2008-09-10 23:48:04 -

www.scu.edu - Two powerful exhibitions at the de Saisset Museum this fall provide artistic perspectives on a wide variety of contemporary topics: war, racism, consumerism, intolerance, and violence. On view from September 27 to December 13, Evri Kwong: Just Pretend Everything is OK and Winter in America: Hank Willis Thomas and Kambui Olujimi feature work by artists committed to exploring societal issues in their art.

In Just Pretend Everything is OK, San Francisco-based painter and printmaker Evri Kwong finds inspiration in current events and tragedies, including September 11 and the brutal murders of gay student Matthew Shepard and African American James Byrd. Using a unique combination of oil paint and Sharpie permanent marker, Kwong lures viewers with bright colors

and a style reminiscent of comics only to shock us with the intensity of his message. Kwong says, "I want people to come away with something that gets under their skin -- something that will get them thinking. Things are happening that are unacceptable. The big problem is that they keep on happening." Just Pretend Everything is OK is a mid-career survey of Kwong's art and is accompanied by the artist's first publication. After its premiere at the de Saisset Museum, the exhibition will travel to the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center in Washington, D.C.

Hank Willis Thomas and Kambui Olujimi's collaborative Winter in America exhibition consists of a stop-motion animation video and still photographs that function together to depict the 2000 robbery and murder of Thomas' cousin Songha Thomas Willis. This tragic event is enacted by G.I. Joe action figures -- toys the artists view as integral in breeding a culture of violence in our children. The de Saisset Museum's presentation of Winter in America represents the first time the video and still photographs have been exhibited together. According to Hank Willis Thomas, both are crucial because, "video carries the viewer through and still images allow the viewer to ponder."

Both exhibitions showcase SCU's commitment to social justice. Says de Saisset Assistant Director Karen Kienzle, the curator of both exhibitions: "In the work of Evri Kwong, Hank Willis Thomas, and Kambui Olujimi, we find artistic expression of a commitment to creating a more humane world, reflecting SCU's mission to providing an educational environment that provides a reflective engagement with society."

Please note that these exhibitions contain mature content (including intense violence, language, and sexuality) and therefore may not be appropriate for all viewers.

Related events:

Friday September 26 at 6:30 p.m., de Saisset Museum

Hank Willis Thomas and Kambui Olujimi will provide a free lecture about their individual work and the collaborative Winter in America project. A free reception for Winter in America and Just Pretend Everything is OK will follow.

Tuesday, November 11 at 6 p.m., de Saisset Museum

Evri Kwong will participate in a panel discussion, Meditation Into Action: Three Perspectives on Art, Social Justice, and Spirituality with playwright and director Erik Ehn and poet and SCU faculty member Juan Velasco.

Also on view at the de Saisset Museum from September 27 to December 13, The Hapa Project by Kip Fulbeck features a recent photographic project by the nationally recognized author, artist, filmmaker and educator.

The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is closed Mondays.

About the de Saisset Museum

The de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University is the South Bay's free museum of art and history. The museum is one of only three museums in the South Bay accredited by the American Association of Museums. The de Saisset Museum supports SCU's goal of educating the whole person through diverse exhibitions, collections, and educational programs.

About Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California's Silicon Valley, offers its 8,685 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master's and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master's universities, California's oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.

Santa Clara University
Karen Kienzle
Asst. Director for Exhibitions, Education, and Community
Outreach, de Saisset Museum
Phone: 408-554-4528
Fax: 554-7840
kkienzle@scu.edu