Not A Metric Matters
Syracuse University: August 15 – November 24, 2019
Not A Metric Matters features new and recent artwork from sixteen faculty members from Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts.
The title of this exhibition, Not A Metric Matters, was inspired by an artwork included in the show, Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby’s You Were an Amazement on the Day You Were Born. The film centers on the life of Lenore, a woman diagnosed with developmental delays at the age of four, and grapples with the complicated practical and emotional realities of mental illness, abuse, and the institutionalized ways we evaluate human development.
The exhibition's title directly references the film’s stunning opening scene of a young girl narrating the reaction of Lenore’s parents when receiving the results of her development test: “Your parents were devastated by this news at first. But they realize before long that it isn’t a metric that matters to them. You are a kid full of jubilant madness. And, everyone you meet winds up beaming in your funny little face.”
In their most basic form, exhibitions provide occasions for art and ideas to be presented to an audience for public conversation, critique, and evaluation. At academic institutions such as SUArt Galleries, these presentations are intended to be educational and emphasize knowledge, skills, and research while putting the interest of students first.
Faculty exhibitions like Not A Metric Matters are tricky, especially large groups shows where the central organizing principle doesn’t consider the formal or conceptual concerns of the artists’ practices. Simply, each exhibiting artist is currently teaching at the same university. At the same time, these types of shows are interesting opportunities to rearrange the traditional student-teacher power dynamic by presenting the work of professors for critique and evaluation by their students.
Not A Metric Matters is an opportunity for us to think deeply about the institutionalized and socialized ways we evaluate, judge, and critique one another. It is a moment to ask meaningful questions about why and to what end we do this, who benefits, and whether or not these are metrics that actually matter.
The exhibition highlights artists working in a wide variety of media including painting, photography, drawing, ceramics, art video, and site-specific installations. Curated by DJ Hellerman, Curator of Art and Programs at the Everson Museum of Art, this exhibition brings together the eclectic and powerful work of design, studio art, and Transmedia faculty.
Programming
Gallery Reception
Thursday, Sept. 12, 5 – 7 p.m.
Artist Talk: Yasser Aggour
Wednesday, Sept. 4 at 12:15 p.m.
Artist Talk: Margie Hughto
Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 12:15 p.m.
Bird Walk with Deborah Dohne
Sunday, Sept. 29 at 7:30am
Onondaga Lake Shore, Orange Parking Lot
Geek/ Art CONfluenceSaturday, Oct. 5, 1 – 5:00 p.m.
A one-day CON celebrating the artistry in geek culture!
Artist Talk: Deborah Dohne
Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 12:15 p.m.
Artist Talk: Ann Clarke
Thursday, Nov. 7, 6:30 p.m.
Shemin Auditorium, Shaffer Art Building
Presented in collaboration with the Visiting Artist Lecture Series
“Grief, Healing and Creative Possibilities”
Friday, Nov. 8, 10 a.m.–noon
Maxwell Auditorium