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MEET CHRISTIAN JANKOWSKI,
CREATOR OF CASTING JESUS
THIS FRIDAY NIGHT, JUN 22, 2012, 6:00 - 7:00 PM
  The Utah Museum of Contemporary Art is pleased to announce that Christian Jankowski will appear at UMOCA for one night only: this Friday night, June 22, 2012, from 6:00 - 7:00 PM. Guests are invited to join a talk between Jankowski and senior curator Aaron Moulton about the United States museum premier of Jankowski's new film Casting Jesus. The presentation will include a screening of two short works by Jankowski, providing an opportunity to explore the artist's larger documentary practice.
The collaborative nature of Jankowski's work is paramount, as each participant in his documentaries unwittingly contributes his or her own texture. With Jankowski, there is as much emphasis on the journey as the destination, and the risks and chances inherent in his collaborations ultimately give surprising shape to the final works. The product of a generation that grew up with the ubiquity of film and television, its inherently populist influence is evident throughout Jankowski's work.
Jankowski's work is held in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art (US), the Tate Modern (UK), and the National Gallery in Berlin (Germany). More |
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FIRST FRIDAY
FRI, JUL 6, 2012, 8:00 - 10:00 PM
 Please join us for our First Friday event, a monthly celebration of the contemporary art world with four exhibitions, music, food, and cash bar.
July's First Friday features the opening of Lara Jo Regan's new exhibition, Mr. Winkle: Object of Projection, and music by DJ TiDY.More |
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MR.WINKLE: OBJECT OF PROJECTION
PHOTOGRAPHS BY LARA JO REGAN
JUL 6-OCT 20, 2012
 
The cutest dog in the world comes to Salt Lake City!
What IS Mr. Winkle? A stuffed animal? A golf club cover? A cat in a dog suit? Such imaginative interpretations of her former stray pup is what inspired Lara Jo Regan to create a photo series that captured the world's imagination, transforming Mr. Winkle into an international cult hero and one of the world's first internet celebrities.
For 10 years, award-winning documentary photographer Regan worked with Mr. Winkle as her muse. Creating hundreds of photographic tableaux with Mr. Winkle as the star, her images draw influence from 19th century portrait photography and 20th century art practices.
Curated by Micol Hebron, this exhibition explores the fine line between kitsch and avant-garde, following the contours of heated debates about aesthetics, empathy, human-animal relationships, and, the power of cute. More |
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PLAY ME, I'M YOURS
JUN 15-30, 2012
 The Play Me, I'm Yours pianos are in downtown Salt Lake City right now!
Touring internationally since 2008, Play Me, I'm Yours is an artwork by British artist Luke Jerram. More than 500 pianos have now been installed in 22 cities across the globe, from New York to Sydney and now Salt Lake City, bearing the simple invitation 'Play Me, I'm Yours.' The Salt Lake City iteration features pianos painted or otherwise modified by some of Utah's most recognized artists.
Professional musicians, rank amateurs, and the musically untrained of every age are invited to sit down and play these wonderful pianos, painted by Utah's premiere contemporary artists and placed in the public spaces of downtown Salt Lake City for two brief weeks. This is your chance to add song to the urban buzz and turn bustling streets into an improvised concert hall.
Visit www.slcstreetpianos.com for details, piano locations, and to upload comments, videos, and photos of interaction with the pianos. More |
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CHRISTIAN JANKOWSKI: CASTING JESUS
JUN 5-JUL 28, 2012
For nearly two millennia, artists who have depicted Jesus Christ in their work have made difficult decisions about the appearance of the person playing that role. In Casting Jesus (2011), Christian Jankowski allows the viewer to become a fly on the wall, observing a distinguished panel of representatives from the Vatican engage in the process of casting actors for the role of Jesus Christ.
By contrasting the acknowledged earnestness and religious faith of the jurors with a selection process that borrows heavily from pop culture mainstays such as American Idol, Casting Jesus thoughtfully explores the difficulties and absurdities in human efforts to encompass the divine.
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SPECIAL EVENTS:
Casting Jesus Panel Discussion, Thursday, July 19 at 7:00 PM in the UMOCA Auditorium. Guests are invited to a panel discussion of the problems and opportunities inherent in creating artistic depictions of Jesus Christ. Featuring Rita Wright, Chief Curator, LDS Church History Museum; Ben McPherson, Artist; Sheila Muller, Professor Emeritus Art History; and others. |
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CANTASTORIA
JUN 5-SEPT 15, 2012
Cantastoria is an exploration of how contemporary artists continue to function as did bards in preliterate cultures, communicating their ideas through language, song, storytelling, and lyricism.
The exhibition features work, by a panoply of artists from Utah and around the world, highlighting the languages we have lost, as well as those that have yet to be discovered.
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MARK HEDENGREN: THE INVINCIBILITY FABLE
MAY 4- AUG 18, 2012
 The Invincibility Fable is a survey of over 30 color photographs taken from his series Cliff Jumpers, a project that spanned nearly two years while Hedengren traveled across the nation. His images depict the exuberant youth culture found at swimming holes across the American South and Mountain West, oblivious to the dangers posed by rocks and water. More
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FAMILY ART SATURDAY: FLY YOUR FLAG
JUL 14, 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Learn how to make fabric flags and celebrate symbols, identity and oral histories, reflecting themes found in the exhibition Cantastoria.
Family Art Saturday is free and provides a great opportunity for kids and adults to make an innovative piece of art while learning about the exhibitions at UMOCA. More |
KUED WOMEN AND GIRLS LEAD SERIES: MARTHA HUGHES CANNON JUL 11, 7:00 - 9:00 PM
This film biography of Martha Hughes Cannon tells the story of the first female senator in Utah. She was a physician as well as a polygamous wife who ran against her own husband for the state senate. More |
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Barbara Kruger, whose work appeared last year at UMOCA as part of Doublespeak, will create a new site-specific work called Belief+Doubt for the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum. The piece will be on view from August 20, 2012 through 2014 and covers an approximate 6,700 foot space in the museum's most publically visible space. Kruger's often political and open-ended questions present an interesting opportunity for dialogue in Washington D.C., the locus of power in the United States. More |
THE ART SHOP ARTIST OF THE MONTH
July's Artist of the Month features metal-smith Meghan Patrice Riley. Riley transforms mixed metals into airy and delicate jewelry that screams femininity without compromising each piece's significance as an eclectic sculpture. Come check out Riley and other one-of-a-kind items at UMOCA's Art Shop! More |
THE WHITE PARTY
GALA PHOTOS Our annual gala was elegant and entertaining! If you could not join us for the night, or just want to relive the magic of that evening, enjoy photos of the event here |
MELD DESIGN Gary Vlasic, who was responsible for the beautiful look and feel of UMOCA's White Party has formed MELD Design with designer Kara DiOrio and architect Stephen Tobler. Offering architecture, interior, and exhibition design services MELD brings form and function together for timeless and beautiful spaces. For more information visit .
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