AMERICAN IDOLATRY

A site specific installation by Kate Hardy

June 8 - July 8, 2007
Reception: Friday, June 8, 7:00 - 9:00pm
Artist and Curator's talk: Friday, June 8, 8:00pm

District of Columbia Arts Center
2438 18th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
Tel: (202) 462-7833
Fax: (202) 328-7099
www.dcartscenter.org

This site-specific project created by Kate Hardy combines her set of values with that of the art market. The installation evokes the notion of endless reproduction and universal accessibility in a gallery setting - one that is traditionally dictated by rarity and limited access. Hardy’s installation is a conceptual piece that discusses the commodification of artworks as well as subverting the typical protocol of the art market. Projects like this do not attempt to bypass the valorization and commodification of the work, but instead embrace it. It is this embrace that completes the work of art. The artistic act is the interactive process of shopping.

American Idolatry is a conceptual artwork that aims to be accessible in its content, visual appeal, pricing, and the collaborative action of exchange. I am presenting the audience with objects that appeal to me. Familiar objects: toys, knick-knacks, souvenirs, etc. They are objects that I have collected from thrift stores, found on the streets of DC or have been given to me by friends. They are a set of unique collectibles. They are not things that I necessarily need but they are things that I want to have. The artist, the consumer and the collector in me would like to have them. Their value system is based on my own personal relationships with and associations to them. They have been ranked and priced according to my preference, and I am presenting them in a gallery setting where by purchasing an object, you will be participating in the completion of the piece.
- Kate Hardy

Kate Hardy is currently artist-in-residence at Red Dirt Studio in Mt Rainier, MD. Her work is theoretically based on people's relationships to images, objects, spaces and each other. To explore these relationships and inform her art she has been working as a historic housekeeper, an exhibit fabrication specialist, and a paper conservationist for The Smithsonian Institution and the National Historic Trust.

This exhibition at DCAC is part of the curatorial initiative program funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation.

Contact:Anne Surak, Curator and Director of Project 4