Group Tour
Slash: Paper Under the Knife
David Revere McFadden
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
11:00 a.m.
Museum of Arts and Design
2 Columbus Circle
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David Revere McFadden, Chief Curator and Vice President for Programs and Collections at the Museum of Arts and Design, will lead a group tour of Slash: Paper Under the Knife, an exhibition exploring paper as a creative medium across the arts.
Slash: Paper Under the Knife explores the phenomenon of cut paper in contemporary art, showcasing the work of artists who reach beyond the traditional role of paper as a neutral surface. The exhibition features 12 new site-specific installations and other new and recent work by over 50 contemporary artists, including Thomas Demand, Olafur Eliasson, Tom Friedman, Nina Katchadourian, Chris Kenny, Judy Pfaff, Tomas Rivas, and Kara Walker.
Slash presents a range of subjects that artists across the world are exploring through cut paper, such as landscape, the human body, architecture, politics, and language. The processes and techniques used in these investigations include burning, tearing, perforating, and shredding paper as well as cutting with knives, scissors, and lasers. Some artists work slowly, cutting intricate designs with painstaking patience, while others slash and crumple with performative energy. Amongst the eight thematic groupings of the show are “Cutting as Topography: Exploring Landscape,” which explores landscape real and imagined; and “Structure and Space: Slicing Architecture,” which takes the role of paper beyond the simple model or maquette, and explores new possibilities in the interrelationship between flat paper, three-dimensional space, and the built environment.
Prior to his appointment in 1997 at the Museum of Arts and Design, McFadden served as Curator of Decorative Arts and Assistant Director for Collections and Research at Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution for 16 years. He was President of the Decorative Arts and Design Committee of the International Council of Museums for six years. McFadden has organized over 120 exhibitions on art, decorative arts, and design and is author of more than 150 publications, catalogues, and articles. He has been awarded the Presidential Design award three times, has received knighthoods for cultural service from Finland and Sweden, and was named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres of France.
Reservations are required. Due to the limited number of tickets and to facilitate fair access across our membership, reservations are limited to members only. Upper level members, including League Circle firms, are limited to two reservations. Reservations will be given on a first-come, first-served basis. Please email anderson@archleague.org. Further program information will be given upon confirmation.
This program was made possible in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.
Images from top to bottom: Andreas Kocks, Paperwork #701G (in the beginning), 2007 (detail). Graphite, watercolor paper. Installation view at DG Galerie, Munich, Germany. Photo: Christoph Knoch; Chris Kenny, Grand Island, 2008. Cut Paper. Courtesy of England & Co. Photo: England & Co. Gallery, London.
