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IDSVA Students come together for a series of conversations entitled "We Are The Beast."

In conjunction with the exhibition John Preus: The Beast (Herd Mentality), IDSVA students and alumni, Jen Hall, Mary Anne Davis, Kate Farrington, and Leonie Bradbury, have come together for a series of conversations entitled "We Are The Beast." The discussions will be held February 15, March 1, and March 22nd.


Exhibition: John Preus: The Beast (Herd Mentality)
When: February 15- March 15, 2018
Where: Montserrat Gallery, 23 Essex Street
Special event: Opening Thursday, February 15th, 5-7pm

The talks explore the intersection of art and philosophy inside of Preus’ installation The Beast at Montserrat College of Art Galleries. The series brings together artists, critics and philosophers to discuss The Beast from different perspectives and to explore how the installation addresses space, experience and materiality. Changing ideas surrounding binary oppositions such as the individual and the collective, the body and the mind, and form and function will be examined, diffused and expanded.

Discussions will be moderated by exhibition co-curator Leonie Bradbury and are situated in the belly of the Beast. Attendees will be invited to engage with the panelists and each other.

1. The Space of Art featuring Montserrat College of Art, Professor of Humanities Kate Farrington in conversation with artist John Preus.

Preus and Farrington will take a close look at The Beast’s distinct physical presence and function as a gathering space for community. They will consider it as an aesthetic space vs. a political space and question how being inside of a work of art (or community) is different than existing outside of it. Does The Beast present a portal to a world of wide ranging ideas or is it an ideological statement? Join our speakers as they go deep on the meaning of the Beast.

When: 11:30am-12:30pm, Thursday, February 15, 2018

2. The Experience of Art featuring Artist-Philosopher Dr. Jennifer Hall in conversation with Dr. Vidette Asher, Neuroscience Researcher, Peabody Essex Museum.

Hall and Asher will examine the experience of a work of art through their multiple disciplines. Hall is a contemporary visual artist and a philosopher with an expertise in neuroaesthetics and interactive art. Asher's expertise is behaviors of the animal brain and she will describe experience from a scientific perspective. Questions arise: Where does an experience begin or end? Are the body and mind really two separate parts of a person? How is perception understood? Join our speakers as they discover how neuro-biology may be bound to the art experience.

When: 11:30am-12:30pm Thursday, March 1, 2018.

3. The Materiality of Art featuring Artist-Philosopher Dr. Mary Anne Davis in conversation with Jen Mergel, Curator of Platform, The Armory Show.

The Beast offers a space for community engagement and invites conversation. How does the material or materiality impact the quality of the discourse that takes place within it? Is it different from the white gallery box? Why? How does the material intervention impact the relationships of those who engage with it? Also, when does an object become space, or space an object? Join our speakers as they explore the material impact of The Beast.

When: 11:30am-12:30pm Thursday, March 22, 2018

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