Karyn Olivier, The Battle is Joined, 2017. Vernon Park, Philadelphia PA. Commissioned by Monument Lab and Mural Arts. Courtesy of the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery.
Marking Monuments
January 22 – March 6, 2021
USF Contemporary Art Museum Lee and Victor Leavengood Gallery + Online
Marking Monuments is curated by Sarah Howard, USF Curator of Public Art and Social Practice; and organized by the USF Contemporary Art Museum.
ONLINE EXHIBITION
Exhibition Home // Essay by Sarah Howard // Foreword + Acknowledgements
Ariel René Jackson // Joiri Minaya // Karyn Olivier in collaboration with Trapeta B. Mayson // John Sims // Monument Lab
FOREWORD
Monuments confer meaning on our public space. Often erected to symbolize and embody an historical event or individual, their political and aesthetic efficacy is grounded in their commemorative value. Many historical monuments serve as markers of anti-Black and colonized spaces. Marking Monuments looks at artists who have rendered these original intents and meanings plastic, radically reinterpreting and reassessing monuments as cultural, political, and social contexts evolve. These artistic interventions contest the unwelcoming, uncomfortable, and confrontational messages of some monuments and communicate new narratives and histories that can transform the experience of visiting public spaces.
Sarah Howard, Curator of Public Art and Social Practice at the USF Contemporary Art Museum (USFCAM), has selected artists and projects for Marking Monuments informed by and contributing to the compelling global dialogues about our racist history, marked by monuments in contested public spaces. These artists are Ariel René Jackson, Joiri Minaya, John Sims, and Karyn Olivier in collaboration with poet Trapeta B. Mayson. Field Trip, a community activity conceived by Philadelphia-based Monument Lab, is also part of the exhibition; viewers are invited to participate in assessing meaning in local monuments and markers as part of this ongoing project.
The USF Contemporary Art Museum offers temporary exhibitions and projects that engage viewers in current conversations about social justice and the power of artists to offer new perspectives on cultural issues. Because of the continuing Covid-19 environment, Marking Monuments is offered in a hybrid format. Installations documenting the artists’ projects are presented in the Lee & Victor Leavengood Gallery of the Contemporary Art Museum and online. The Contemporary Art Museum’s programs serve as a resource for students and faculty across all our campuses and the significance of this exhibition will be amplified by Monuments, Markers, and Memory, a symposium series in partnership with the Florida Public Archaeology Network, the USF Department of Anthropology, USF ResearchOne, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, and the New College Public Archaeology Lab.
The USF Contemporary Art Museum resides in the College of The Arts and thrives with the support of our new dean, Chris Garvin, who understands and advances the critical role of the arts in higher education. The museum relies on critical funding from grants, foundations and community philanthropy. We are fortunate to have generous support and funding for the exhibition, related educational programs and community-based engagement from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Stanton Storer Embrace the Arts Foundation, USFCAM Art for Community Engagement (ACE) Fund, the Lee and Victor Leavengood Endowment, Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs.
I am privileged to serve as the director of the USF Contemporary Art Museum and extend my appreciation to the talented museum staff and to the participating artists. Congratulations to Sarah Howard for conceiving and organizing a timely and powerful exhibition that asks us to take notice of how monuments and markers function in the public realm and reflect the values and ideals of our cultural time.
Margaret Miller
Director and Professor
USF Institute for Research in Art
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Marking Monuments explores the power of public space and the vision of artistic reimagining as a creative strategy for provoking new perspectives, dialogues and equitable modes of representation. Faced with the most challenging time of our lives, as we continue to struggle, cope and survive through a global pandemic, the climate crisis, political upheaval and disinformation, and uncertainty about the future, we acknowledge and reckon with the systemic racism and institutionalized violence against communities of color, and the significant political and social divisions and cultural conditions that have exposed deep racial, economic and health disparities, and the disproportionate access to resources for many. USFCAM continues to reflect and respond to our most pressing social issues by elevating artists’ voices and role in imagining new paths forward and providing free access to our cultural and educational programs across both physical and digital platforms. I am exceptionally privileged and honored to present an exhibition highlighting the vision of these artists as an important contribution to the current global dialogue around public monuments and memorials. These projects promote creative and diverse approaches to memorialization and restorative justice as they re-envision state sanctioned symbols of the violent history of colonialism and white supremacy.
The projects presented in Marking Monuments examine power, reveal untold narratives and generate new collective knowledge and awareness by reframing public experiences in both the physical and online gallery space through film, photo documentation, proposals and prototypes. I am immensely grateful to the artists Ariel René Jackson, Joiri Minaya, Karyn Olivier, John Sims and poet Trapeta B. Mayson for their contributions, energy and attention to the exhibition and associated programs as we navigate new ways of connecting and collaborating due to the pandemic. USFCAM is honored to include Monument Lab’s Field Trip activity guide and appreciates the valuable contributions from Monument Lab’s founders Paul Farber and Ken Lum, and curator Patricia Eunji Kim.
Special gratitude to John Sims for connecting USFCAM with Dr. Diane Wallman in the USF Department of Anthropology and fostering the partnership for the Monuments, Markers and Memory 2021 Symposium Series in collaboration with the Florida Public Archaeology Network, the University of South Florida Department of Anthropology, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, and the New College Public Archaeology Lab. The symposium series received generous support from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and from USF ResearchOne.
While maintaining Covid-19 safety protocols and facing the challenges of communicating in a socially distanced sphere, the entire team at USFCAM has worked with tireless dedication to build strategies and solutions for new modes of engagement to safely provide engaging and thoughtful content for our expanding audiences and campus community in person and online. I extend deep gratitude to my USFCAM colleagues, as I truly appreciate the enthusiastic support and guidance of the USF Institute of Research in Art Director Margaret Miller, Deputy Directors Noel Smith and Randall West, and the professional talent and commitment of the team as we addressed the many tasks associated with mounting an exhibition including funding, contracts, artwork loans, exhibition design and installation, documentation, event planning, marketing and promotion, publication design, educational and community-based engagement and so much more. Special thanks to USFCAM team members Amy Allison, Shannon Annis, Marty De la Cruz, Leslie Elsasser, Mark Fredricks, Don Fuller, Ashley Jablonski, Eric Jonas, Vincent Kral, Will Lytch, Anthony Wong Palms, Christian Viveros-Fauné, and David Waterman. It is a pleasure and privilege to collaborate with each of you to mount ambitious and relevant exhibitions and educational programs.
USFCAM appreciates the expertise of Dr. Laura Harrison and her team at the USF 3D Access Lab for their technical assistance with the digital scanning and presentation of the virtual exhibition on our digital platform. Special gratitude to Don Corbin, Arts Technology Coordinator in the USF School of Art and Art History.
While we lament the inability to gather in person for a shared celebration and social exploration of the exhibition, USFCAM values our connections with our audiences and I am so appreciative of our community of supporters for embracing our digital platforms, and their continued advocacy and engagement with the arts as a vital expression of our human condition. As we look to the future and learn and build off these vital experiences and digital initiatives to engage with audiences, we are committed to examining and expanding the role of the university museum to promote racial, cultural and social equity, and move in bold and exciting new directions to provide inclusive access to the arts.
Sarah Howard
Curator of Public Art and Social Practice
USF Institute for Research in Art
Marking Monuments is made possible by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Stanton Storer Embrace the Arts Foundation, IRA Initiatives for Social Justice Fund, USFCAM Art for Community Engagement (ACE) Fund, the Lee and Victor Leavengood Endowment, and the Florida Department of State.
