230 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115

FALL 2015

SCHOOL OF THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BOSTONEXHIBITIONS + PUBLIC PROGRAMS

RAQS MEDIA COLLECTIVE LUMINOUS WILL, 2014

FALL INVITATIONAL

www.smfa.edu/exhibitions | 617.369.3718

September 17–October 17, 2015

Raqs Media Collective: Luminous Will

Mrs. E. Ross Anderson Auditorium Barbara and Steven Grossman Gallery

Opening Reception: September 17, 2015, 5–7 pm

Does history repeat itself, or simply rehearse its moves in anticipation? Can we read chronicles in terms of deferrals and déjà-vu rather than in terms of climaxes and closures?

“Luminous Will” refers to an eponymous work by Raqs Media Collective, where the hands of the clock index words that become phrases. The question of what is or can be a ‘luminous will’—an illuminated, iridescent desire for life itself—is central to the constellation of works that constitute the exhibition. The artists will transform the galleries into a habitat for thoughtfulness, affect, and the elaboration of a playful sense of plenitude.

Made possible in part through the generosity of Sandy Moose and Eric Birch.

Special thanks to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Artist-in-Residency Program.

September 16, 2015, 6:30–9 pm

For Giving Time: Graduate Colloquium 2015–16

Remis Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts

“For Giving Time” will explore the idea of history, our experience of simultaneous temporalities, transnational ancestralities, and other urgent questions regarding contemporary art, social movements, and global mobility. Featuring this fall’s SMFA visiting artists, Raqs Media Collective; with Robert Sember of Ultra-red; SMFA graduate student Danica Arimany; faculty member and curator Carol Stakenas; and facilitated by artist-scholar Dalida María Benfield.

GALLERY HOURS: Mon–Sat: 10 am–5 pm Thurs: 10 am–8 pm Sun + Holidays: CLOSED

Founded in 1992 by Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula, and Shuddhabrata Sengupta, the Raqs Media Collective enjoys playing a plurality of roles, often appearing as artists, occasionally as curators, sometimes as philosophical agent provocateurs. The members of Raqs (pronounced Rux) live and work in Delhi, where they co-founded Sarai at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in 2000. They are part of the 56th Venice Biennale in “All The World’s Futures.” Recent exhibitions include solo shows at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi (2014-2015); the Chronus Art Center, Shanghai (2014); Centro de Arte dos de Mayos, Madrid (2014) and MUAC, Mexico City (2015).

September 18, 2015, 3–4:30 pm

Closer Look: Dying Inayat Khan (1618–19)

East Seminar Room, Museum of Fine Arts

Join Raqs and the MFA’s Joan Wright, Bettina Burr Conservator, Asian Conservation Studio, in a seminar setting to study this exquisite early 17th century Mughal drawing that served as a starting point for envisioning “Luminous Will.” Space is limited. RSVP at smfa.edu/raqs

September 18, 2015, 6:30–8:30 pm

Lived Histories and the After-Life of Images: Raqs Media Collective, Homi Bhabha, and Abishek Kaicker

Anderson Auditorium

A conversation on human lives and the life of images with Raqs; Homi K. Bhabha, Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of English and American Literature and Language and Director of the Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard University; and Abhishek Kaicker, Junior Fellow, Harvard University and Assistant Professor of History at University of California Berkeley. Co-hosted with the Mahindra Humanities Center, Harvard University.

BALCHAND, DYING INAYAT KHAN, 1618–19. INK AND LIGHT WASH ON PAPER. FRANCIS BARTLETT DONATION OF 1912 AND PICTURE FUND. PHOTOGRAPH ©MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON.

RELATED EVENTS

RAQS MEDIA COLLECTIVE RE-RUN (STILL), 2013

230 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115

FALL 2015

SCHOOL OF THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BOSTONEXHIBITIONS + PUBLIC PROGRAMS

RAQS MEDIA COLLECTIVE LUMINOUS WILL, 2014

FALL INVITATIONAL

www.smfa.edu/exhibitions | 617.369.3718

September 17–October 17, 2015

Raqs Media Collective: Luminous Will

Mrs. E. Ross Anderson Auditorium Barbara and Steven Grossman Gallery

Opening Reception: September 17, 2015, 5–7 pm

Does history repeat itself, or simply rehearse its moves in anticipation? Can we read chronicles in terms of deferrals and déjà-vu rather than in terms of climaxes and closures?

