Past Exhibitions

Adrian Blackwell: Model for a Public Space [knot]

March 1 - 31, 2010, Hart House Reading Room
Opening Thursday March 4, 5:00-7:00 pm
* This exhibition has been extended throughout the summer of 2010

Curated by Maiko Tanaka as part of Extra-curricular: Between Art & Pedagogy, Part II
Please visit the project website for more information: www.extra-curricular.info

Adrian Blackwell, Research collage for Model for a Public Space [knot], 2010. Image courtesy of the artist.

Toronto artist/architect Adrian Blackwell presents a new instance of Model for a Public Space. Staged in the Reading Room, a students’ social space located in Hart House at the University of Toronto, Blackwell’s project is concerned with the inevitably knotted nature of public discourses. They intertwine, affect, antagonize, fold over themselves, and flee in different directions. Model for a Public Space [knot] is a seating formation which reflects this structure of discourse in its physical arrangement.

Consisting of a set of concentric bleachers Model for a public space [knot] provides singular locations for divergent perspectives while allowing a large number of people to sit and talk comfortably in close proximity to one another, The work considers both senses of the word ‘model’. It is at once a projective idea about how people relate to one another and a temporary maquette. It acts as both an idea or diagram, and a material object, an experiment in the relation between form and social engagement.  MPS [knot] was part of extra-curricular: between art & pedagogy, an international conference exploring the relationship between art and education. It was the site for various discussions taking place during the second phase of the conference titled, beyond institutions.

The knotted structure is open for daily activity outside of scheduled programs. It can also be booked by individuals or groups interested in engaging in non-hierarchical discussion for up to three hours. (Booking information and schedules can be obtained by contacting Maiko Tanaka at info@extra-curricular.info

Special Programming for MPS [knot]

Two conversations about love and politics in relation to contemporary art practices will be organized by Christine Shaw and Adrian Blackwell.

1. "Love is a force that acts as the productive motor of every emancipatory politics."
Thursday, March 18, 2010, 7:00 pm

2. "Love is an event ignited by the distance between two polarities."
Thursday, March 25, 2010, 7:00 pm

Click here for more information

Adrian Blackwell is a visual artist and architectural and urban designer whose work has been exhibited at artist-run centres and museums across Canada. He is a member of the Toronto School of Creativity and Inquiry and the editorial collective of the journal SCAPEGOAT: Architecture, Landscape and Political Economy. In 2009 he collaborated with Jane Hutton to design and build Dymaxion Sleep for the International Garden Festival in Metis, Quebec. He teaches architecture and urban design at the University of Toronto.

Model for a Public Space [knot] is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.