"Millennium Messages"
2000-06-03 until 2000-09-17
Everson Museum of Art
Syracuse, NY, USA United States of America

Millennium Messages features the work of a select group of 27 noted artists, architects, and designers who were invited to create time capsules filled with artifacts that comment on twentieth-century achievements, values, and issues. Inspired by time capsules that were buried to coincide with the 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs, the artists were asked to create and fill a container approximately 12 x 30 x 18 inches with existing or specially-made objects that highlight significant aspects of the twentieth century. The resulting capsules emphasize the last century’s issues and achievements from the varied individual perspective of visual artists.

The works featured in Millennium Messages provide museum visitors with a variety of perceptions about our civilization at the end of the millennium. Arman’s Break in Case of Emergency is a witty and sophisticated survival kit with the essential elements for the good life complete with Cuban cigars, fine wines, art books, champagne, and caviar. Milton Glaser’s Capsule of Capsules holds numerous eye-catching, over-the-counter pills that call attention to America’s obsession with relieving pain. Petah Coyne’s capsule reflects the changing role of women during the twentieth century. Coyne sealed within her capsule such items as a corset, long hair, and a tiny shoe worn by a Chinese woman with bound feet, in addition to letters addressed to women artists of the future. Donald Lipski takes a more somber tone in his capsule by reminding us of the people who died in this century in wars and genocidal murders. His capsule contains one grain of sand for each of the 210,000,000 lives lost. The artists participating in the show are Benny Andrews and Nene Humphrey; Arman; Barton Lidice Benes; Constantin and Laurene Leon Boym; Christo and Jeanne-Claude; Petah Coyne; Milton Glaser; Leon Golub; Ilya and Emilia Kabakov; Donald Lipski; Hung Liu; Karim Rashid; Eric Rhein; Faith Ringgold; Karen Shaw; Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith and Neal Ambrose Smith; Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates; Tucker Viemeister; Massimo and Lella Vignelli; Carrie Mae Weems; and Lawrence Weiner. Millennium Messages was organized by the Heckscher Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). The Everson Museum of Art’s presentation of Millennium Messages is made possible by support from The Post-Standard, Herald-Journal, & Herald American.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of New York

Other Important Exhibitions in Syracuse