Lectures focus on the art of the 1980s | Arts & Culture

From the University of Oregon

How global changes between 1979 and 1992 were reflected in art is the topic of curator Helen Molesworth's lectures in Eugene on March 6, and in Portland on March 8.

Molesworth, chief curator at The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, will discuss a new exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Her lecture about the exhibit, "This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s," is part of the University of Oregon "Connective Conversations" and The Ford Family Foundation's Curator and Critic Tours and Lectures series. Her visit is also made possible by the George and Matilda Fowler Endowed Fund.

Molesworth will lecture in Eugene on Tuesday, March 6, at 6 p.m. on the UO campus, 177 Lawrence Hall, 1190 Franklin Boulevard. Her talk in Portland will be Thursday, March 8, at 5:30 p.m. in the UO in Portland White Stag Block, Event Room, 70 N.W. Couch Street. Both lectures are free and open to the public. A reception will follow the Portland event at the White Stag.
The lectures will cover artwork and artists' experiences from 1979 to 1992. During this era, the political sphere was dominated by the ideas of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; the music scene was transformed by punk and the birth of hip-hop; and everyday lives were altered by a host of technological developments, from the Sony Walkman and the ATM to MTV and personal computers.

"This Will Have Been" was organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, where it opened Feb. 11 and runs through June 2. From there it travels to the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minn. (June 30 to Sept. 20), and to the ICA Boston (Oct. 26 to Jan. 27, 2013).

"The lecture series brings internationally respected curators and critics to join in a conversation with Oregon visual artists, participate in community dialogue about the visual arts, and become more knowledgeable about the visual arts in Oregon," said Kate Wagle, director of the UO Architecture and Allied Arts program in Portland. "The visitors can carry the 'Oregon story' throughout the world."

Molesworth has curated exhibitions such as "Work Ethic, ACT UP New York: Activism, Art and the AIDS Crisis, 1987-1993" and "Part Object Part Sculpture," where she has been lauded for breaking down the perceived distance between responsibility to a community and curating contemporary art.

"The first series visitation to Oregon by George Baker, professor of art history at UCLA, reinforced to us how important it is to have people come into our state and provide a professional perspective on individual artists' work," said Norm Smith, president of The Ford Family Foundation. "We expect Helen Molesworth to have an equal impact, not only on the artists with whom she will be visiting but, like Professor Baker, sharing an experienced viewpoint that will enrich our state's general discussion about contemporary art in today's world."

For more information, visit http://aaa.uoregon.edu/conversations.