Panel Discussion: Collecting the Uncollectable May 16, 2009

Catharine Clark Gallery hosts a panel discussion, "Collecting the Uncollectable," May 16, 12-1pm, prior to the opening reception for the solo exhibition of photographers Carlos and Jason Sanchez and Ken Goldberg's Media Room presentation of "mementomori." Panelists include Rudolf Frieling, Richard Rinehart, Ken Goldberg, and Theo Armour, and will be moderated by Catharine Clark.

Ken Goldberg's "mementomori" was originally conceived in 1997, and has been running continuously since its inception. Working in the tradition of the Earthwork artists such as Robert Smithson and Michael Heizer, Goldberg collaborates with the earth, creating a program that converts the motion of the Hayward Fault into digital signals that are continuously transmitted in live time via the internet to a minimalist display. In response to the frenzy of the internet, this meditative work addresses issues of chance, human fragility, and geological endurance, taking three forms to date: the internet art work; a sculptural installation for the ICC Biennial; and "Ballet Mori," where San Francisco Ballet's Muriel Maffre responded to the sound of the earth's movements in an improvisational performance.

In 2008, the internet version of "mementomori" was acquired by a private collector-to our knowledge, the first net-based artwork sold to a private collector where the public is still provided free access to the work on-line. In light of this ground breaking acquisition, the gallery has invited the collector Theo Armour to join SFMOMA's Curator of Media Arts, Rudolf Frieling; Berkeley Art Museum's Digital and Media Director and Adjunct Curator, Richard Rinehart; and artist Ken Goldberg to discuss the particular issues pertaining to the collection of internet art at the private and institutional level, and provide a forum for discussing how an artwork that is not readily comodifiable was sold in a unique arrangement. The panel is free and open to the public. The exhibitions will run through June 21.

Free.

Official Website: http://www.cclarkgallery.com