On October 18th 1998 there will be a gathering of minds to discuss the issues of new art at the cusp of the millennium.
Why this gathering? Because behind this process of new art being generated there is hidden world of thought...the thought of those who create the art and the thought of some of those who observe it. Certainly much of the art is being created without any conscious or at least significant philosophy on the part of the artist, and most of the museums are doing their jobs of acquiring and preserving what commercial galleries have been successful in selling whether it has had or will have any significant impact on the direction of thought and culture. Although it is true that established museums or institutions of culture eventually come to recognize what had been important in their midst, there is an inertia in these institutions that makes for recognition of important ideas only long after they have created their revolution in society.
On the other hand, some truly gifted and formidable artists, critics, curators and connoisseurs are engaging the new and not yet congealed issues of perception, thought, science and the arts at the latter part of the 20th century and have stepped into the arena of our emerging art world and are staking their claim to the territory. These are the people who will fill the panels.
One of the first issues is whether the art of today is distinctly different enough to be identified and classified as "art of the late 1990s." What is this stamp of style that identifies it as the art of "now." How is this art different from the "post modernist?"
The interesting feature of this symposium is that it is couched in the midst of an art exhibit entitled THE CALCULUS OF TRANSFIGURATION: MEANING, FORM AND PROCESS IN LATE 20TH CENTURY ART. Last year the Williamsburg Art & Historical Center launched a massive show called WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING DAVE?,a "cutting edge" exhibit of emerging artists who were just beginning to make their way into important galleries and museums. It was thought by many in the art world that this is where art stands at this moment in time. In fact it was felt by the Center's artistic director that the art that had reached mainstream was not cutting edge and was about ten years or more behind what was really new and transforming. The CALCULUS OF TRANSFIGURATION show, curated by Yuko Nii, brings us another step forward.
In the symposium we will look at where we are in the "now." Our panelists will be examing where music, art & performance stand TODAY, if possible, not where it stood ten years ago. This is where the sharp edge of the absolute present is cutting into the unknown territory of the next millennium creating the shock wave which will transform mind and man and appear in the museums and performance halls of tomorrow. This is the town meeting in the emerging art capital of the world. The WAH Center, for this moment in time, will be the ancient Athenaeum where the Socratic dialogue is alive and well. This is an experience not to be missed. We will keep the door open for you!