The Schneider Museum of Art (SMA) at Southern Oregon University is presenting an inspiring exhibition, Selections from Portland2012: A Biennial of Contemporary Art which includes artists representing a broad range of contemporary practice with varying approaches from craft traditions installation, photography, painting and film/video.  One participating artist, Ariana Jacob, representing an emerging form of “social practice” art, will set up her pop-up tent in Ashland and Medford to engage in political conversations with residents with conservative political viewpoints.  Jacob will present her findings and insights at a lecture on Thursday evening on the Southern Oregon University campus.

As a response to the polarizing political divide in our country, participating artist Ariana Jacob has toured the United States to gather a better understanding of both conservative beliefs as well as her own, as an idealist with socialist leanings and a penchant for questioning herself.  As part of the Portland2012 exhibition, Jacob will host public conversation sessions inviting conservative and libertarian people to talk with her about their own political perspectives.  These conversations, which will take place at the inside of an American flag pop-up tent, investigate the crucial but tenuous possibility of civic dialogue.  During these sessions, the artist will instigate a range of discussions where she assumes the role of listener, questioner and learner.  She states, “I would like to talk with people on a personal level to try to better understand this gaping divide in American perceptions of our political reality. Just to be clear, I am doing this because I want to listen and learn. I am not out to debate or critique other people’s political views – I am curious, questioning and I want to understand.”

Ariana Jacob will hold a lecture on Thursday, October 4 at 5:30 PM at the Meese Auditorium at the Center for the Visual Arts at Southern Oregon University.  In this contentious election year, Jacob’s interpretation of political views expressed during her tour across the country will be most insightful.

Portland2012: A Biennial of Contemporary Art was conceived of and produced by Disjecta Contemporary Art Center in Portland, Oregon and curated by Prudence F. Roberts. It is the second installment of the biennial—following Portland2010, curated by Cris Moss—in an ongoing survey of contemporary art practice in Oregon. SMA Acting Director Erika Leppmann worked with curator, Prudence Roberts, and Disjecta Director, Bryan Seurath, to select a group of artists from the Biennial for Selections from Portland2012: A Biennial of Contemporary Art at the Schneider Museum of Art.  The exhibition will be on view through Saturday, December 8 and was made possible through the generous support of the Ford Family Foundation.

The Schneider Museum of Art is a vital force in the intellectual life of Southern Oregon University that promotes an understanding of the visual arts within a liberal arts education. Serving both an academic and community audience, it seeks to build a challenging environment that engages with the visual arts through exhibitions and programs supporting interdisciplinary study, research, and discourse.

Museum Hours

Monday through Saturday

10:00 AM — 4:00 PM

Free Admission/Suggested Donation

$5.00

Directions for the Schneider Museum of Art and Meese Auditorium at the Center for the Visual Arts

Located at the corner of Siskiyou Boulevard and Indiana Street on the Southern Oregon University campus. The Museum and Southern Oregon University are most directly accessible off of Interstate 5 at Exit 14, the southern Ashland exit.

Parking for the Schneider Museum of Art and Meese Auditorium at the Center for the Visual Arts

From Indiana Street, turn left into the metered lot between Frances Lane and Indiana Street. There is also limited parking behind the Museum.

Information

541-552-6245 tel

541-552-8241 fax

sma@sou.edu

http://www.sou.edu/sma/