Patrick Klemz for New City:
"Meanwhile in Baghdad" strikes countless lurid notes concerning U.S. action in the Middle East, a credit owed to the vast diversity of perspectives employed. Much of its success in achieving novelty lies in a refreshing international focus; the rest is a product of masterfully subtle but provocative posturing.
Check out Alan Artner's Tribune article on Meanwhile in Baghdad and the HPAC's "Consuming War" show. Artner remarked:
Each show presents examples of traditional painting, drawing and photography, but two of the more effective works are in so-called new media: Kenneth Goldsmith's "The Weather (Spring)," a recording of weather reports giving conditions in New York and Baghdad during the first 15 days of combat, and Wafaa Bilal's "Al Qaeda R Us," a video showing the sad American intervention in the affairs of nine countries. The one is numbing, the other infuriating, which memorably fixes the range of emotions prompted by these intelligent exhibitions.
This week we've been installing our upcoming exhibit Meanwhile, in Baghdad... Here are some pre-installation shots of Jonathon Monk's Deadman:
Meanwhile in Baghdad will open Sunday, November 11, 2007.
From the demise of communism to the Iraq war, globalization has taken a turn from the rhetoric of optimism to the reality of conflict. With the war going into its fifth year, the events in Iraq are less the headlines these days and more a backdrop. Meanwhile in Baghdad… is a group exhibition which takes the war as a general context in which to examine a range of artistic responses, some as direct as Daniel Heyman’s Abu Ghraib Project in which the artist made engravings based on firsthand accounts he gathered from victims of torture, and others as viscerally poignant as a series of bandaged bed frames by Jannis Kounellis.
Artists include Adel Abidin, Walead Beshty, Matt Davis, Daniel Heyman, Jenny Holzer, Maryam Jafri, Jannis Kounellis, Ann Messner, and Jonathan Monk.
Opening reception Sunday November 11, 4 to 7 pm, with a discussion with the artists from 5 to 6 pm.
The Wrens hosted an Art Party featuring music by DJ Oto and visuals by Stoptime 341. Thanks to The Wrens for throwing another successful event!
