Margaret Keough, marketing and communications manager
Cultural Identity and Pattern Collide in Pattern ID Exhibition at Kansas City’s Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
Hear Exhibition Artists Willie Cole (Jan. 28) and James Gobel (March 11) Speak
The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art examines the concept of artists using pattern and dress to express their cultural identities in the exhibition Pattern ID, on view January 28–May 8, 2011 at the Kemper Museum. The fifteen featured artists use photography, sculpture, painting, mixed media, and video to address themes of gender, race, culture, sexuality, and ethnicity. Pattern ID, organized by the Akron Art Museum, brings together forty works of art by fifteen artists from around the world. Admission to the Kemper Museum is free.
The exhibition will open with a free public reception 5:30–7:30 p.m., Friday, January 28. At 6:30 p.m. that night, exhibition artist Willie Cole and Akron Art Museum Curator Ellen Rudolph will have a discussion in the Museum’s meeting room. For more details about this and other programs, see below.
Exhibition artists include Mark Bradford, (b. 1961, Los Angeles, CA); iona rozeal brown (b. 1966, Washington DC); Nick Cave (b. 1959, Jefferson City, MO); Willie Cole (b. 1955, Somerville, NJ); Lalla Essaydi (b. 1956, Marrakesh, Morocco); Samuel Fosso (b. 1962, Cameroon); James Gobel (b. 1972, Portland, Oregon); Brian Jungen (b. 1970, Fort St. John, British Columbia); Bharti Kher (b. 1969, London, England); Takashi Murakami (b. 1962, Tokyo, Japan); Grace Ndiritu (b. 1976, Birmingham, England); Yinka Shonibare MBE (b. 1962, London, England); Mickalene Thomas (b. 1971, Camden, NJ); Aya Uekawa (b. 1979, Tokyo, Japan); Kehinde Wiley (b. 1977, Los Angeles, CA).
Pattern ID’s works of art interconnect geographic boundaries and condense time periods to represent a multi-cultural society. The artists seek to spark dialogue about cultural relations and reveal ways that identity is cumulative. These visual narratives of the artists’ personal and communal histories use an array of materials from felt and rhinestones to bindis and sports jerseys. The exhibition relates each work of art to art history, global politics, and the audience, showing interconnected cultural identities.
“The artists use pattern and dress to take up the 21st-century challenge of locating one’s place in society against the backdrop of globalization,” said Ellen Rudolph, the Akron Art Museum curator of exhibitions. “Many of the artists in the exhibition have migrated from one culture to another, be it national, ethnic, racial, sexual, socioeconomic, political, or religious. Rather than trade one identity for another, the artists in Pattern ID reveal ways in which identity can be cumulative.”
The exhibition is accompanied by an 80-page, hardcover catalogue with essays by Ellen Rudolph, exhibition curator, and textile and fashion historian Cecilia Gunzburger Anderson. Each work in the exhibition is illustrated in color. It will be available for purchase in the Museum Shop.
Exhibition-Related Programs
Conversation: Artist Willie Cole and Curator Ellen Rudolph
Friday, January 28, 6:30 p.m.
Meeting Room at Kemper Museum | Free
At the opening reception for Pattern ID (5:30–7:30 p.m.), join us for a conversation between exhibition artist Willie Cole and Ellen Rudolph, curator at the Akron Art Museum.
KC Businesses that BUY Design
Tuesday, February 8, 11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Kemper Museum | Free
In conjunction with Kansas City Design Week 2011, this panel discussion features local companies that value design as a way to push their innovation effectively to develop better products, operations, and bottom lines. Afterward, participants are encouraged to view the exhibition Pattern ID. To register for this free lecture, visit www.kcdesignweek.org.
Lecture: Contemporary African Art
Friday, February 11, 7:00–8:00 p.m.
Kemper Museum | Free
In conjunction with Pattern ID, The University of Kansas’s Assistant Professor of African Art Gitti Salami will discuss the state of contemporary African art and its scholarship.