“Luminous Will” refers to an eponymous work by Raqs Media Collective, where the hands of the clock index words that become phrases. The question of what is or can be a ‘luminous will’—an illuminated, iridescent desire for life itself—is central to the constellation of works that constitute the exhibition. The artists will transform the galleries into a habitat for thoughtfulness, affect, and the elaboration of a playful sense of plenitude.

Made possible in part through the generosity of Sandy Moose and Eric Birch.

Special thanks to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Artist-in-Residency Program.

September 16, 2015, 6:30–9 pm

For Giving Time: Graduate Colloquium 2015–16

Remis Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts

“For Giving Time” will explore the idea of history, our experience of simultaneous temporalities, transnational ancestralities, and other urgent questions regarding contemporary art, social movements, and global mobility. Featuring this fall’s SMFA visiting artists, Raqs Media Collective; with Robert Sember of Ultra-red; SMFA graduate student Danica Arimany; faculty member and curator Carol Stakenas; and facilitated by artist-scholar Dalida María Benfield.

GALLERY HOURS: Mon–Sat: 10 am–5 pm Thurs: 10 am–8 pm Sun + Holidays: CLOSED

Founded in 1992 by Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula, and Shuddhabrata Sengupta, the Raqs Media Collective enjoys playing a plurality of roles, often appearing as artists, occasionally as curators, sometimes as philosophical agent provocateurs. The members of Raqs (pronounced Rux) live and work in Delhi, where they co-founded Sarai at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in 2000. They are part of the 56th Venice Biennale in “All The World’s Futures.” Recent exhibitions include solo shows at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi (2014-2015); the Chronus Art Center, Shanghai (2014); Centro de Arte dos de Mayos, Madrid (2014) and MUAC, Mexico City (2015).

September 18, 2015, 3–4:30 pm

Closer Look: Dying Inayat Khan (1618–19)

East Seminar Room, Museum of Fine Arts

Join Raqs and the MFA’s Joan Wright, Bettina Burr Conservator, Asian Conservation Studio, in a seminar setting to study this exquisite early 17th century Mughal drawing that served as a starting point for envisioning “Luminous Will.” Space is limited. RSVP at smfa.edu/raqs

September 18, 2015, 6:30–8:30 pm

Lived Histories and the After-Life of Images: Raqs Media Collective, Homi Bhabha, and Abishek Kaicker

Anderson Auditorium

A conversation on human lives and the life of images with Raqs; Homi K. Bhabha, Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of English and American Literature and Language and Director of the Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard University; and Abhishek Kaicker, Junior Fellow, Harvard University and Assistant Professor of History at University of California Berkeley. Co-hosted with the Mahindra Humanities Center, Harvard University.

BALCHAND, DYING INAYAT KHAN, 1618–19. INK AND LIGHT WASH ON PAPER. FRANCIS BARTLETT DONATION OF 1912 AND PICTURE FUND. PHOTOGRAPH ©MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON.

RELATED EVENTS

RAQS MEDIA COLLECTIVE RE-RUN (STILL), 2013

September 11–25, 2015

New Student Salon Show: One SMFA Community

Weems Center, Project Space, BAG Gallery

Centered on the theme of orientation, this year’s annual salon features original works by our newest members of the SMFA community.

September 4–25, 2015

Students Curate Students: Cheng Zhong/In the City

Mission Hill Gallery

Opening Reception: September 4, 5–7 pm

Organized by MFA students Dekuan Deng and Furen Dai “Cheng Zhong” explores the reflections and responses to the radical changes occurring in major cities in China and other global urban centers.

September 28– October 2, 2015

Max Avi Kaplan: HfBK Exchange Works

Mission Hill Gallery

Gallery Talk: October 1, 12–2 pm

An exhibition of works created by MFA student Kaplan during an exchange fellowship at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg, Germany.

September 30–October 17, 2015

SMFA Area Shows

Weems Center, Project Space, BAG Gallery, Downstairs Gallery

This series will showcase new works and student curated exhibitions from across disciplines to enliven SMFA public spaces.

October 5–16, 2015

Post-Baccalaureate Fall Exhibition

Mission Hill Gallery

Featuring new works from the current class of Post-Bac students.

SMFA ART SALE

November 19—22, 2015

First Floor, SMFA

Opening Reception: November 19, 5–8 pm

The SMFA Art Sale is a highly anticipated annual event for art lovers, showcasing an impressive range of SMFA’s emerging and established artists. Shop an eclectic mix of artworks that changes daily to benefit student scholarships.

Hours: November 19–21, 10 am–8 pm November 22, 10 am–5 pm

SMFA AT THE MFAThrough September 13, 2015

Gonzalo Fuenmayor: Tropical Mythologies

Eunice and Julian Cohen Galleria, Museum of Fine Arts

Fuenmayor (MFA ’04), the 2013 SMFA Traveling Fellow, explores notions of national identity, geographic displacement, and ethnic stereotypes in charcoal drawings, photographs, and video.

