A Contemporary Cocktail


Current Series | Contemporary Art In Context [archives]

A Contemporary Cocktail is a "kicked-up" version of SITE's Contemporary Art in Context series, which is a program meant to ground the art of today in art history. Mixing a social atmosphere with informative lectures, a Contemporary Cocktail invites you to enjoy a drink, mingle with friends and other art lovers, and feed your brain. The topics for this two-part series emerge out of the work of two artists featured in the exhibition One on One.

Joanne Lefrak, SITE's Education and Catalogue Manager, will explore the theme of obsession in contemporary art and relate it to the works of Kaari Upson. She will investigate the idea of compulsive fixations and desire and will discuss contemporary artists who focus on obsessive practices or subjects. Lefrak will explore the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea or image through the lens of contemporary art.

Janet Dees, SITE's Thaw Curatorial Fellow, will investigate the theme of surveillance in contemporary art, connecting it to the work of Hasan Elahi. The theme of surveillance has garnered substantial attention from artists concerned with the loss of personal privacy after 9/11. However, the idea of watching and being watched has played a steady, if less obvious role in contemporary art since video cameras and feed-back loop technology became more accessible in the mid -1960’s. Dees will explore some of these developments.