Eric Steen’s News

Faculty of Art at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 09:54:24 -0700

I have been invited to teach at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. In the Fall I will teach three classes - two of them will be Foundation 2D classes and the third will be a class on Socially Engaged Art and New Media. The Art Department at UCCS asked me to introduce expanded ideas into the Foundations classes, incorporating social practice into the arts curriculum. In the Spring I will teach three more classes. I am happy and excited to move to Colorado for this position.

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Lecturing for Jumpstart at Oregon State University

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 09:41:08 -0700

Jumpstart is a pre-college visual and performing arts program sponsored by the Department of Art at Oregon State University. The program invites 15-18 year old high school students to participate in an intensive three-week set of classes. In a few days, I am giving a talk about artists who contextualize their work in traditionally non-art venues, as it relates to or inspires my own work.

SUBSCRIBERS -> HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE LINKS AND IMAGE? CLICK HERE.

The Mythical State of Jefferson this May

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:47:26 -0700

In May I will have work for The Mythical State of Jefferson exhibition at the Schneider Art Museum at Southern Oregon University. The exhibition highlights The State of Jefferson, a Northern California and Southern Oregon secession movement on the rise. The show will consider the politics of this movement and the idea of taking democracy in your own hands.

At opening night I will launch my project, documentation will be on display for the remainder of the exhibition.

Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR
Schneider Art Museum
Exhibition dates are May 6 - June 12, 2010
Reception is May 6th, 5-7pm

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Open Engagement: Making Things, Making Things Better, Making Things Worse

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:22:50 -0800

This May I will have two projects at the Open Engagement conference in Portland, Oregon. The dates of the conference are May 14-17, 2010. Here is information from the conference website:

Open Engagement is a three-day conference that is an initiative of the Portland State University Art and Social Practice concentration and co-sponsored by Pacific Northwest College of Art and Portland Community College. Directed by Jen Delos Reyes and Harrell Fletcher and planned in conjunction with the Portland State University MFA Monday Night Lecture Series, this conference features three nationally and internationally renowned artists: Mark Dion, Amy Franceschini and Nils Norman. The conference will showcase work by Temporary Services, InCUBATE, and a new project by Mark Dion created in collaboration with the PSU Art and Social Practice concentration.
The artists involved in Open Engagement: Making Things, Making Things Better, Making Things Worse, challenge our traditional ideas of what art is and does. These artist’s projects mediate the contemporary frameworks of art as service, as social space, as activism, as interactions, and as relationships, and tackle subject matter ranging from urban planning, alternative pedagogy, play, fiction, sustainability, political conflict and the social role of the artist.
Can socially engaged art do more harm than good? Are there ethical responsibilities for social art? Does socially engaged art have to do civic or public good? Can there be transdisciplinary approaches to contemporary art making that would contribute to issues such as urban planning and sustainability? As both urban planning and contemporary art imagine new worlds, how can art projects be seen as potential models for living?
This conference is an intensive, immersive, around the clock experience. Open Engagement is approached as a social art work in itself. Artists will create housing, food, transportation, exhibitions, partnerships, tours, special events and include of multiple audiences from their own interests and practices, building on the ideas explored throughout the conference.

Market Gallery Residency in Glasgow, Scotland

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:32:32 -0800

I was selected to be the artist in residence at the Market Gallery in Glasgow, Scotland. While there I will lead an experiential class on beer industry and pub culture in Glasgow. The class and I will create a public venue, in the form of a weekend pub at the Market Gallery for the Glasgow International Festival for Visual Art.

For further information, visit the Glasgow Project Page and/or the blog.

Apexart - The Incidental Person in January

Wed, 6 Jan 2010 17:34:08 -0800

I will have work on display at Apexart as part of the The Incidental Person exhibition.
Curated by Anthony Hudek, the exhibition will run from Jan. 6 - Feb. 20, 2010.

Below is a section from Anthony’s curatorial statement. To see the whole statement click here:

“It is high time to pay renewed attention to incidentality as an effective approach to pressing societal issues. Away from the rudimentary right/left or liberal/conservative labels that paralyze governments and polarize communities, the incidental attitude is one of self-reflexiveness and acute, humble awareness of the complex networks of local pressures that inform a specific time and place. We like to assign tags to artists who engage with problematics that exceed the confines of the so-called “art world”, such as socially- or politically-engaged, relational, performative, etc. But these qualifiers only serve to quarantine the curious thinker-doer further from society at large, reinforcing the myth of the artist as exempt from participating in the “real world.” The incidental person, by contrast, sees no alternative between “art” and the activities that regulate social coexistence, such as talking, playing, eating, reading, teaching and listening.”

Paul Butler's Exhibition In Print

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 15:54:46 -0800

My work was selected to be a part of Lateral Learning, Paul Butler’s Exhibition-in-Print through Vantage Art Projects.

