Blurring Art and Activism at Bennington College

September 15, 2005

Mobile tent cities, protest armor, a five-foot by nine-and-a-half foot flag crafted of 18,000 plastic toy soldiers wrestling beneath a glaze of red, white and blue are just a few illustrations of the revolutionary ways that art and political activism meet. Nato Thompson—Associate Curator at MASS MoCA—speaks at Bennington College on Tuesday, September 27, 2005, at 7:30 pm in Tishman Lecture Hall kicking off a series of weekly discussions as part of the Visual Art Lecture Series. Thompson plans to talk about the “culture industry” growth and its effects on artistic practice.

Thompson’s current curatorial work featured at MASS MoCA, “Becoming an Animal: Contemporary Art in the Animal Kingdom,” showcases artists who use animals in their work which helps lead the viewer to question the diminishing differences between animals and humans and the vast societal implications of species similarities.

Thompson—often found working in the symbiosis of art and politics—manages the creation of obscurely modest social protests from the sidelines of art exhibits by continuously featuring work that consciously fuses creativity and social reform. His extensive curatorial work reflects his dedication to activist art, helping MASS MoCA to feature, “The Interventionists: Art in the Social Sphere”, “Detourism”, “Economical Food Circus” and “Department of Space and Land Reclamation.” With a BA in Political Theory from University of California at Berkeley and a MA in Arts Administration, Thompson’s professional dedication to synthesize art and politics comes as little surprise.

Thompson, rather than begging the typically categorical, “is it art or activism?” query, urges us instead to question the utility of art and the ways in which creativity can impact society. He will elaborate on these crucial questions and discuss what art can ultimately achieve in a culture bombarded by industry.