Through October 11, 2015

Hilary Zelson: Elemental

Edward H. Linde Gallery, Museum of Fine Arts

MFA student Zelson worked with children from the Museum’s ten Community Arts Initiative partners over the past school year to create a large scale installation based on the six elements found in every work of art: line, shape, form, value, color, and texture.

VISITING ARTIST’S SERIESFor a full schedule of programs, visit our website smfa.edu/exhibitions.

All lectures are free and open to the public. Free tickets to lectures at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) may be obtained at any MFA kiosk or ticket desk.

The SMFA Visiting Artists Series includes Wednesday night artist talks and more events co-developed with each visitor to host conversations about their artistic processes as well as deepen exchange with students. The 2015-2016 SMFA Visiting Artists Series is made possible through the generosity of Sandy Moose and Eric Birch.

steve roden

September 30, 2015, 6:30 pm

Anderson Auditorium

steve roden is a visual and sound artist from Pasadena, CA. His working process uses various forms of specific notation (words, musical scores, maps, etc.) and translates them through self-invented systems into scores, which then influence the process of painting, drawing, sculpture, and composition.

Dread Scott

October 7, 2015, 6:30 pm

Anderson Auditorium

Dread Scott makes revolutionary art to propel history forward. Working in a range of media including performance, photography, screenprinting, video, installation and painting, he has exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art, MoMA PS1, and at the Pori Art Museum, Finland, among others.

Sonya Clark in Conversation with Emily Zilber

October 13, 2015, 12:30 pm

Room B311

Sonya Clark’s work celebrates the hand and head as subject matter within a cross-cultural context. Emily Zilber is the Ronald C. and Anita L. Wornick Curator of Contemporary Decorative Arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Clark and Zilber will discuss the full cycle of Clark’s site-specific performance commissioned for “Crafted: Objects in Flux.”

GONZALO FUENMAYOR GENESIS I, 2013MUSEUM PURCHASE WITH FUNDS DONATED BY LEIGH BONILLA BRAUDE THROUGH THE HERITAGE FUND FOR A DIVERSE COLLECTION AND AN ANONYMOUS DONOR.© GONZALO FUENMAYOR. COURTESY, MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON

DREAD SCOTT ON THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF FREEDOM IN A COUNTRY FOUNDED ON SLAVERY AND GENOCIDE (PERFORMANCE STILL), 2014

SONYA CLARK HAIR CRAFT PROJECT (IFE), 2014

HILARY ZELSON ELEMENTAL (DETAIL), 2014

STUDENT EXHIBITIONS

BECKWITH LECTUREEva Respini

October 28, 2015, 6:30 pm

Alfond Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts

Eva Respini, the Barbara Lee Chief Curator at ICA/Boston, previously served as Curator at the Museum of Modern Art, where she organized the critically acclaimed retrospectives Cindy Sherman and Robert Heinecken as well as exhibitions with artists Klara Liden, Anne Collier, Leslie Hewitt, and Akram Zaatari. She is currently organizing the first US museum survey of Walid Raad and the first museum survey of Liz Deschenes.

STEVE RODEN LEFTOVER-RIGHTOVER, 2015

MAX AVI KAPLAN COMPACTS (DETAIL), 2015

LIBRARY SOUNDSsteve roden: Listening Party

September 29, 2015, 6:30 pm

W. Van Alan Clark, Jr. Library

steve roden plays special finds from his eclectic and expansive record collection and will discuss his unique connection to sound and collecting. Co-hosted with Library Sounds.

Tetuzi Akiyama, Jason Kahn, Bryan Eubanks, and Toshimaru Nakamura

Sunday, November 15, 2015, 8 pm

Room 202

FREE for SMFA students/$15 general admission $10 non-event members + students

Featuring Japanese and American musicians coming together to fuse free improvisation, noise, experimental electronics, and the uncategorizable in a fresh and vibrant approach to group playing and spontaneous music creation. Part of SMFA’s Library Sounds, an experimental music series. Co-hosted with Non-event.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Boston Cultural Council, which is funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and administrated by the Mayor’s Office of Arts, Tourism, and Special Events; SMFA; and by the Japan Foundation through the Performing Arts JAPAN program.

ULTRA-RED UNTITLED (FOR SMALL ENSEMBLE) (PERFORMANCE STILL), 2007

smfa.edu/exhibitions