University Art Institute

Henry Art Gallery, Seattle
2007—2008

Having outlined and coordinated the initial planning for the Henry Art Gallery’s University Art Institute with Associate Curator Sara Krajewski, Chief Curator Elizabeth Brown, and UW Faculty Miriam Bartha, the University Art Institute was developed as an annual initiative that expands critical dialog around specific Henry Art Gallery exhibitions.

Using contemporary art as a catalyst for exploration, the University Art Institute encourages diverse audiences to engage in multiple perspectives on timely artistic and social issues. The inaugural Institute considered the legacy of the Vietnam War in conjunction with the museum’s fall exhibitions An-My Lê: Small Wars and Kim Jones: A Retrospective. The Henry hosted lectures and discussions with artists, scholars and community members, film screenings, and other events from September 2007 – January 2008.

An-My Lê, Small Wars: Explosion, 1999-2002, Gelatin silver print, 26” x 37.5”, courtesy Murray Guy Gallery, NY

January 10, 2008
In conjunction with the closing of Kim Jones: A Retrospective, Robert Storr spoke on Jones and his work’s inclusion in the 2007 Venice Biennale and at Site Santa Fe in 2004. This lecture also concluded the Henry’s University Art Institute, an annual initiative that develops and expands opportunities for dialogue, access, and participation in specific Henry exhibitions. This year’s Institute considered the legacy of the Vietnam War as portrayed in the work of An-My Lê and Kim Jones, and explores how we image, record, and discuss war in contemporary society.

Kim Jones, Untitled, 2001-2007
, Acrylic, Ink on Color Photograph, 18” × 12”

Views into Vietnam, First View
October 18, 2007

This first of two Views into Vietnam discussions examined the work and findings of Laurie J. Sears and Francisco Benitez, Directors of the UW Difficult Dialogues project and Tani Barlow, Director of the 2006 Forum on Trauma, History, and Asia. The panel will be moderated by Assistant Director of the Simpson Center for Humanities Miriam Bartha.

Views into Vietnam, Second View
October 18, 7 PM, 2007
The second Views into Vietnam panel emphasized the way war is seen through current Henry exhibitions Kim Jones: A Retrospective and An-My Lê: Small Wars. The panel included visiting artist Kim Jones, Karen Irvine (Curator of An-My Lê: Small Wars), and Sasha Su-Ling Welland (UW Assistant Professor of Anthropology).

James Longley, Iraq In Fragments, 2006, 35mm film, 94 minutes, still

Capturing War, with John Sinno
October 10, 2007

Director James Longley’s Iraq in Fragments is a documentary on post-war Iraq utilizing a 3-act structure to illustrate the way the country is pulled in multiple directions by factors such as religion and ethnicity. Capturing War includes a screening of this Academy Award-nominated film and a question and answer session with Producer John Sinno led by James Tweedie, UW Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature.

Harrel Fletcher, The American War (detail), 2005

Come Together with Harrell Fletcher

September 28, 2007

Come Together is an event created by Portland-based artist Harrell Fletcher that brings people from different areas of a community together to exchange perspectives with one another. The Come Together event at the Henry will include presentations by Fletcher and members of the Seattle community who have been affected directly by the Vietnam or Iraq wars.