KANSAS CITY
For more information, contact Anne Canfield
816-802-3426 or [email protected]
For immediate release
"America Starts Here" opens June 9 at the H&R Block Artspace
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (May 4,2007) - "America Starts Here: Kate Ericson and Mel Ziegler"
celebrates a decade-long collaboration (1985-1995) between two Kansas City Art Institute
alumni. The exhibition of 20 of their works opens with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. June 8 at
the H&R Block Artspace at the Kansas City Art Institute and remains on view through Sept. 29.
"Ericson and Ziegler produced some of the most profound and
influential conceptual art projects of the time, ranging from
important public projects and site-specific installations to
drawings and mixed media sculptures," said Raechell Smith,
curator of the Artspace. "They redefined public art in a way that
was welcoming to a diverse set of communities and devised
projects that altered sites subtly, using poetic language and wit to
illuminate mainstream American contexts and highlight
individual community issues."
Ericson, who died in 1995 at age 39, and Ziegler both graduated
from KCAI in 1978 with Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in
sculpture. "America Starts Here" is the first retrospective
exhibition of their career, providing a critical analysis of the
artists' still under-appreciated position in the history of 20th
century art, Smith said. The exhibition includes sculpture,
installations, models and video documents of site-specific works.
" C amoutlaged History:'
by Kate Ericson and Me l Ziegler
(1991 )
A highlight will be a gallery talk at noon on June 9 with Ziegler and the two co-curators of the
exhibition, Bill Arning, curator of the MIT List Visual Arts Center, and Ian Berry, associate
director for curatorial affairs and curator of The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art
Gallery at Skidmore College. T his event, which is free and open to the public, will take place at
the Artspace, 16 E. 43rd St. Organized by Arning and Berry in collaboration with Ziegler, the
exhibition is a joint project of the MIT List Visual Arts Center and the Tang Teaching Mu: eum.
Ericson and Ziegler worked together from the mid-1980s to the mid-'90s, producing mostly
installations and outdoor projects. Their work combines time periods and concepts in pieces
such as "Camouflaged History," a house painted in the style of l ' ni ted States Army camouflage,
using only paints in colors that a local preservation group dee med historic.
-more-
America Starts Here/ Page 2
Arning said Ericson and Ziegler took a subtler approach at a time when many contemporary
artists, such as Damien Hirst or Jeff Koons, were inten tionally shocking the art world and its
viewers. He described their work as having a «gentle, generous poetic sensibility."
He pointed out that the artists used humble materials like paint or glass jars to approach lofty
ideas, creating "works that added resources to the community rather than depleting them."
Arning worked with Ericson and Ziegler early on in both his career and their collaboration and
was impressed with their work. After Ericson's death from cancer, there was less promotion of
the artists' work. Arning hopes "America Starts Here" will help reignite interest in these two
important American artists.
The exhibition has traveled from the Tang Teaching Museum to the MIT list Visual Art Center
and the Austin Museum of Art in Texas. From Kansas City it will travel to the Contemporary
Arts Center in Cincinnati.
In conjunction with the exhibition, MIT Press has published a comprehensive 216-page catalog
of Ericson and Ziegler's work, filled with images of the projects and installations from their
collaboration as well as writings from many of the original curators of their shows.
"Kate Ericson and Mel Ziegler: America Starts Here" was jointly organized by the MIT List
Visual Arts Center and The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at
Skidmore College. This exhibition has been generously sponsored by the National
E ndowment for the Arts, a federal agency; Peter Norton Family Foundation; The Judith
Rothschild Foundation (given in recognition of Kate Ericson); and the Elizabeth Firestone
G raham Foundation. In Kansas City, generous support has been received from the Richard
J. Stem Foundation; the H&R Block Foundation; the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency;
and individual ptivate contributions.
About the Artspace: The H&R Block Artspace at the Kansas City Art Institute is dedicated to
presenting quality exhibitions of contemporary art and a range of public programs for a growing
audience of students, educators, artists, arts enthusiasts and the general public. The Artspace is
located at 16 E. 43rd St., one block east of Main Street, in Kansas City, Mo. Public hours are
noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. For
more information, visit www.kcai.edu/ arts pace.
About the Kansas City Art Institute: The Kansas City Art Institute is a private, independent
four-year college of art and design, awarding the bachelor of fme arts degree with majors in
animation, art history, ceramics, fiber, graphic design, illustration, interdisciplinary arts, new
media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture and studio art with an emphasis on creative
writing. The college also offers evening, weekend and summer classes in art, design, multimedia
studies and desktop publishing for children, youth and adults. Founded in 1885, KCAI is Kansas
City's oldest arts organization. For more information, visit KCAI on the Web at www.kcai.edu.
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