From the call:
40+ selected artists will be published along with a selection of Paul's work and collaborations with other artists. This project is unique in the scope of it's inclusiveness, and in the overall aim to create open dialogue in the visual arts through art publications. The curatorial theme developed by Paul is in keeping with his own collaborative multi-disciplinary and social intervention-based art practice. The artwork was chosen through a blind jury process and the work responded to the concept: "Community and Collaboration as a Form of Pedagogy."

The artists to be included are:
Amarie Bergman, Lisa Birke, Melissa Brown, Lydia Burggraaf, John Campbell, Robert Caspary, Lucia Cipriano, Jennifer Delos Reyes, Rebecca Donald, Christopher Donnelly, Aganetha Dyck, Julie Gendron, Sheila Heti, Robin Lambert, Marissa Largo, Henry Mah, J Mawby, Christian Nicolai, Jennifer O'Leary, Richard Palanuk, Mitzi Pederson, Perry Rath, Scott Rogers, Jesse Sherburne, Julia Sherman, Jony Silver, Eric Steen, Derek Sullivan, Aislinn Thomas, Julie Thomson, Margaux Williamson, Sascha Yamashita, Weakhand , The Make It Collective (Gabe Baribeau + other members), 26 Collective (Melanie Rocan, David Wityk, Fred Thomas, Shaun Morin, Ian Augus,
Michael Topf), The Reverse Pedagogy Team (Venice 2009)

Ox-Bow Teaching - Art in Social Contexts

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 14:34:01 -0800

In the summer of 2010 I will co-teach a class at Ox-bow School of the Arts with Harrell Fletcher.

Title:
Art in Social Contexts

Description:
Many contemporary artists choose to contextualize their work in public arenas where social groups are invited to participate in dynamic, object-less projects with open-ended results. In this class we will explore multiple facets of socially engaged art with the town of Saugatuck as our backdrop. Students will be asked to conduct multiple forms of field research in town that engage them with the town`s history, communities, and landscape. Assignments will ask students to use their research and interests to create socially engaged projects with themes that many social artists utilize such as: service, intervention, participation, and dialog among others. An emphasis will be placed on the process rather than product or outcome as many important questions arise from the process of working with other people. Selected readings will be from artist's such as Joseph Beuys, Allan Kaprow, Temporary Services, Ted Purves and critics such as Paul Willis and Randall Szott.

Signal Fire Residency and Exhibition

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 09:40:56 -0700

Katy Asher invited me to be a part of her project through the Signal Fire Residency along with Michael Reinsch and Ariana Jacob. We will drive up to Mt. Hood in a trailer where we will be left alone for a week. The four of us will engage in a five day discussion and research project focused around the tensions associated with choosing vs. making peace with the communities we are a part of in contemporary culture. We have been invited to co-develop and influence the sequencing of our daily activities and have agreed to structure our residency like an adult summer camp with daily reading assignments, unstructured leisure time and campfire discussions in the evenings.

Here is a blurb about the residency off their website: In response to the urban demand on working artists, Signal Fire brings artists to the farthest stretches of our remaining wild and open places. Utilizing Oregon's vast area of public lands, we advocate for the importance of access to and protection of these places in order to enrich and sustain society. We provide opportunities for artists to engage in the natural world in a way that will inspire and inform their practice.

An exhibition, titled The Soft Shovel, will follow showcasing work from all the artists who have participated in the Signal Fire Residency Program this summer. Participating artists include: Katy Asher, Tom Colligan, Bruce Conkle, Ariana Jacob, Ryan Jeffery, Marne Lucas, Jenn Rawling, Vanessa Renwick, Michael Reinsch, Ethan Rose, and Eric Steen and will be accompanied by a self-published essay by husband/wife team Ryan Pierce and Amy Harwood about establishing Mt. Hood's first artist residency.

The Soft Shovel
Igloo Gallery, Portland, OR
Opening Oct. 1
exhibition dates Oct. 1-24

Shine A Light at the Portland Art Museum

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:19:05 -0700

I will have two projects at the Portland Art Museum for Shine A Light on Sept 19, 2009.

Here is information about Shine A Light:
For one night only, on Saturday, September 19 from 6 p.m.–midnight, the Portland Art Museum hosts Shine a Light: A Night at the Museum. The event consists of six hours of performances, installations, tours, workshops, and games by 15 artists drawn from Portland State University's Art and Social Practice Program, led by Harrell Fletcher and Jen Delos Reyes. The Northwest Film Center joins in by breaking out of the Whitsell Auditorium to present vintage and contemporary works in some surprise locations. The projects are centered on artist and audience participation and visitors are encouraged to experience the Museum's spaces and collections in new ways.

