This sounds like a really cool exhibit to check out during SXSW for all you out-of-towners or even just some of our other fellow Austinites. We'll probably be checking it out in the near future. It's totally FREE by the way! Thanks to my friend Shae for passing this along to us.
These are the days is an exhibition and debut of newly commissioned work by British artist Matt Stokes. Inspired by punk rock subcultures—past and present—in Austin, Texas,
"These Are The Days" is the artist’s first institutional exhibition and first original commission in the United States. The exhibition will feature a dual screen installation of a 16mm film production, an original audio recording, and a collection of ephemera related to the punk, post-punk, and DIY movements, which has been assembled by Stokes over a series of extensive visits to Austin. The show’s focal point is the film installation, comprised of two films running simultaneously. The first features footage of an audience at a specially organized punk show, staged by Stokes, at the
Broken Neck in Austin. The second film was created in response at a recording session held locally at
Sweatbox Studios and shows a band’s reaction to a ‘cut’ of the footage taken from the Broken Neck. Stokes’ work and exhibition evolved from working closely with communities connected to the city’s large and diverse live music scene and considering significant happenings that, in part, reacted against accepted genres associated with Austin as well as dichotomies expressed within the earlier and later punk communities. "These Are The Days" will be concurrently presented at
Project Space 176 (
find more info here), a major new contemporary art space located in Camden, London – an area strongly connected to growth of the UK punk scene.
Matt Stokes’ artistic practice is marked by anthropological enquiry and an interest in events or informal movements that bind people together. Music subcultures have been central to the development of his most recent projects, which have focused on their ability to shape lifestyle, beliefs and create community. Stokes’ most noted works to date include Long After Tonight, a 16mm film that conveys strong emotional and spiritual content through the British communities connected to the music and dance of Northern Soul, and Real Arcadia, a research based project focusing on the history of a small rural acid house organization, which archives and interprets the clandestine experience of those who attended or were affected by a series of cave raves organized by the group.
Matt Stokes lives and works in Newcastle/Gateshead, England. In 2006, he received the Beck’s Futures Prize. Recent solo exhibitions include: Real Arcadia (LüttgenMeijer, Berlin), Now is Early (VOID, Derry), Long After Tonight (ZieherSmith, New York and Kavi Gupta Gallery, Chicago), [un]promised land (Attitudes espace d'arts contemporains, Geneva), Lost in the Rhythm (Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin), and Pills to Purge Melancholy (Collective, Edinburgh). Forthcoming shows (both solo and group) will take place at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art (Gateshead), Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci (Prato). Stokes is currently artist in residence at 176 (London) and is producing a new commission for VIVID (Birmingham).
Read an interview Matt Stokes did in July 2008 with The Austin American Statesman
here.
Admission is free and open to the public.A little info on the Arthouse at the Jones Center:
Arthouse at the Jones Center is supported in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes a great nation deserves great art. Additional support provided by individuals, corporations, foundations and Arthouse members.
Headquartered at the Jones Center in Austin, Texas, Arthouse is the oldest statewide contemporary visual art organization in Texas. Arthouse seeks to promote the growth and appreciation of contemporary art and artists in Texas. Through its exhibitions and programs in Austin and statewide, Arthouse helps nurture artists’ careers and deepen public understanding of contemporary art. All exhibitions and programs at Arthouse are free and open to the public.
Arthouse at the Jones Center is located at
700 Congress Avenue, Austin, TX, 78701. The center is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 11 – 7 pm, Thursday 11 – 9 pm, Saturday 10 am – 5 pm and Sunday 1 pm – 5 m. Admission is free.
(Photo courtesy of Dan Boehl, read his review
here)
I'm hitting it up on Sunday and I suggest everyone that has time this weekend do the same.
The good people at Blog Fresh Radio were kind enough to feature us in their show and since we really dig when stuff like that happens we thought we would share the love and spread the word on all the great work they do. Here's the details on the show....