College Night: Pattern ID
Friday, February 18, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Kemper Museum | Free
Take a break from the books! All college students are invited to explore the exhibition
Pattern ID with the help of trained student guides from the University of Kansas. The night also includes music, activities, and free refreshments.
Memories in the Making
Wednesday, February 23, 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Kemper Museum | Free | Registration required
In collaboration with Heart of America Alzheimer’s Association, the Kemper Museum invites individuals with memory loss to participate in a combined tour and creative workshop. Prior art experience is not necessary. Light refreshments will be served. Registration is required. Contact Lauren Park at 816-457-6136 or lpark@kemperart.org.
Lecture: Artist James Gobel
Friday, March 11, 7:00–8:00 p.m.
Kemper Museum | Free
San Francisco-based artist James Gobel is known for his intricately crafted explorations of masculinity fashioned from felt and yarn. He will discuss his personal approach to his work and the use of pattern and textile to disrupt cultural stereotypes.
ArtReach Workshop: Patterns with Personality
Saturday, March 26, 10:00 a.m.–noon (ages 7–10) and 1:00–3:00 p.m. (ages 11-15)
Kemper Museum | Free | Registration required
The Kemper Museum and the Center for Child Health and Development at the University of Kansas Medical Center offer free workshops for children with and without developmental disabilities. During this ArtReach workshop, students will create patterns that match their personalities. Registration is required. Contact Cory Imig at 816-457-6137 or education@kemperart.org. A complete ArtReach schedule is available online at www.kemperart.org.
Family Day
Sunday, April 3, noon–3:00 p.m.
Kemper Museum | Free
Spend the afternoon with your family and friends exploring Pattern ID and create your own “batik” print. Museum members and new members will also receive a free take-home activity for kids. Free Family Days at the Kemper Museum are made possible by the generous support of the R.A. Long Foundation.
Adult Workshop: Creating Texture and Movement with Unexpected Materials
Saturday, April 16, 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
Kemper Museum | Free | Registration required
Learn from fiber artist Julia Karll about her recent work as it relates to the artists featured in Pattern ID. Explore new art-making techniques using alternative and recycled materials. Prior art experience is not necessary for this program. Lunch is provided. Registration, limited to 15, is required. Contact Lauren Park at 816-457-6136 or at lpark@kemperart.org.
About the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
Kansas City’s renowned free modern and contemporary art museum, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art opened in 1994 and draws more than 120,000 visitors each year. The Museum boasts a rapidly growing permanent collection of modern and contemporary works of artists from around the world and in three locations—the signature Gunnar Birkerts-designed building, Kemper at the Crossroads, and Kemper East.
The Museum (4420 Warwick Blvd.) is open 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., Tuesday–Thursday; 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m., Friday–Saturday; and 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Sunday. Café Sebastienne serves lunch 11:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m., Tuesday–Sunday; and dinner 5:30–9:30 p.m., Friday–Saturday. The Museum and Café are closed on Mondays and major holidays. Admission is free.
Kemper at the Crossroads (33 West 19th Street) is open noon–8:00 p.m., Friday and noon–6:00 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.
The galleries of Kemper East (200 E. 44th Street) are open 10:00 a.m.–4 p.m., Tuesday–Friday. Admission is free.
Thank you
The exhibition was organized by the Akron Art Museum and made possible by generous funds from the Adam Fund of Akron Community Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Herb and Dianne Newman, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Toby D. Lewis Philanthropic Fund.
Special support for this project has been provided by Lynn Adkins and Linda Lighton.
Support for Kemper Museum exhibition is generously provided by Missouri Arts Council, a state agency; Arvin Gottlieb Charitable Foundation, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee; Francis Family Foundation; Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts, Commerce Bank, Trustee; David Woods Kemper Memorial Foundation; William T. Kemper Foundation—Commerce Bank, Trustee; ArtsKC Fund—Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City; DST Systems, Inc.; and Sosland Foundation.
For more general information about the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, visit www.kemperart.org.
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