Chardon™ Kohler prison sink with fused-on silk screened decals
15 x 18 x 15 inches
courtesy of the artist and John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
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Sarah Schönfeld, Wende Gelände #05, 2007
c-print
48 x 60 inches
courtesy the artist and Kunstagenten, Berlin
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Suzanne Silver, On Syntax, 2000
powdered pigments on floor
dimensions variable
courtesy of the artist
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Dewey Decimal Days, October 14-18, 2008

Dewey Decimal Days is a series of events, informal talks, gatherings, screenings and a dance party organized in celebration of libraries, reading, and a love for all-things related to books. As a prelude to the February 2009 exhibition Of Other Spaces organized by the Bureau for Open Culture, Dewey Decimal Days will explore the role of libraries in our society. Library-related activities will bring together visual artists, writers, bibliophiles, and librarians in a public forum that will consider the effect libraries have on our daily lives as well as pose questions about the future of these public and private spaces.

Check out the October [CALENDAR]>>> for details.

Reference Collection
Reference Collection is a series of approximately 35-40 portraits of librarians and library staff by artists produced on bookmarks. The small, pen and ink or graphite drawings are reproduced in black and white. The pictures are drawn in person with each librarian sitting for however long it takes to complete the drawing. The making of each portrait unites visual artists and librarians for a session of personal, one-to-one contact of talking about and sharing their interests and experiences. For a period of uninterrupted time, it draws together two disciplines that do not regularly connect. The resulting portraits are printed on bookmarks made of recycled paper and die-cut.

On the reverse of each bookmark is a brief biography of the librarian, along with special factoids. The Reference Collection will be available free at Columbus-area libraries and bookstores, and the portraits will also be available online and PDFs downloaded free.

If you are a participating artist, here are [instructions]>>>.

Archaeology of a Card Catalogue Cabinet
This is an archive, time capsule, storage bin, reference device, education center or museum - we are not quite sure what to call it. Guaranteed to evolve or devolve as most appropriate, this simple, three-drawer, metal file cabinet is situated partially into the earth of a community project with an [open plot of land]>>> (also operated by the Bureau for Open Culture) in the King-Lincoln neighborhood of Columbus. In its array of current holdings is a library of seeds of plants indigenous to the Central Ohio region, along with all the helpful facts you need to know about them. Archaeology of a Card Catalogue Cabinet is a resource open to everyone to donate whatever information you want to share and to take whatever printed materials you feel you cannot live without.

In October a hard-hat, ribbon cutting ceremony will accompany placement of the cabinet in the site. Stay tuned for details!
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