December 11th, 2015-January 23rd, 2016
Opening reception: December 11th, 6-8p with burgers and fries from The Sourball Grill
The upcoming exhibition “Maintenance Mode” takes the subject of work and examines how it both constrains and inspires artistic practice while keeping artists’ lives together. The exhibition opens on Friday, December 11, from 6 to 8 pm and closes Saturday, January 23 at Public Space One, 120 N. Dubuque Street, Iowa City.
The artists in this exhibition look at how the necessary work for maintaining life can become art, either by their jobs influencing the art they make, by taking work as their subject, or by making art from daily activities. Maintenance activities – work that is generally less valued, but which nonetheless sustains, renews, and prolongs - are especially valued by this exhibition.
The exhibition features video, sculpture, objects to form a future performance, interactive web-based art, installation, and drawings. In addition, the artist collaborative Fluxion will produce a series of weekly meals for ten artists, positing cooking as art and putting their artistic practice on a service plane and in the service of their peers. The exhibition also features Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ Manifesto for Maintenance Art, a seminal piece of conceptual art writing from the year 1969.
Artists included in the exhibition are: Josh Black, Kasey Bullerman, Leah Burke, Jason Eisner, Fluxion, Paul Howe, Josh Johnson, Michael Kellner, Gretta Louw, Jessica Pleyel, Alexandra Robinson, Jeff Schmuki, Matthew Fleming & The Sourball Grill, M. Earl Williams, and Mierle Laderman Ukeles.
Organized and curated by Bea Drysdale and the PS1 gallery team.
THE SOURBALL (OF THE REVOLUTION) GRILL pops up as a play off Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ Manifesto for Maintenance Art to “provide sustenance for the garbage removal needs of the revolution since 2015." Yep. Join us at the opening for the pop-up burger and fry shop and enjoy some fast food done slowly. We’ll be serving burgers and fries (and eternally out of perfume and sox).