| 24 February 2005 -
22 May 2005
an exhibition for grown-ups
"The big visual arts show of the festival and possibly
the year…"
- Metro magazine
"Today in the West we are more obsessed with Children
and more confused than ever about childhood than ever before."
- Sarah Gibson
Childhood is a big area for art. Mixed-up Childhood looks at
the ways contemporary artists from all over the world have
exemplified, explored and critiqued prevailing attitudes to
childhood. Works in the show address traditional commonsense
representations of childhood: the natural child, the wild child,
the child as monster, the embryo adult. They explore the lived
experiences of childhood: its spaces, props, practices. They
excavate childhood memories, and invent fanciful pasts. They
challenge the compartmentalisation of "childhood" and "adulthood",
or insist on it. And more. The show is in no way systematic or
conclusive. And while the contrary views presented might seem to
cancel one another out, they also illuminate the complexity of our
thinking about childhood; demonstrating that ideas of childhood
are contrived, contested and conflicted - in short, "mixed-up".
Facts and fictions collide in this provocative new exhibition.
Mixed-up Childhood considers the way childhood is represented and
revisited in the work of artists from all over the world. Studded
with big names, some seen in New Zealand for the first time, the
line up includes AES+F (Russia), Morton Bartlett (USA), Christian
Boltanski (France), Louise Bourgeois (France/USA), Jake &
Dinos Chapman (England), Henry Darger (USA), Mikala Dwyer
(Australia), Anthony Goicolea (USA), Robert Gober (USA), Gavin
Hurley (NZ), Richard Killeen (NZ), Mike Kelley (USA), Mary Kelly
(England / USA), Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin
(Netherlands), Loretta Lux (Germany), Paul McCarthy (USA), Sally
Mann (USA), Shintaro Miyake (Japan) Steven Meisel (USA), Tracey
Moffatt (Australia), Gregor Nicholas (NZ), Grayson Perry
(England), Yvonne Todd (NZ), and Sima Urale (NZ / Samoa). Visiting
Japanese performance artist Shintaro Miyake will create drawings
in situ dressed as a teddybear 24 - 27 February.
This exhibition contains some works which are suitable for
adults only. Children will be admitted only when accompanied by an
adult. School groups please click
here for further information.
Events
Mixed-Up Childhood is supported by an extensive public
programme.
Highlights include lectures by 2003 Turner Prize winner Grayson
Perry and American Folk Art Museum Curator Brooke Anderson on
Henry Darger. 'In Conversations' with the curators and from
artists Sima Urale, Gregor Nicholas and Yvonne Todd. There will be
panel discussions on Children and the Media and Growing up in New
Zealand. To receive regular public programme updates click
here.
Catalogue
Mixed-Up Childhood is supported by a major catalogue.
Co-written by Robert Leonard and Janita Craw it includes writing
and full colour plates on each artist, plus opinion pieces by
James Kincaid, Helen May, Alison Jones and Barbara Creed
Admission Charge
Principal Sponsor
Simpson Grierson is delighted to be the principal sponsor for the
Mixed-Up Childhood exhibition as part of the AK05 Festival.
As a long time partner of Auckland Art Gallery, the partners
and staff of Simpson Grierson are excited to support this very
contemporary and bold exhibition which promises to be a highlight
of 2005's art events calendar.
Major Supporters
Creative New Zealand
British Council
Supporters
Asia 2000
Mondriaan Foundation
AK05
Voted 'Best Art Exhibition for 2005'. Metro Magazine's Pick
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