Signs of the Times
06.08.2001 - 07.18.2001
Signs of the Times, is an exhibition that examined the role of language, text, and signage in recent American art. An important component of this focused exhibition are works from the 91导航鈥檚 permanent collection by Jesse Howard, a prolific and well-recognized self-taught artist.
Howard, who lived just outside Fulton, Missouri, created unique hand-painted signs and assemblage sculpture incorporating found objects and drawing from source materials such as the Farmer鈥檚 Almanac and the St. James Bible. Howard has been recognized as one of the major American self-taught artists in the twentieth century and his work was included in a major traveling exhibition,聽American Self-Taught Art from the 20th聽Century,聽organized by the Museum of American Folk Art in 1987.
Text, language, and narrative have become increasingly widespread in contemporary art during the past several decades. Artists interested in exploring social and political issues have incorporated text into their work and sometimes use text alone as image. This exhibition explores the role of language in recent contemporary art and the influence that signage and other styles and forms of mass communication have had on artists in recent years.
Signs of the Times聽was curated by Raechell Smith, Director of the H& R Block Artspace at the 91导航.
Jenny Holzer鈥檚 work Protect From What I Want聽is presented in conjunction with the exhibition, on the H&R Block Artspace鈥檚 Project Wall.