Projects and events take place inside and outside of the Museum. Outdoors in the sculpture court, local bands will play throughout the day and visitors can watch an expert dowser uncover the colors and sounds of works of art, see a demonstration of printmaking at a mobile print factory and sample specially made beer brewed to complement individual museum objects for the event by Lompoc, Laurelwood and Lucky Lab. Inside, projects located throughout the Museum include Learn to Count in Mon, a project to save endangered languages, a break-dancing display, musicians serenading select works of art, Stranger Moments, a roving theatrical tour of the Museum employees' interactions in the galleries with strangers, video installations from the Northwest Film Center and much more.

Beer + Education Lecture at Ox-Bow, Michigan

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 16:43:35 -0700

On July 8, I will present my Beer and Education lecture at Ox-Bow School of the Arts in Saugatuck, Michigan. The talk will last half an hour.

Ox-Bow
July 5, 8pm

KIAC and the Yukon Arts Festival in Yukon, Canada

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:57:32 -0700

In August I will travel to the Yukon Territory to participate in the Yukon Riverside Art Festival organized by the Klondike Institute of Art & Culture (KIAC). I will collaborate with Hannah Jickling and Helen Reed during a six-day canoe trip down the Yukon River. We will give a presentation at some point during the Festival at the ODD Gallery.

KIAC was established in 2000, as the operating arm of the Dawson City Arts Society, with an ambitious mandate to develop a broad range of arts programming to enrich the social, cultural and economic fabric of the Yukon Territory.
The Yukon Riverside Arts Festival is an annual KIAC summer event as part of Dawson City's Discovery Days weekend. As the name suggests the venue is parkland adjacent to the mighty Yukon River with participating artists coming from across the Yukon -Whitehorse, Carcross, Lake Laberge, Mayo, Keno, Dawson and NWT - Inuvik and Tsiigehtchic (and Oregon!).

Festival Dates:
August 13-16, 2009

Residency at Ox-Bow in Michigan

Mon, 8 Jun 2009 13:12:29 -0700

I will be an artist in residence at Ox-Bow in July. Ox-Bow is located on Lake Michigan and is affiliated with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I will spend my time exploring alternative education, self-education, and ways people learn through participatory social projects.

It’s Possible Exhibition at Disjecta

Mon, 1 Jun 2009 16:20:03 -0700

My work with the homebrewing group I started will be on display at Disjecta in Portland, Oregon.

Exhibition dates are June 14-July 12

Opening reception is June 14th, 4-8pm

Beer + Education Lecture at the Pancake Clubhouse

Wed, 20 May 2009 16:30:00 -0700

On May 31st I will give a presentation titled “Beer and Education” at the Pancake Clubhouse in Portland, Oregon. The talk will last approximately 1 hour and should prove to be both entertaining and informative for those interested in my work. Afterward we will walk down the street to Beulahland Pub and have drinks.

The Pancake Clubhouse
May 31, 7pm

FATE Conference Panelist

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:17:27 -0700

I will be presenting with Katy Asher during the Foundations in Art: Theory and Education (FATE) Conference in Portland, Oregon. We are on a panel titled “Expanding Art Foundations Curriculum in a Post-Discipline World.” We will present our ideas and experiences in integrating social practices into Foundations art curriculum with a presentation titled: “Who Is This For? What Does It Do? Teaching Social Practices at the Foundation Level.”

The conference runs April 1-4, my panel will be April 3rd at 3:30pm.
Benson Hotel, Portland Oregon

Southern Exposure Jam Session

Mon, 9 Feb 2009 11:40:43 -0800

After the Social Practice West event at SF MoMA the three participating MFA programs (Portland State University Art & Social Practice, California College of Art Social Practice, and Otis Public Practice) had the Jam Session hosted at Southern Exposure in San Francisco. Each person spoke for five minutes about anything of their choice. This was followed by dancing and a piñata party. The event brought the three programs together and began a conversation about future collaborations and networking.

Social Practice West at the SF MoMA

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:04:01 -0800

I am on a panel at the SF MoMA for Social Practice West, a discussion attached to the exhibition The Art of Participation: 1950 to Now.

The discussion is set for:
Feb 7, 2pm, $10.00
SF MoMA, Phyllis Wattis Theater

More info:
In the last year, graduate programs in public or social practice were launched at Otis College of Art and Design and Portland State University. The social practice concentration at California College of the Arts has thrived since 2005. Faculty and students from these programs convene for a discussion of the evolution of social practice on the West Coast.

Panel moderators:
Ted Purves, chair and assistant professor, Graduate Program in Fine Arts,
California College of the Arts
Jen Delos Reyes, Professor, Portland State University
Randall Szott, writer

Everyday Magic at the Igloo Gallery

Mon, 5 Jan 2009 12:11:48 -0800

Everyday Magic is an event series that will activate Igloo Gallery throughout December and January. Based on the concept of the Everyday, events will include presentations, demonstrations including how to brew beer at home, skill sharing, project sharing, dance parties, experimental meditation, film screenings, music, and potluck food-making and eating.

I was invited to create an informal beer project for Everyday Magic. Here is the information:
Igloo Gallery, Portland, Oregon
Jan 18
2-5pm