SCAD deFINE ART 2O21

The virtual program features a keynote lecture by honoree Sanford Biggers and kicks off a new season of exhibitions at SCAD museums in Atlanta and Savannah. 

ATLANTA AND SAVANNAH, GEORGIA — The Savannah College of Art and Design presents the 12th edition of SCAD deFINE ART, the university’s annual program of talks, tours, and exhibitions featuring work by contemporary art’s most vital voices. This year’s dynamic online programming, presented Feb. 23–25, includes a keynote lecture by renowned New York-based conceptual artist and 2021 SCAD deFINE ART honoree Sanford Biggers, a Q&A with prominent Brooklyn-based artist Marcel Dzama, and a conversation on Dzama’s work with famed comedian Amy Sedaris, among other inspiring talks, gallery tours, and studio visits.

The virtual program complements new exhibitions on view at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah and SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta, featuring work by Biggers, Dzama, and other globally recognized artists including Christto & Andrew, Kate Cooper, Helen Frankenthaler, Emily Furr (SCAD B.F.A., graphic design, 2000), Carlos Garaicoa, the Haas Brothers, Paulina Olowska, Brandon Sadler (SCAD B.F.A., illustration, 2009), Rose B. Simpson, and Albert Watson. These artists’ evocative works present new ideas or different ways of being in the world and encourage greater reflection on the narratives we inherit, the identities we create, and the roles we are expected to play. While many of the artists challenge the status quo, their unique perspectives on art and culture ultimately offer the viewer a sense of hope for the future.

“SCAD deFINE ART 2021 marks another first in the event’s 12-year history — our inaugural virtual edition,” said SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace. “In a season of reimagination, SCAD’s renowned fine arts program showcases the shifting explorations and revelations of self. From Sanford Biggers’ ‘future ethnographies’ to Kate Cooper’s representations of the feminine ‘ideal,’ SCAD deFINE ART constructs — and deconstructs — identity through works by internationally celebrated contemporary artists. This year, your home and SCAD museums become one. Take a look!”

Biggers (b. 1970, Los Angeles) will deliver the keynote lecture Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 6 p.m. ET, and participate in programming throughout the three-day event. Biggers’ solo exhibition Contra/Diction at the SCAD Museum of Art’s Walter O. Evans Center for African American Studies is a selective survey, bringing together an array of works that spans the past 20 years of his prolific practice. Beyond its compelling visual potency, Biggers’ work is a visceral experience and a clarion call to combat racial injustices that threaten the lives of Black Americans. He communicates feeling rather than a fidelity to history, combining a trove of narratives to form a vision of human experience. “I have a firm belief that art has the power to reach a wide audience and can stimulate change that reflects the current desires of people and culture,” said Biggers. “I’ve dedicated my life, as an artist and an educator, to remind people that art can be both an aesthetic and political act that not only empowers and inspires people but has the ability to operate outside of the system. It is my honor to receive this recognition and to connect with young artists in the hopes of instilling in them the power to create and to use art as a tool to move culture forward, as well as a platform for deeper dialogue.”

Dzama (b. 1974, Winnipeg, Canada) creates works rooted in performativity and storytelling. He is widely known for paintings and drawings that exude a storybook charm, while simultaneously confronting viewers with timely political realities.A conversation with Sedaris inaugurates this year’s programming Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 11 a.m. The artist’s son will interview Sedaris, who will play the role of Dzama. After the dialogue, Dzama joins SCAD MOA associate curator Ben Tollefson to premiere the artist’s exhibition An End to the End Times, followed by a Q&A with viewers.

Tuesday programming is anchored by the virtual opening reception at 7 p.m., hosted by SCAD alumni Kayli Carter (SCAD B.F.A., performing arts, 2015) and Mojo (SCAD B.F.A., sequential art, 2015). Prior to the reception, at 2 p.m., Biggers and Furr, a SCAD graduate, join SCAD MOA curators Humberto Moro and DJ Hellerman for idea-driven conversations on their practices. Based in New York, Furr (b. 1978, St. Louis) paints celestial visions that place cool, hard-edged objects within weightless, star-filled voids. Her serialized tropes take the shape of tongues laden with hallucinogenic sugar cubes, sloping conveyor belts adorned with astral points, rocket engines with acutely sharp, almost erotic edges, tubes, chains, and myriad metal hardware. Star Tap is her first solo museum exhibition.

