April 22, 2011 Kim Stringfellow

HALF LIFE: Patterns of Change at the Santa Fe Art Institute

Artists Eve Andrée Laramée and Kim Stringfellow will exhibit work for the inaugural exhibition of HALF LIFE: Patterns of Change for the Santa Fe Art Institute’s 2011-2012 exhibition season theme: Cycles of Creation, Decay, and Renewal in Art and Life.

“When an object or system stops performing its assigned function in contemporary society, we tend to replace it rather than repair it. However, artists redefine useless as useful by creating a new life for objects, and that renewed life alters the role of these objects entirely. Artists work similar magic with degraded landscapes, blighted neighborhoods, and other systems — infusing them with new purpose and expanding the potential for positive change. Ideally, this change is accomplished with the participation of the surrounding communities — transforming not only objects and systems, but also the communities themselves.

Half-life is the period of time it takes for a decaying substance to decrease by half. In a broader sense, half-life can be understood as an integral part of the patterns of change found in all systems—from the seasons and cycles of the moon to human and urban lifecycles. Nature itself is in a state of constant flux. There are also patterns of change and cycles in the built environment—such as the urban landscape, communication systems, and transportation—that impact our lives in powerful ways. Through HALF-LIFE programming and exhibitions, SFAI seeks to help participating artists and audiences better understand lifecycles, dependency, recycling, and innate behavior.”

HALF LIFE: Patterns of Change exhibit of Laramée/Stringfellow’s work opens April 22nd and will run through May 31st, 2011.

Additional exhibits and events are scheduled throughout 2011-2012 for Cycles of Creation, Decay, and Renewal in Art and Life. Participating artists include Allora and Calzadilla, Amy Balkin, Erika Blumenfeld, Mel Chin, Monika Bravo, T. Allen Comp, Agnes Denes, Chris Dury, Free Soil, Andy Goldsworthy, Steve Lambert, Eve Andrée Laramée, Steve Peters, Post Commodity, Aviva Rahmani, Brooke Singer, Kim Stringfellow, and Patricia Watts.

Please visit SFAI’s blog for information on the Laramée/Stringfellow exhibit at: http://sfaiblog.org/2011/04/11/eve-andree-laramee-kim-stringfellow-exhibition/. For more information on related HALF LIFE exhibits and events scheduled throughout the year, please visit: http://www.sfai.org/current.html.