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Adrian Blackwell: Model for a Public Space [knot]

Spiral shaped wooden bleachers

Adrian Blackwell: Model for a Public Space [knot]

March 1–March 31, 2010

Curated by Maiko Tanaka as part of Extra-curricular: Between Art & Pedagogy, Part II

Justina M. Barnicke Gallery

Toronto artist/architect Adrian Blackwell presents a new instance of Model for a Public Space. Staged in the Reading Room, a students’ social space located in Hart House at the University of Toronto, Blackwell’s project is concerned with the inevitably knotted nature of public discourses. They intertwine, affect, antagonize, fold over themselves, and flee in different directions. Model for a Public Space [knot] is a seating formation which reflects this structure of discourse in its physical arrangement.

Consisting of a set of concentric bleachers, Model for a Public Space [knot] provides singular locations for divergent perspectives while allowing a large number of people to sit and talk comfortably in close proximity to one another, The work considers both senses of the word ‘model’. It is at once a projective idea about how people relate to one another and a temporary maquette. It acts as both an idea or diagram, and a material object, an experiment in the relation between form and social engagement. MPS [knot] was part of Extra-Curricular: Between Art & Pedagogy, an international conference exploring the relationship between art and education. It was the site for various discussions taking place during the second phase of the conference titled, beyond institutions.

Conversation

Love is the Motive Force of Every Emancipatory Politics
Thursday March 18, 2010, 7pm
Featuring Adam Bobbette, Christof Migone, Allyson Mitchell, Helena Reckitt, Alessandra Renzi, Laura Kane, and Kika Thorne
Reading Room, Hart House

Conversation

Love is an Event Ignited by the Distance Between Two Polarities
Thursday March 25, 2010, 7pm
Featuring Abbas Akhavan, Mike Hoolboom, Luis Jacob, Michelle Jacques, Christie Pearson, and Etienne Turpin
Reading Room, Hart House

Our Supporters

We gratefully acknowledge the operating support of the Canada Council for the Arts with additional project support from the Ontario Arts Council.

Title Image: Installation view of Adrian Blackwell: Model for a Public Space [knot], 2010.

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