RESISTANCE
Spiegel Symposium 2005

February 1, 2005

Presented in conjunction with the Institute of Contemporary Art's current exhibition Accumulated Vision, Barry Le Va on view through April 3, 2005, the University of Pennsylvania presents "Resistance," the first annual Spiegel Symposium, jointly organized by ICA and Penn's departments of architecture, cinema studies, fine arts and history of art. A series of lectures, films, panels, a reception, and tour are scheduled with a distinguished list of speakers and panelists.

American artist Barry Le Va (b. 1941, Long Beach, CA; lives in New York, NY) is among the most important figures to emerge during the late 1960s. Named for a series of installations from the 1970s Accumulated Vision, Barry Le Va surveys the artist's work from the 1960s to the present. This is the first major American presentation of Le Va's art in over a decade and the very first to bring together not only the artist's well known large-scale sculptures and drawings, but also his works in other media, including photography, sound, and books, for which he is less known.

Labeled "anti-form" or "scatter art," Barry Le Va's aggressive, room-scale installations of felt and glass challenged viewers of the art of the late-sixties and seventies. This symposium explores themes of "resistance" in the culture and politics of the period, from Vietnam protest to punk and the furthest reaches of contemporary art, music and literature.

The Emily and Jerry Spiegel Fund
The Emily and Jerry Spiegel Fund to Support Contemporary Culture and Visual Arts has been created to support an innovative, interdisciplinary approach to education that will enhance collaboration at the University of Pennsylvania among its academic departments and cultural institutions. At the heart of the Spiegel Fund's program is the annual Spiegel Symposium organized in conjunction with an exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art. Each Spiegel Symposium will be designed to raise the level of conversation among Penn's students and faculty about art- particularly art that crosses disciplinary and cultural boundaries. The Spiegel Fund is administered by the University's Provost's Office.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Thursday, March 17

Tour: "Accumulated Vision, Barry Le Va," 5pm (ICA)
Lecture: Barry Le Va, 5:30pm (ICA Tuttleman Auditorium)
Films: The Battle of Algiers, 8pm & A Zed & Two Noughts, 10pm (Harrison College House's Heyer Sky Lounge)

Friday, March 18

Panels: (All panels held in Annenberg School, Room 110)

The Trouble with Resistance, 9:30am
Can art be too resistant? This discussion offers curators' perspectives on the challenges of presenting work that goes up hard against the contexts posed by time, place, and exhibitions.

Resistance in Architecture, 11am
Review the contemporary debate among progressive architects between "critical resistance" and "post-critical engagement" as conceptions of practice motivated by critiques of the normative production of the built environment.

A Cinema of Resistance, 1:30pm
This panel will address the motif of cinematic "resistance" through film history, suggesting how it has evolved as a central, but changing strategy through the 20th century.

Down and Dirty: Art in the Distributional Field, 3pm
This panel of artists will consider points of resistance within their own work. What are, for example, the challenges and significance of working within the distributional field and the issues that attend the recreation of installation-based art.

Resistance: Reviewed, 4:30pm
Join artists and moderators for a discussion of panel highlights.

Keynote Lecture: Greil Marcus
Meyerson Hall Auditorium B1
To think critically about contemporary culture and resistance is to marshal the writings of Greil Marcus. With his famous 1989 book Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century, Marcus transmitted some of the most subversive channels of art, music, literature, film, and politics into mainstream hearing without turning the offensive volume down one notch.

Speakers and Panelists include:

• Ingrid Calame, artist
• Timothy Corrigan, English and Cinema Studies, Penn
• Peter Decherney, English and Cinema Studies, Penn
• Alexander Eisenschmidt, Architecture, PennDesign
• Chrissie Iles, Whitney Museum of American Art
• David James, Critical Studies, School of Cinema and Television, USC
• Klaus Kertess, curator and writer
• Barry Le Va, artist
• David Lewis, Architecture, Parsons School of Design
• Greil Marcus, author and cultural historian
• Detlef Mertins, Architecture, PennDesign
• Christine Poggi, History of Art, Penn
• Allen Ruppersberg, artist
• Ingrid Schaffner, ICA, Penn
• Beverly Semmes, artist
• Robert Storr, Art History, Institute of Fine Arts, NYU
• Mark Wasiuta, Architecture, PennDesign

All programs subject to change. Please visit the ICA website, www.icaphila.org, for more information on more programs in conjunction with Accumulated Vision, Barry Le Va.

ICA is located at 118 South 36th Street at the University of Pennsylvania. ICA is open to the public, except during installation, from 12:00pm to 8:00pm on Wednesday through Friday and from 11:00am to 5:00pm on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $6 for adults; $3 for students over 12, artists, and senior citizens; and free to ICA members, children 12 and under, PENN card holders, and on Sundays from 11:00am to 1:00pm. For more information, call 215-898-7108/5911.

Institute of Contemporary Art
Founded in 1963 as part of the University of Pennsylvania, ICA presents a year-round exhibition schedule that defines, analyzes, and explores the contemporary visual arts. A non-collecting museum, ICA offers one-person, thematic, and group exhibitions, including commissioned works. ICA diversifies its examination of art to include interdisciplinary work such as film, video, performance, architecture, and design. ICA plays a vital role in introducing American audiences to rising international artists and is also committed to the regional arts community. ICA has been at the forefront of contemporary art for 40 years, presenting the first museum solo exhibitions of artists Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana, Lisa Yuskavage, Charles LeDray and many others.

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