ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY, April 2017–The Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College (CCS Bard) presents 15 exhibitions and projects curated by second-year students in its graduate program in curatorial studies and contemporary art, with twelve individual exhibitions curated by each student, along with three exhibitions curated from the Marieluise Hessel Collection, the Bard College Collection, and the CCS Bard Library and Archives. The students have organized these exhibition and projects as part of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree. The exhibitions open on Sunday, April 9, with a reception from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., and are on view through Sunday, May 28.
A conductive filament converts electricity to light within a lightbulb. The current flows through the filament, and is maintained by an inert gas within the bulb. While there is the trace of a spark, the filament’s sustained illumination relies upon its non-reactive environment. The combination of these two elements produces light, radiating outward.
Similarly, the exhibitions in The Filament and the Bulb arise from interactions between specific contexts or conditions that open onto wider narratives. Although the starting point of each circuit is discernible, the flow of electricity has effects beyond its point of origin and its enclosure. An exhibition may itself stem from a specific context, but still have the capacity to portray a multitude of stories. The interruption, reinterpretation or integration of neglected narratives are strategies to address dormant flickers within each preexisting current. Each exhibition in The Filament and the Bulb utilizes the stability of their environment as a platform for re-negotiating these seemingly simple circuits and their preconceived convictions.
Student-curated exhibitions and projects at CCS Bard are made possible with support from the Rebecca and Martin Eisenberg Student Exhibition Fund; the Mitzi and Warren Eisenberg Family Foundation; the Audrey and Sydney Irmas Charitable Foundation; the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation; the Board of Governors of the Center for Curatorial Studies; the CCS Bard Arts Council; and by the Center’s Patrons, Supporters, and Friends.