On Wednesday, at 11 a.m. ET, Garaicoa, one of the most fascinating artists from Latin America, joins SCAD architecture professor and influential practitioner Christian Sottile for a conversation on the power of architecture and the complexities of urbanism. Based in Madrid and Havana, Garaicoa (b. 1967, Havana) brings a holistic reflection on the fragility and beauty of the spaces in which we coexist in his exhibition A City View from the Table of My House. His multimedia works poignantly signal the ways in which more abstract phenomena like power and entropy affect the tangible universe like cities.

At 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Sadler, also a SCAD graduate, takes viewers on a tour of his Atlanta studio. Sadler (b. 1986, Atlanta) is well known for murals that balance ancient and modern techniques, incorporating text, illustration, and painting. His work is prominently featured in the film Black Panther and is currently on view in the SCAD FASH exhibition Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design. Inspired by African masks and Nigerian textiles, Sadler’s work connects Carter’s celebrated costume designs across various time periods and themes within the overarching concept of Afrofuturism.

SCAD FASH also proudly presents Watson’s first U.S. solo museum exhibition, The Light Behind the Lens, which features more than 50 works curated from the artist’s extensive photographic archive that showcase his signature style, expert use of light and shadow, and the wide range of his career. One of the most prolific photographers of our time, Watson (b. 1942, Edinburgh) — whose striking photographs have graced more than 100 covers of Vogue and major campaigns for Chanel and Prada — joins President Wallace in conversation Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.

On Thursday, Feb. 25, at 11 a.m. ET, Cooper, Christto & Andrew, and Olowska give a series of artist talks, sharing insight on their intriguing works in varied mediums on view at SCAD MOA. Cooper (b. 1984, Liverpool, U.K.), who is based in Amsterdam, creates computer-generated video works that grapple with the constraints human bodies face in a world of ubiquitous virtual platforms and rapidly increasing technological advances. Her exhibition Symptom Machine presents four videos projected simultaneously within a multiscreen installation with sound design by musical artist Bonaventure. Based in Doha, Qatar, and Copenhagen, Denmark, Christto & Andrew (Christian Sánchez Díaz, b. 1985, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Andrew Jay Weir, b. 1987, Johannesburg, South Africa) use a surreal style to portray the effects of structural systems like history, politics, and the economy, as well as popular culture at large. In A Message from Venus, the duo’s first U.S. museum exhibition, the artists present recent photographs that speak to our globalized culture at a time when our relationships to and experiences of image-making technology are dissimilar. Olowska (b. 1976, Gdansk, Poland), a renowned Polish artist, draws out the psychosexual and sociopolitical constructs of female experience in positively feminist, nostalgia-laden paintings. With Mainly for Women, she brings the domestic act of playing hostess into the space of the gallery, inviting several other women artists to exhibit alongside her. The collective presentation takes on an almost mythic, séance-like quality, with many of the featured works drawing from imagery related to pagan mythologies.

On Thursday at 2 p.m., international art stars the Haas Brothers join legendary gallerist Marianne Boesky for a conversation exploring the symbiotic relationship between artist and gallerist and the brothers’ SCAD MOA exhibition Beast in Show. The Haas Brothers (b. 1984, Austin, Texas) are nimble cross-pollinators in creative disciplines including fashion, film, art, and design. Their works explore aesthetic themes related to nature, science fiction, sexuality, and psychedelia, and are typified by the artists’ uniquely clever use of materials, ranging from brass, porcelain, and fur to highly technical resins and polyurethane.

For the final event Thursday at 5 p.m., Simpson (b. 1983, Santa Clara Pueblo) discusses her practice from her studio on the Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico. Simpson comes from the Pueblo, a tribe noted for the ceramics its women have produced since the sixth century AD. In Countdown, a major new commission presented in the SCAD MOA Jewel Boxes, Simpson combines her inherited tribal belief systems with high art concepts and apocalyptic science-fiction forms.

Prints by Frankenthaler, recently acquired for the SCAD Museum of Art Permanent Collection, are also on view in Savannah and demonstrate the artist’s major contributions to the medium. Widely known for her work as a painter and experimentations with ceramics, textiles, and sculpture, Frankenthaler (b. New York, 1928–2011) was a leading voice in the development of the second generation of Abstract Expressionism in the U.S. and considered by many to be one of the most important artists of her time.

“Through SCAD deFINE ART and other year-round public programming, SCAD museums enlighten minds and elevate dialogue,” said Kari Herrin, vice president for brand experience and head of exhibitions. “This year’s programming and corresponding exhibitions explore art and design practices including painting, architecture, photography, fibers, motion media, and film, all of which directly relate to our university’s top-ranked degree programs. We are proud to offer this dynamic event, allowing audiences in our SCAD communities and around the world exclusive access to these creative leaders.”

For more information, visit scad.edu/defineart.

