MK Guth: Paying Attention
January 20 – March 31, 2018
Melvin Henderson-Rubio Gallery
The Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University is pleased to present MK Guth: Paying Attention, featuring the work of nationally recognized Portland, Oregon, artist MK Guth. Organized by Director John Olbrantz, the exhibition opens January 20 and continues through April 1 in the Melvin Henderson-Rubio Gallery.
Over the past fifteen years, Guth has brought people together into cultural conversations with one another, through her photography, video, installations, performances, and mixed-media works. Paying Attention, features a range of new and previously created still-life installations, where Guth draws upon the interactive nature of conceptual art to invite her audience to explore how social interaction is shaped through rites and treasured objects.
With the installation What Needs to Be Said, visitors can share their thoughts and beliefs about topics such as art, ecology, identity, love, and politics, by writing their answers into five books created by the artist. Guth says these books “act as a container for our collective thoughts and desires for a world beyond what we know, what we have, and what we desire.”
A series of still-life shelf installations inspire visitors to continue their experience at home by providing specific instructions for thought-provoking and interactive themed dinners. For instance, Dinner to Plan a Revolution features a shelf with various objects, a suggested menu, and instructions that Guth says are “designed to bring a group of people together in discussion around a table to speak to what they each believe needs changing.”
Choreography for Reading Aloud consists of a mixed-media installation of books, manuscripts, letters, and diaries selected by the artist from Willamette University’s Archives and Special Collections, housed at the Mark O. Hatfield Library. The printed materials and objects focus on Oregon art and history and include the diaries of Salem photographer Myra Albert Wiggins; the papers of prominent Oregon politician Norma Paulus; the zines of Salem artists nic and sloy; and the AIDS journals of Paul Wynne, among others. Visitors can select transcripts from the texts to read aloud individually or as a group, creating a cacophony of sounds where stories collide with facts, theories, opinions, and lists.
Related Events
Opening Reception
Saturday, January 20, 2018, 5 - 7 p.m.
Hallie Ford Museum of Art
Members and museum invited guests only
Cost
Museum Members and Invited VIP Guests: complimentary
New Members: are welcome to join at the event or online
Or by phone at 503-370-6855 or by email at museum-art@willamette.edu
Exhibition Activation
5:15-6 p.m. Melvin Henderson-Rubio Gallery
Join MK Guth and other performers as they read from Choreography for Reading Aloud, a mixed media installation comprised of books, manuscripts, letters, and diaries selected from Willamette University’s Archives and Special Collections at the Mark O. Hatfield Library.
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Reading/Performance
Tuesday, January 23, 2018, 12:30 - 12:45 p.m.
Atrium Gallery, Hallie Ford Museum of Art
Free and open to the public
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Lecture with the Artist MK Guth
Thursday, January 25, 2018, 7:30 p.m.
Paulus Lecture Hall, Willamette University College of Law
Free and open to the public
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Tuesday Gallery Talks
- January 30, 2018, 12:30 p.m.
- February 6, 2018, 12:30 p.m.
- February 13, 2018, 12:30 p.m.
Join a museum docent for a guided tour of the MK Guth: Paying Attention exhibition. Tours commence in the Maribeth Collins Lobby at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art.
Free and open to the public
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Additional Reading/Performances
Atrium Gallery, Hallie Ford Museum of Art
Free and open to the public
- Saturday, February 10, 2018, 12:30 - 12:45 p.m.
- Tuesday, February 20, 2018, 12:30 - 12:45 p.m.
- Saturday, March 10, 2018, 12:30 - 12:45 p.m.
- Tuesday, March 20, 2018, 12:30 - 12:45 p.m.
Financial Support
This exhibition has been supported by general operating support grants from the City of Salem's Transient Occupancy Tax funds and the Oregon Arts Commission. The Hallie Ford Museum of Art wishes to thank MK Guth and the many lenders to the exhibition, including the Elizabeth Leach Gallery in Portland and the Cristin Tierney Gallery in New York City.