SCAD deFINE ART
Feb. 23–25, 2021
All events are in Eastern Time.

TUESDAY, FEB. 23
11 a.m.
Conversation with Amy Sedaris
Followed by gallery tour with associate curator Ben Tollefson and Q&A with Marcel Dzama

2 p.m.
Sanford Biggers in conversation with adjunct curator Humberto Moro
Emily Furr (SCAD B.F.A., graphic design, 2000) in conversation with curator DJ Hellerman
Followed by Q&A

7 p.m.
Virtual opening reception
Hosted by Kayli Carter (SCAD B.F.A., performing arts, 2015) and Mojo (SCAD B.F.A., sequential art, 2015)

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 24
11 a.m.
Carlos Garaicoa in conversation with Christian Sottile 2 p.m.
Brandon Sadler (SCAD B.F.A., illustration, 2009) studio tour and artist talk

3:30 p.m.
Albert Watson in conversation with SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace

6 p.m.
Keynote lecture by Sanford Biggers

THURSDAY, FEB. 25
11 a.m.
Artist talks with Kate Cooper, Christto & Andrew, and Paulina Olowska

2 p.m.
The Haas Brothers in conversation with Marianne Boesky

5 p.m.
Rose B. Simpson studio tour and conversation with curator DJ Hellerman
Followed by Q&A

SCAD MUSEUM OF ART
The SCAD Museum of Art is a premier contemporary art museum that includes more than 10 dynamic gallery spaces featuring exhibitions and commissioned works by international emerging and established artists. As a teaching museum, it serves visitors and students alike with the twin goals of enriching both the high caliber of education at SCAD and the cultural life of the Savannah community and beyond.

Established in 2011, SCAD MOA’s Walter O. Evans Center for African American Studies features permanent gallery space dedicated to exhibiting the work of contemporary Black artists. In the decade since its founding, the Evans Center and SCAD MOA have continually exhibited and celebrated Black artists, including internationally heralded exhibitions focused on the legacies of Jacob Lawrence and Frederick Douglass, as well as contemporary exhibitions by artists including Hank Willis Thomas, Toyin Ojih Odutola, and Kenturah Davis. Visit scadmoa.org.

SCAD FASH MUSEUM OF FASHION + FILM
SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film celebrates fashion as a universal language, garments as important conduits of identity, and film as an immersive and memorable medium of popular culture. Situated within SCAD Atlanta, the museum presents dynamic exhibitions, captivating films, and enticing events that mine the rich and storied legacies of fashion history to inspire contemporary designers and future innovations. Supported by the university’s strong global presence and connections to renowned contemporary fashion designers, filmmakers, and creative professionals around the world, SCAD FASH is an integral part of the SCAD educational experience.

Like the award-winning SCAD Museum of Art, SCAD FASH serves as a creative resource for students of all ages and a wellspring of inspiration for visitors. Through programming that engages the university’s broad array of academic disciplines, SCAD FASH offers diverse exhibitions, films, installations, performances, and events to enliven and inspire the greater community year-round. Each program is designed to engage and appeal to visitors with varied backgrounds and interests, from textiles and jewelry to photography and film. Past exhibitions have featured the work of designers Azzedine Alaïa, Pierre Cardin, Carolina Herrera, Mary Katrantzou, Guo Pei, and Oscar de la Renta. Photographic exhibitions have featured the work of Jonathan Becker, Bill Cunningham, and Omar Victor Diop. Exhibitions are accompanied by curated film series that complement programming. Past films include Pierre Cardin: Le Futur, The First Monday in May, Funny Face, The Leopard, and Ovation for Oscar, among others. Visit scadfash.org.

SCAD: THE UNIVERSITY FOR CREATIVE CAREERS
The Savannah College of Art and Design is a private, nonprofit, accredited university, offering more than 100 academic degree programs in more than 40 majors across its locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia; Lacoste, France; and online via SCAD eLearning and SCADnow.

SCAD enrolls approximately 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 100 countries. The innovative SCAD curriculum engages professional-level technology and other advanced learning resources, and affords students opportunities for internships, professional certifications, and real-world assignments with corporate partners through SCADpro, the university’s renowned research lab and prototype generator. In 2020, the prestigious Red Dot Design Rankings placed SCAD as the No. 1 university in the U.S. and in the top two universities in the Americas and Europe for the fourth consecutive year. Career preparation is woven into every fiber of the university, resulting in a superior alumni employment rate. In a recent study, 99% of SCAD graduates were employed, pursuing further education, or both within 10 months of graduation. SCAD provides students and alumni with ongoing career support through personal coaching, alumni programs, a professional presentation studio, and more.